Tesla Engineers Unsuccessfully Tried To Convince Elon Musk To Keep Radar In Self-Driving Cars

Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk made a bold move in 2021 when he decided to remove radar sensors from the company's vehicles.

This decision was part of Tesla's shift towards a "Tesla Vision" approach, which relies solely on cameras for self-driving capabilities.

What Happened: While the automaker maintained that the camera-only method is the best way to achieve autonomous driving, recent revelations have brought to light internal disagreements within the company. 

A new report, as shared by Electrek, said Tesla engineers attempted to persuade Musk not to abandon radar technology for the company's Autopilot and self-driving systems.

Despite these concerns, Musk moved forward with his decision, embracing the Tesla Vision approach. Musk believed cameras and a neural net can sufficiently enable self-driving functionality, as roads are designed for human drivers who navigate using their eyes and brain.

Only very high resolution radar is relevant

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2022

Why It Matters: According to the report, the removal of radar led to an uptick in accidents involving Tesla's Autopilot system. Around the time of removal, Musk responded to questions on Twitter, saying a high-resolution radar is relevant.

Since then, leaks indicated Tesla is bringing high-resolution radar to its newest vehicles, but the company has not officially confirmed this. 

Photo: Courtesy of Tesla