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Tesla has lost some safety awards. For reasons that remain unclear, Tesla this week removed some safety features from its two least-expensive cars. The Model 3 and Model Y no longer come with radar sensors for some safety features. That prompted the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) to remove its Top Safety Pick Plus designation from both cars. Consumer Reports removed its own Top Pick award from the two Teslas.
Tesla has no public relations department. This can lead to confusion over changes to its cars. The press must often wait for comment from CEO Elon Musk’s Twitter account, or from communications to investors.
Tesla Removed Radar Sensors
Earlier this week, Tesla posted a notice to its website explaining that the company would be removing radar sensors from future Model 3 sedans and Model Y SUVs. “Beginning with deliveries in May 2021,” the statement said, “Model 3 and Model Y vehicles built for the North American market will no longer be equipped with radar. Instead, these will be the first Tesla vehicles to rely on camera vision and neural net processing to deliver Autopilot, Full-Self Driving, and certain active safety features.”
Government, Safety Groups React
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has updated its website. It no longer has checkmarks indicating that the cars come with forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, and emergency braking.
“If a driver thinks their vehicle has a safety feature and it doesn’t, that fundamentally changes the safety profile of the vehicle,” said Consumer Reports Vice President of Advocacy David Friedman. “It might not be there when they think it would save their lives.”
“It is extremely rare for an automaker to remove safety features from a vehicle during a production run,” added Jake Fisher, senior director of Consumer Reports’ Auto Test Center. “We update our scores when key features are added or removed,” he said.
Re-Testing Could Bring Back Awards
Tesla’s statement suggests that the active safety features will still be present on the cars. But they will no longer rely on radar sensors. Safety testing agencies that have tested the cars will need to re-test them. New testing could determine that the new system works as well as the old one. Both groups could return safety awards to the vehicles if re-testing goes well.
The IIHS added a note to its safety ratings for the Model 3 and Model Y, explaining that those built before April 27 still carry the Top Safety Pick Plus award.
“We do have plans to test the updated system, however, so it’s possible that disclaimer could be removed if it performs well,” said IIHS spokesperson Joe Young.
