Tesla CEO Elon Musk mentioned that Tesla Vision has improved the automaker's seat belt safety function during the company's Q2 2022 earnings conference call, which revealed yet another interesting piece of news.
Elon Musk Reveals the Seat Belt System Enhancement
Elon Musk briefly discussed how Tesla Vision enhancements improved a seat belt safety feature that was first released in Update 2022.20 during the most recent TSLA earnings call.
"Our safety team also added a previously unheard-of technology that tightens seat belts in the event that the vision system identifies an impending accident. So, as you may guess, if your seat belt only tightens upon impact, you will have very little time to do so, according to Musk.
For context, the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) determined that 47% of fatal automobile accidents in 2019 had passengers who weren't wearing seat belts. In 2017, seat belts were projected to have saved 14,955 lives. According to Sensible Motive, seat belts cut drivers' and front-seat passengers' risks of dying in an accident by 45 percent.
"If you have to be — the car literally has to be crunching to activate the seat belt tensioner, but because to Vision, we can really notice an impending collision 100 percent of the time before it occurs. Because we can see and not just feel, we can regulate the airbag deployment and tighten the seat belts.
Tesla with at least AP3 hardware will receive this function
Seat Belt System Enhancement was the name of the safety enhancement in Update 2022.20, which Tesla released earlier this month. Musk emphasized that only Tesla can provide the seat belt feature via over-the-air upgrades, which is a critical safety benefit.
All vehicles equipped with at least AP3 hardware will receive the safety function, according to Tesla. The fact that Elon Musk is emphasizing the seat belt improvement shows that the camera-based Autopilot system is already more versatile than radar technology. The EV carmaker also makes a suggestion about Tesla Vision's additional uses by emphasizing the seat belt feature.
Tesla began shipping Model Y and Model 3 vehicles in North America in May 2021 with its camera-based Autopilot technology installed. All Model S and Model X vehicles created for commercial use by mid-February 2022
In April of this year, Model Y and Model 3 vehicles shipped to Europe and the Middle East began switching over to Tesla Vision. Model 3 and Model Y vehicles were transported to Australia and New Zealand as part of the Tesla Vision program by June 2022.
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