Tesla owner and EV mechanic Occupy Mars In 2018, he shared a video of a salvaged Tesla Model 3 detecting distances without ultrasonic sensors (USS).

Occupy Mars shared a 10.5-minute video explaining how they discovered this anomaly. The car was running though Version 2022.28.2Launched in September 2022, the vehicle was able to measure distances without using USS.

Occupy Mars took the car out of its garage without the front bumper and confirmed that all the ultrasonic sensors were disconnected. However, they found that their Model 3 accurately detected the car next to it and displayed the corresponding distances on the screen. This confirms that Tesla is testing Tesla Vision to detect nearby objects and display distances, but only in vehicles with USS.

Camera detection is confirmed

Interestingly, Occupy Mars’ vehicle only detected distances while in reverse, although most of the vehicle was disassembled, so this could be due to early software or hardware issues. Approaching the garage, Occupy Mars noticed that the Model 3 did not display the distance between the car and the garage. Instead, it detected objects in the corners of the car. This would make sense given the blind spot in front of the car that the cameras can’t see.

Occupy Mars covered the front and B-pillar cameras with tape to confirm that the car uses its cameras to determine distances. After the vehicle’s cameras were covered, the vehicle immediately stopped showing arcs and distances from nearby objects.

Occupy Mars went a step forward to exclude radar use and physically disconnect the vehicle’s radar and with the cameras turned on, the vehicle continued to detect objects and display distances.

Video showing USS-like detection using Vision

The video below from Occupy Mars shows their vehicle detecting distances without using any ultrasonic sensors or radar.

Vision running in shadow mode

It appears that Tesla is actively testing and collecting data on vehicles equipped with ultrasonic sensors, and apparently they have been doing so for several months. Previously, USS was solely responsible for detecting distances for nearby objects, but it appears that Tesla is now using an updated version of Tesla Vision in shadow mode. This allows Tesla to run code in the background to assess its accuracy before the car or driver trusts it. Tesla uses later distances determined by sight and comparing these values ​​with the output of the car’s ultrasonic sensors, allowing them to assess the accuracy of the new system before introducing it to the public.

Removal of Ultrasonic Sensors

On October 4, 2022, Tesla announced that they removal of ultrasonic sensors got out of their cars and started transitioning to their own Tesla Vision. According to Tesla announcement, Model 3 and Model Y vehicles manufactured on and after October 2022 no longer include USS. Tesla later removed the USS from the Model S and Model X as well.

It came up a bit shock for drivers and car experts, namely the Munro Live team. USS is standard on modern cars. They are used to detect distances in tight spaces to increase vehicle safety. But Tesla believes they can maintain the same level safety and accuracy Despite some objections from the Tesla public and experts, without USS.

Savings due to the removal of Ultrasonic Sensors

Tesla is saving about $114 per vehicle by removing USS, which equates to about $100 million a year based on Tesla’s volume, according to Munro Live. This effort makes sense, like Tesla Updates Model 3 reduce costs so that potential buyers can benefit new federal tax credit.

Front curtain

As noted in the Munro Live video, the car has a three-meter blind spot at the front. Tesla’s rumored solution to the three-meter blind spot is for the car to remember what it sees as it drives toward an object. But if the car is parked for a long time and something is placed in front of it, how will the car know where it is placed or moving?

Tesla can continue to process camera data while parked, as in Sentry Mode, but this will cause significant battery usage over time.

Tesla can also exclude the ability to detect objects in front of the car when the car is first started.

Upcoming Update

A recent Tesla owner and hacker GreenTheOnly found Tesla’s vision-based USS-type detection code in the update 2022.40, so it’s clear that Tesla plans to fix the USS shortage, but it seems the fix is ​​taking longer than expected. Although nothing has been officially announced by Tesla, we may be close to receiving the long-awaited update that restores USS-style detection.

Brand Finance praised Tesla in two separate reports, calling it a sustainability leader and listing the company as the ninth most valuable brand globally. However, Tesla’s CEO didn’t rank as high in the company’s third report, the Brand Guardianship Index 2023.

As a result, Elon Musk fell from the top 100 CEOs in Brand Finance a report that measures the influence and performance of the leaders of the world’s leading brands. This drop is a marked change from last year, when Musk was 30th on the list.

