Elon Musk Overruled Tesla Engineers Who Knew Removing Radar Was A Bad Idea
Elon Musk experienced insisted that a eyesight-only procedure employing cameras was the most effective solution
by Brad Anderson
22 several hours ago
by Brad Anderson
In 2021, Elon Musk made the stunning announcement that Tesla would be taking away radar sensors from its cars, believing that the cameras in its EVs have been innovative enough for it to obtain its lofty autonomous driving ambitions. As it turns out, lots of Tesla engineers ended up worried about the removal of radar.
A report from The Washington Submit reveals that a range of Tesla engineers were “aghast” at Musk’s insistence on getting rid of radar, commonly found as a cost-reducing evaluate. Engineers feared that the removal of these types of crucial sensors could lead to an uptick in crashes, noting that the cameras could not be relied upon if they have been obscured by raindrops or vibrant sunlight.
Tesla engineers went as significantly as to speak to a trusted former govt to recommend them on how to converse Musk out of it. He wouldn’t budge and in May 2021, Tesla announced it was eliminating radar on its new autos. What’s far more, it then started out to disable the radars presently put in in customer-owned automobiles.



Former Tesla workforce say the determination to get rid of radar promptly triggered troubles. Issues submitted with regulators expose that vehicles have been allegedly “stopping for imaginary dangers, misinterpreting street symptoms, and failing to detect obstacles” together with crisis automobiles. An uptick in proprietors also noted situations of phantom braking with 107 problems created over a few months when compared to 34 complaints produced in the 22 months prior to radar getting removed.
“It’s not the sole reason they are obtaining [trouble] but it is significant a element of it,” previous NHTSA protection advisor Missy Cummings informed The Washington Publish. “The radar served detect objects in the forward discipline. [For] computer system eyesight which is rife with problems, it serves as a sensor fusion way to look at if there is a dilemma.”
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When Tesla eliminated and disabled radar, Musk explained the ideal way to accomplish autonomy was to use cameras and innovative neural nets, professing this was the exceptional alternative to replicating human eyes and the brain.
Apparently, Musk did not give up on radar technologies completely. Speaking with Electrek back again in 2021, he claimed that “a really superior-resolution radar would be improved than pure eyesight,” but mentioned these types of a radar did not exist at the time.
It would surface as even though Musk has acknowledged that radar is now needed. Certainly, new Tesla versions with its hottest Components 4 software package suite arrive with a radar sensor, mounted in exactly the similar situation as it was on pre-2021 autos but apparently a little far more superior.



