does a 2020 M3 still use a radar for AP/FSD?

[budygadi]

N00B question --

I read that "vision" capability for AP/FSD was launched/enabled in 2021, and before that "radar" was used for all M3 cars.

So does a 2020 M3 (both SR+ and LR models) continue to use radar for AP/FSD today? Or has Tesla disabled it via software and switched to use cameras for vision?

Thanks!

(Correct me if I got stuff wrong.)

 

[tm1v2]

My Model 3 does not have radar or FSD, but my understanding is any Tesla with radar will still use it for TACC so long as the car is NOT enabled for FSD Beta.

FSD Beta does not use radar, it is vision-only. My understanding is if you opt into FSD Beta then your car switches to vision-only software for all Autopilot functionality, including basic TACC.

Just to be clear, simply purchasing FSD will not switch a car from using radar to vision-only. Initially the car would just get the EAP features and still use radar. It is the subsequent action of opting into FSD Beta that would switch the car to vision-only.

Lastly, I have read that if you later opt out of FSD Beta, the car will revert to using radar again.

All of this is subject to change of course. Tesla has made it clear their intention is to switch all eligible cars to vision-only. Whether they actually go forward with that, and what the timeframe might be, is anyone's guess at the moment.