Tesla began deliveries this week of the first cars that have no radar, now relying solely on the vehicle’s cameras for Autopilot and active safety features.
The system, known as Tesla Vision, has worked well in initial tests by new owners. But as people get more time behind the wheel with the radar-less cars, we are finding they have some interesting new behaviours.
Automatic Wiper Control
The first new behaviour was accidentally discovered by YouTuber DaxM, a new Model Y owner in Ontario. While driving with Autopilot engaged he attempted to change the speed of the windshield wipers, only to discover a new message which said they cannot be disabled when Autopilot is active.
Auto High Beams
Another new behaviour involves the automatic high beams. Reddit user u/Jaws12 was also driving with Tesla Vision Autopilot engaged when he noticed his Auto High Beams were on. When he tried to turn them off, he also came across a new message that said they must stay on when Autopilot is engaged.
The big question – why?
The messages provide no explanation as to why these functions are affected when Tesla Vision Autopilot is engaged, but we can make an educated guess.
When it comes to the wipers, it is likely that Tesla wants to keep the three forward-facing cameras clean, as the reliance on these cameras is much greater.
The same is likely for the Auto High Beams – Tesla wants to have the best view of the road in front of car as possible.
Since these Tesla Vision cars have only been on the streets less than a week, we don’t know yet if these limitations will be permanent. It could be the case that once Tesla has enough data they can remove them.