Twitter’s impact on Tesla

However, the report appears to be more concerned about Musk’s performance on Twitter than Tesla. One of the main reasons for this decline is that Musk is the CEO of Twitter. It started in October 2022. His controversial restructuring of Twitter, eliminating many positions as the company refocused on profitability, has drawn the brand into sharp criticism from some business journalists and commentators. Musk has been in the spotlight for several reasons, and the 51-year-old usually doesn’t like the headlines.

High legal fees, congressional hearings, resignations, and a flurry of news about Twitter’s declining popularity as a social media platform have caused the company’s reputation to decline. Additionally, Tesla’s reputation as a company has also been tarnished by these controversies, according to the report.

Many Tesla investors are pushing the Board of Directors to either get Musk more involved with Tesla and less distracted from Twitter. or find a new CEO. Musk sold millions of Tesla shares to acquire Twitter. After the Twitter takeover, Tesla’s stock has been in free fall until the end of 2022, losing 70 percent of its value and shutting down. worst quarter on record. However, Tesla stock recently rallied in part due to a big earnings report. Shares are up nearly 50% year-to-date.

CEOs Must Improve Brands

Brand trustees must protect the reputation of the brands they are responsible for and ensure that internal and external stakeholders have confidence in the brand leaders’ leadership and strategy. Failure to do so may result in reputational damage due to widening public sentiment and media coverage of senior executives.

As shown by the example of Twitter and Elon Musk, the reputation of a brand is closely related to the reputation of its management. It is important for brand guardians to be aware of this and take appropriate measures to protect and enhance their brand’s reputation.

Tesla ranks second as the brand with the highest sustainability perception. Brand Finance, an independent branding and consulting agency, reported on this Sustainability Perception Indexuses several factors to determine “the value of sustainability perceptions for the world’s leading brands.”

It is difficult to imagine a more sustainable brand than Tesla. Mission statement word includes: accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. This company made electric vehicles a reliable form of transportation and produced more energy than it used. But it may be Tesla’s communication, or lack thereof, that costs it the first place.

Tesla can be very modest

The report states: “Despite sustainability being central to its brand, Tesla’s communication of its sustainability initiatives is relatively limited given its impact. This is potentially due to concerns over over-identification of the brand with sustainability. However, Brand Finance’s Research shows that , this concern is unfounded and in fact having a strong perception of sustainability will only increase consumer choice, especially in the luxury car sector.

To further confuse the readers Brand Finance gave the highest rating to Amazon. “This may come as a surprise to some,” the report quipped. Brand Finance explains that despite “regular criticism over issues as diverse as labor conditions, the emissions associated with its supply chains and the polluting impact of packaging”, the concept of sustainability exists. “Regardless of Amazon’s track record, consumers around the world are confident that Amazon has minimized its negative impact, or at least is determined enough to continue using its services,” the report said.

Luxury Car Brands Should Support the Environment

Tesla recently unseated BMW as the best-selling luxury brand. A report by Brand Finance revealed that consumers place a high value on sustainability in luxury cars. Volvo discovered the same trend when it announced it would be phasing out ICE cars. Volvo worked with The Future Laboratory is the author of the report The rise of conscious design.

The report emphasized the need for Volvo, and virtually the entire automotive industry, to become more sustainable. The report highlights that “Consumers are rapidly developing a more holistic understanding of sustainability and ethics, with a focus on environmental factors… The rise of conscious design is driven by a pressing need to ensure that future products across categories are ethical, sustainable and regenerative.”

Tesla should advertise

Tesla did not spend penny for traditional advertising; instead, it relies on word-of-mouth and believes in its product so much that it’s practically made its owners a voice. Although Tesla has done some product placement in the past, e.g The Model Y offered at the price is correct. However, once the rest of the automotive world realizes that electric vehicles are here to stay and that consumers demand the product, more advertising may be necessary.

The average consumer needs to learn Tesla’s incredible safety record and advanced technology. You can assume that every other brand will get ads touting “new features” that Tesla already does or is significantly more advanced than the competition. There is no reason why Tesla isn’t the best brand globally in terms of sustainability, other than an uninformed perception, and that needs to change.