Waymo founder blasts Tesla’s vision-only strategy as unsafe

Anthony Levandowski Critiques Elon Musk’s reliance on cameras, warning that autonomy without LiDAR is a "Recipe for Tragedy".

The long-simmering cold war between the two dominant philosophies of self-driving technology just turned white-hot. Anthony Levandowski, the polarizing engineer often credited as a founding father of Waymo (Google’s self-driving project), has launched a stinging public critique of Tesla’s "Vision-Only" approach to autonomy, labeling the system "fundamentally unsafe" for full driverless operation.

The comments, made during a high-profile industry panel on January 23, 2026, directly target Elon Musk’s recent decision to remove not only LiDAR but also radar and ultrasonic sensors from all Tesla vehicles.

The sensor debate: Eyes vs super-senses

At the heart of the critique is a disagreement over how a machine should "see" the world. Tesla relies entirely on cameras and neural networks (mimicking human eyes), while Waymo utilizes a "belt and suspenders" approach involving LiDAR (laser-based 3D mapping), radar, and cameras.

Levandowski argued that cameras alone are incapable of providing the "ground truth" necessary for safety. He noted that while humans drive with eyes, we also have biological intuition and a lifetime of physical context that AI currently lacks.

Without the millimetric precision of LiDAR to verify what a camera thinks it sees, Levandowski warns that the system is prone to "hallucinating" clear paths where obstacles exist.

"Predictable failure"

Levandowski pointed to recent high-profile incidents where Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) software struggled with low-sun glare, heavy fog, and confusing road markings, scenarios where LiDAR would have maintained a perfect 3D image of the environment.

"Using only vision is like trying to navigate a dark, crowded room with a flashlight that occasionally flickers," Levandowski said. "It works 99% of the time, but in autonomy, that 1% error rate is the difference between a successful ride and a fatal accident. Relying on cameras for Level 4 autonomy isn't innovation; it’s a recipe for tragedy."

Waymo’s "redundant" success

The critique comes as Waymo celebrates its expansion into Miami and record-low accident rates. Waymo’s engineers have long maintained that their $50,000+ sensor suite is the "entry price" for true safety. By contrast, Tesla’s "Vision" approach allows them to sell the hardware at a much lower cost, aiming to solve the problem via "brute force" data and software updates.

Levandowski’s comments have reignited the debate over whether Tesla can ever achieve "Level 5" (full, go-anywhere autonomy) without hardware changes. While Musk has famously called LiDAR a "crutch" and "expensive appendix," Levandowski countered that the "crutch" is what keeps the car on the road when the "eyes" fail.

Geopolitical timing

The timing of the critique is notable, following Tesla’s recent limited launch of a "Cyber-Robotaxi" pilot in Austin. By framing Tesla's tech as a safety risk, Levandowski is likely appealing to regulators who are currently weighing whether to grant Tesla the same broad operating permits recently secured by Waymo in Florida and California.