a day ago
Google Waymo chooses Violence…Continues to threaten vehicle with aggressive forward maneuver, says post on Twitter; Elon Musk responds: But what do I …
Elon Musk
Tesla
CEO
Elon Musk
responded sarcastically to a viral video showing a Waymo autonomous vehicle attempting what appeared to be a head-on collision while blocking traffic in Austin, Texas. "But what do I know about technology,"
Musk
posted on X, reigniting the long-standing debate between LiDAR-based and vision-only autonomous driving systems.
The incident, captured on July 6, 2025, showed the Waymo
robotaxi
making "aggressive forward maneuvers" while threatening an exiting vehicle. "@Cyber_Trailer" posted the footage, writing: "Waymo chooses violence. Blocked traffic lane while attempting head on collision with exiting vehicle. Continues to threaten vehicle with aggressive forward maneuver."
Vision-Only systems outperform LiDAR in recent tests
The Austin incident has provided fresh ammunition for critics of
LiDAR technology
, particularly Tesla supporters who advocate for camera-based systems. Ray, a Tesla enthusiast (@ray4tesla), used the moment to highlight broader concerns about sensor fusion approaches.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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"Elon famously said 6 years ago that LiDAR is a fool's errand and many at the time were skeptical about his claim," Ray posted. "Now it's becoming increasingly clear that Elon is right about the use of LiDAR. Sensor fusion is not optimal for autonomous driving, as evidenced by countless incidents of Waymo blocking intersections, getting stuck in traffic for no reason, getting confused in construction zones and even worse going in the lane of opposing traffic."
The debate extends beyond individual incidents, with major autonomous vehicle companies reconsidering their sensor strategies. Chinese tech giants
Baidu
and
Xpeng
are reportedly transitioning toward vision-only approaches, following Tesla's lead in relying primarily on camera systems and neural networks.
"Separately, CEO Robin Li recently alluded to Baidu's transition to vision-only approach while Xpeng is in the early stage to phase out Lidars," the user noted, suggesting a broader industry trend away from expensive LiDAR sensors toward more software-dependent solutions.
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