Tesla
“Pure vision Autopilot is now rolling out in North America,” co-founder and CEO Elon Musk tweeted.
He also said Tesla plans to release a new version of its FSD system, using a camera system by the end of June.
Last October, the electric vehicle manufacturer, introduced a test version of its subscription-based FSD to a select group of customers. The new FSD is meant to enable cars to navigate in semi-autonomous mode on city streets as well as highways.
The increased reliance on cameras comes as Tesla is under intensifying regulatory attention over the safety of both its Autopilot and Full-Self Driving technology after a series of crashes. The company told California regulators in March that it may fall short of achieving full self-driving by the end of 2021.
Other early movers in the autonomous vehicle space, such as Waymo, use both cameras and lidar, the light detection and ranging technology, which requires a cylindrical contraption mounted on the vehicle’s roof.
Musk has resisted the use of lidar, which is expensive, but, in the view of many experts, is more accurate and reliable in guiding vehicles, especially in heavily traveled off-highway scenarios.
Tesla has warned that a camera-based system may restrict some functions, such as lane-centering and parking assistance, but the company said those capabilities could be restored soon through software updates.
Tesla Model S and Model X in North America and all models built for Europe and Asia, will continue to use radar.
In other Tesla news, Reuters reported Wednesday that German authorities are investigating whether a fire that broke out Wednesday morning at a Tesla battery factory in Gruenheide was a case of arson. The German police also are looking at a letter in which a leftist environmental group claimed credit for the fire.
The group said it cut the power supply to the site in the eastern German state of Brandenburg by setting fire to six high-voltage above ground cables.
“Tesla is neither green, ecological nor social,’’ the letter stated, according to a spokesman for the LKA criminal investigation office.
Musk has complained about the administrative barriers German regulators presented to build the factory, Tesla’s first large battery facility in Europe. Environmentalist have lobbied against the factory, citing concerns about its impact on local wildlife and water resources.