diff --git a/docs/config/build-options.md b/docs/config/build-options.md
index 4d6c83d8c9baca..bbf8c47aa01207 100644
--- a/docs/config/build-options.md
+++ b/docs/config/build-options.md
@@ -8,10 +8,7 @@
 
 Browser compatibility target for the final bundle. The default value is a Vite special value, `'modules'`, which targets browsers with [native ES Modules](https://caniuse.com/es6-module), [native ESM dynamic import](https://caniuse.com/es6-module-dynamic-import), and [`import.meta`](https://caniuse.com/mdn-javascript_operators_import_meta) support. Vite will replace `'modules'` to `['es2020', 'edge88', 'firefox78', 'chrome87', 'safari14']`
 
-Another special value is `'esnext'` - which assumes native dynamic imports support and will transpile as little as possible:
-
-- If the [`build.minify`](#build-minify) option is `'terser'` and the installed Terser version is below 5.16.0, `'esnext'` will be forced down to `'es2021'`.
-- In other cases, it will perform no transpilation at all.
+Another special value is `'esnext'` - which assumes native dynamic imports support and will only perform minimal transpiling.
 
 The transform is performed with esbuild and the value should be a valid [esbuild target option](https://esbuild.github.io/api/#target). Custom targets can either be an ES version (e.g. `es2015`), a browser with version (e.g. `chrome58`), or an array of multiple target strings.
 
diff --git a/packages/vite/package.json b/packages/vite/package.json
index a3cb2504276b2b..01eda8dc3683b9 100644
--- a/packages/vite/package.json
+++ b/packages/vite/package.json
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@
     "sass-embedded": "*",
     "stylus": "*",
     "sugarss": "*",
-    "terser": "^5.4.0"
+    "terser": "^5.16.0"
   },
   "peerDependenciesMeta": {
     "@types/node": {
diff --git a/packages/vite/src/node/build.ts b/packages/vite/src/node/build.ts
index 65a0cb4286e267..c78f7741b4e207 100644
--- a/packages/vite/src/node/build.ts
+++ b/packages/vite/src/node/build.ts
@@ -47,7 +47,6 @@ import {
   joinUrlSegments,
   normalizePath,
   partialEncodeURIPath,
-  requireResolveFromRootWithFallback,
 } from './utils'
 import { resolveEnvironmentPlugins } from './plugin'
 import { manifestPlugin } from './plugins/manifest'
@@ -338,7 +337,6 @@ export interface ResolvedBuildOptions
 export function resolveBuildEnvironmentOptions(
   raw: BuildEnvironmentOptions,
   logger: Logger,
-  root: string,
   consumer: 'client' | 'server' | undefined,
 ): ResolvedBuildEnvironmentOptions {
   const deprecatedPolyfillModulePreload = raw?.polyfillModulePreload
@@ -419,21 +417,6 @@ export function resolveBuildEnvironmentOptions(
   // handle special build targets
   if (resolved.target === 'modules') {
     resolved.target = ESBUILD_MODULES_TARGET
-  } else if (resolved.target === 'esnext' && resolved.minify === 'terser') {
-    try {
-      const terserPackageJsonPath = requireResolveFromRootWithFallback(
-        root,
-        'terser/package.json',
-      )
-      const terserPackageJson = JSON.parse(
-        fs.readFileSync(terserPackageJsonPath, 'utf-8'),
-      )
-      const v = terserPackageJson.version.split('.')
-      if (v[0] === '5' && v[1] < 16) {
-        // esnext + terser 5.16<: limit to es2021 so it can be minified by terser
-        resolved.target = 'es2021'
-      }
-    } catch {}
   }
 
   if (!resolved.cssTarget) {
diff --git a/packages/vite/src/node/config.ts b/packages/vite/src/node/config.ts
index af3a07c242899d..bcff89412696df 100644
--- a/packages/vite/src/node/config.ts
+++ b/packages/vite/src/node/config.ts
@@ -625,7 +625,6 @@ export function resolveDevEnvironmentOptions(
 
 function resolveEnvironmentOptions(
   options: EnvironmentOptions,
-  resolvedRoot: string,
   alias: Alias[],
   preserveSymlinks: boolean,
   logger: Logger,
@@ -656,7 +655,6 @@ function resolveEnvironmentOptions(
     build: resolveBuildEnvironmentOptions(
       options.build ?? {},
       logger,
-      resolvedRoot,
       consumer,
     ),
   }
@@ -1001,7 +999,6 @@ export async function resolveConfig(
   for (const environmentName of Object.keys(config.environments)) {
     resolvedEnvironments[environmentName] = resolveEnvironmentOptions(
       config.environments[environmentName],
-      resolvedRoot,
       resolvedDefaultResolve.alias,
       resolvedDefaultResolve.preserveSymlinks,
       logger,
@@ -1028,7 +1025,6 @@ export async function resolveConfig(
   const resolvedBuildOptions = resolveBuildEnvironmentOptions(
     config.build ?? {},
     logger,
-    resolvedRoot,
     undefined,
   )