Lidar is a hard requirement to safe autonomy. Elon took the wrong (cheaper) path (to juice Tesla profits), and lies to smooth over it. Tesla vision only autonomy will never be as safe as Waymo and others who use Lidar. That’s not politics, that’s facts. Vehicles require the laser generated point cloud.

If you think I’m wrong, let me put you in the path of a Tesla at speed at night with low contrast. Best case, I’m wrong. I’m fine being wrong. There is no shame in being wrong, only in ignoring facts and data. Worst case, you’re dead and no one cares. I don’t want this for you, and you shouldn’t want this for you either.

Do you feel lucky? You can supply the Tesla or I can (I have a Model S, X, and Y, all upgraded to the latest self driving hardware). If you’re a believer, I’ll give you the opportunity to put your faith in your savior. Again, I do not recommend, but I believe in free will.

Musk admits Tesla’s robotaxis still struggle to see at night - https://www.automotiveworld.com/news/musk-admits-teslas-robo... - October 5th, 2026

Waymo CEO: camera-only autonomy is “vastly” inferior - https://www.automotiveworld.com/news/waymo-ceo-camera-only-a... - August 5th, 2026

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandolini%27s_law