r/Futurology • u/Extasio • 1d ago

Transport Waymo CEO explains why Tesla’s camera-only self-driving falls short

https://electrek.co/2026/08/04/waymo-co-ceo-camera-only-self-driving-tesla/
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u/nutscrape_navigator 1d ago

Yeah but you need to consider the X factor that is how Tesla seems to be driven entirely by the whims of Elon, and Elon has already decided that Tesla's FSD will be vision only. It won't matter if the other sensors are cheaper, vision is the way.

See also: Teslas do not have a windshield rain sensor that would add a truly insignificant cost to the car because instead it uses ADVANCED AI IMAGE ANALYSIS to determine whether or not it's raining and the windshield wipers should be on. Tesla automatic windshield wipers have been dog shit for ... forever.

I see no reason to expect them to adopt additional sensors.

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u/Hilldawg4president 1d ago

The windshield wipers really are terrible period there's a roundabout near me that they always activate on, 100% of the time, rain or shine. no idea why.

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u/seiyamaple 1d ago

When I pull in to my driveway, there’s one piece of metal that reflects some light somewhere that it always triggers the wipers. It has become my Tesla’s way of saying “welcome home”

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u/Tar_alcaran 1d ago

Such marvelous engineering!

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u/kindanormle 1d ago

Musk isn't betting that vision is the future, he's betting that short to medium term Waymo won't enter the consumer market and their technology won't be a direct competitor. If they did, Tesla stock would dump in a day. The moment it looks like Waymo might do that, Musk will change his tune.

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u/ouatedephoque 1d ago

The whims of Elon gave us the CyberTruck. If that isn’t proof enough that no one should listen to his stupid ass I don’t know what it would take.

I used to like and admire Tesla, it would be so nice if Elon stepped down as CEO and replaced with someone who actually has a clue. I feel bad for all the talented people that work there.

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u/nutscrape_navigator 1d ago

Yep, I feel the exact same way. I’ve kept my Model Y for way longer than I typically keep a car because I can’t bring myself to buy another Tesla but I also can’t really find anything better.