Tesla has doubled-down on vision as they realize they can’t rely on a matrix of sensors in order to produce an accurate representation of the real world, which is required to achieve full self-driving.
With this information in hand, Tesla released their first vehicles without radar earlier this year. If you have a Model 3 or Model Y produced in May or later of 2021 in the US, then you have a vision only car that does not rely on radar.
Unfortunately, the down side to these vehicles right now is that the software hasn’t caught up with the functionality radar was providing yet.
There are many nuances between cars with radar and those without, but there are some major features that are missing from radar-less cars. Some of the missing features were Smart Summon and Emergency Lane Departure Avoidance. The cars were also limited to a maximum speed of 75 MPH (120 KPH) while on Autopilot, compared to a limit of 90 MPH for cars with radar.
That is until now. Tesla has apparently been working on adding these features back as quickly as possible for these newest vehicles. With software updates 2021.4.18.10 and 2021.4.18.11 Tesla has now added Smart Summon and Emergency Lane Departure Avoidance back to vision only vehicles. The maximum speed while on Autopilot has also been increased to 80 MPH in this release, up from 75 MPH.
These features appear to work very similarly to vehicles equipped with radar and Tesla is essentially recreating what radar provided (distance from objects) with image processing. Andrej Karpathy spoke at a conference two weeks ago where he described how Tesla is using vision to determine the distance of objects. It’s an interesting talk if you’re interested in some of the latest information on how Tesla is trying to achieve FSD.
With these major features added back to vision-only cars, Tesla has just about reached feature parity with cars that contain a radar sensor in just a short few months. The speed maximum limit while on Autopilot is still slightly below cars with radar, but 80 MPH seems to be very reasonable.
It’s clear that Tesla believes the future is vision and they will not be relying on other sensors such as radar. As software continues to improve and Tesla is able to more accurately represent distance with vision only, we expect all cars to move to a vision-only system and for radars to be disabled on older vehicles.
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Tesla has been working on the 4680 cell since 2023, with its initial deployment of the structural battery pack Model Y. This was quickly pulled from sales due to lackluster charging performance, but the latest generation of the 4680 cells can now achieve charging speeds of up to 500kW, which is a huge improvement.
However, Tesla has invested in a 4680 new cell design that will help drive down costs to make these vehicles more affordable.
Lowest Price Per kWh
Michael Guilfoy, Tesla’s Director of Cell Manufacturing Operations, mentioned on LinkedIn that Tesla has finally achieved a major milestone with the 4680 cell. One of the goals for 4680 was to bring down the cost per kWh to the lowest of all Tesla’s cells - and as of the end of 2024, they’ve done just that.
The Cybercell - the 2nd generation of the 4680 cell- is now Tesla’s lowest cost per kWh cell, meaning that it is the cheapest to produce for Tesla in terms of assembling the parts that go into a vehicle battery pack.
While the Cybertruck is the only Tesla that using the 4680 right now, the 4680 cell is primed to be Tesla’s primary cell going forward due to cost savings, manufacturing optimizations, and usefulness as part of the vehicle structure.
The 4680 cell also offers significant weight savings while also being more rigid, which allows Tesla to build vehicles in a unique fashion that are far safer than others on the road today.
Of course, 4680 isn’t the only cell Tesla is developing - they’ve got a whole host of other things they’re working on. Tesla is developing four new cell types, with some potentially launching in 2026.
Dry Cathode on the Horizon
Guilfoy also mentioned that this isn’t Tesla Energy’s only achievement this year - there’s more upcoming. One of these is the Dry Cathode tech that will help drive that cost down even further.
Dry Cathode manufacturing removes the toxic solvents and furnace baking processes from the battery manufacturing process, saving time and being more environmentally friendly, but it is a new technology. Tesla has been working on this for quite some time - in fact, since the initial introduction of the 1st generation of 4680 cells back in 2023.
We’re quite excited to see what Tesla will do next with the 4680 and their other future cells. Perhaps it is time for the good old 2170 cell to be laid to rest? That’s something we’ll find out in the near future - as the Model S and Model X Plaid rely upon the 2170 to be able to produce the instantaneous power required to make them so fast - but the 4680 cell in the Cyberbeast can do much the same.
With FSD now beginning to roll out to more regions outside the United States and Canada - namely Mexico and China - there’s hope that we’ll see more of a global rollout. That hope also includes Europe, which is stuck behind a relatively thick wall of regulation, preventing Tesla from easily deploying its autonomy software in any nations that follow the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) commerce guidelines on autonomy.
The UNECE sets regulations for the entire European Union - as well as some countries outside of the EU, such as the United Kingdom. However, the body responsible for autonomy meets infrequently, sometimes with months between sessions. The last meeting occurred last month, while the next meeting isn’t taking place again until at least June, and autonomy isn’t even on the agenda for that meeting.
Teasing FSD
However, that doesn’t stop Tesla from showing off what FSD is capable of - even in Europe. In a lighthearted post on X, Tesla Europe showed off FSD Supervised in Europe, with the caption “pending regulatory approval”.
— Tesla Europe & Middle East (@teslaeurope) April 5, 2025
Tesla’s executives, including Elon Musk, have mentioned that FSD is ready for Europe - the biggest constraint is regulatory approval. There is still some hope that Tesla could get around UNECE regulation 157, which governs autonomy with some nation-by-nation deals, but that will take time and regulatory effort to grind through all the red tape.
While it seems FSD and Tesla are ready to launch the moment regulatory approval arrives, the UNECE is set on taking the snail’s pace to this challenge, with comments from participating nations stating:
“While [a driver assistance system] may help reduce collisions, it may also introduce new safety risks.”
For those Europeans who are waiting, petitioning your representatives to work on autonomy is going to be key to getting FSD approved in Europe. Without consumer support, politicians have no reason to focus on something so specific. Meanwhile, they can approve six new and different types of light fixtures in three days.
So - when is FSD coming to Europe? Whenever regulation permits - because at this point, it definitely isn’t a data or training issue - Tesla has clearly gathered the key information it needs to make a product comparable to what’s available in North America. Tesla is confident enough to test and show off in action on X, so we hope that’s enough to at least get some regulators’ attention.
