Tesla’s vehicles now rely on only a camera-based vision system for their advanced driver-assist systems. CEO Elon Musk has always made it clear he’s not a fan of Lidar, and the automaker removed radar from its cars when it shifted to the vision-only approach. However, people have speculated that radar will eventually return, and now, a well-known Tesla owner and hacker has made a related discovery.
We regularly share findings with you from green (@greentheonly), who dives into Tesla‘s internal workings and keeps us up to date with any potential changes, etc. Green has been posting his discoveries on Twitter for some time now, and while his findings are certainly real and often compelling, they may or may not amount to any actual changes going forward.
Green recently took to Twitter yet again to reveal that Tesla’s upcoming Hardware 4 could potentially use radar in some capacity. Tesla is currently using its Hardware 3 computer, but fans and owners anticipate the launch of Hardware 4 in the near future. In fact, according to Teslarati, Musk said last year at AI Day that the arrival of the Tesla Cybertruck will mark the official launch of the Hardware 4 computer.
Very little is known about Tesla’s Hardware 4 unit, but the company has another AI Day planned for the end of the month, so perhaps we’ll learn more.
At any rate, green found a new radar unit in Tesla’s online parts catalog, though it’s shown under the 2021 Tesla Model X‘s electrical systems. He shared that there’s no description related to the radar, but rather, just an illustration with parts and part numbers.
Green goes on to provide some information about the bracket for the radar, revealing that it’s not the same as the brackets previously listed with Hardware 3. He also says the bracket is listed with the Model S as well, though there’s no picture.
After following green and his work for years, we have no reason to doubt what he finds and shares. He seems to have a very solid grasp of Tesla’s hardware and software, such that he’s well aware whenever something new shows up. However, just because there’s a related part doesn’t mean any official changes are underway.
We’ll have to wait and see if Tesla shares any details about potential radar at AI Day or in some other capacity. While it would come as a huge if Musk decided to implement Lidar, radar wouldn’t be so shocking. Teslarati directs our attention to the following tweet reply from February 2022:
What do you think? Will Tesla’s radar return? If so, will it be on all vehicles? Leave us your thoughts in the comment section below.
