Waymo goes on offense ahead of Tesla’s Cybercab launch
Waymo has publicly criticised approaches to autonomous driving that rely solely on cameras and end-to-end AI, in comments widely seen as aimed at Tesla, just a week before Tesla is expected to unveil its Cybercab robotaxi on 3 September 2026. The Alphabet-owned company argued in a blog post and an Axios interview that fully driverless vehicles cannot be made safe without combining cameras, lidar and radar, and that "pure end-to-end" AI systems risk unpredictable "black box" failures. The remarks sparked a heated weekend row on social media between Waymo staff and Tesla-aligned analysts, underscoring the high stakes as the two firms prepare to compete more directly in a robotaxi market potentially worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
Waymo's driving software VP, Srikanth Thirumalai, said that after more than 200 million real-world miles, data showed cameras alone were insufficient and that multiple sensor types were essential for redundancy and safety, while warning that even advanced AI models "still hallucinate." Waymo, which currently operates roughly 4,000 robotaxis across 14 US cities and completes about 500,000 paid trips weekly, also announced three new markets. Tesla, by contrast, has built its Cybercab — a purpose-built two-seater with no steering wheel or pedals — around a camera-and-AI-only system, with Elon Musk having long dismissed lidar as a "crutch."
- Waymo criticised camera-only AI systems ahead of Tesla's Cybercab reveal.
- Waymo says lidar, radar and cameras together are essential for safety.
- Row erupted online; Tesla unveils Cybercab on 3 September 2026.
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Waymo and Tesla are developing robotaxis: vehicles intended to carry passengers without a human driver. Waymo is owned by Alphabet, Google’s parent company, and already runs paid robotaxi services in several US cities; Tesla is developing a vehicle called the Cybercab.
The companies differ over how driverless cars should detect hazards and make decisions. Waymo uses cameras alongside lidar, which measures distance with laser pulses, and radar, which uses radio waves; Tesla relies on cameras and artificial intelligence software. The debate matters because these systems must cope safely with complex road conditions, and the firms are preparing to compete for customers in a potentially large market.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Waymo’s case is that a fully driverless vehicle must handle rare and difficult situations reliably, so combining cameras, lidar and radar provides different kinds of evidence and backup if one sensor struggles. Its reported experience over more than 200 million miles gives weight to the argument that camera-only systems and end-to-end AI may leave safety-critical failures too hard to predict or diagnose.
The case against
Tesla’s camera-and-AI approach can be defended as a simpler, potentially cheaper system that relies on sensors closer to the way human drivers perceive the road. Its advocates may argue that sufficiently capable AI, trained on extensive driving data, can interpret camera images across many situations without the cost and complexity of lidar and radar, and that performance should be judged by demonstrated safety rather than by a particular sensor design.