James Philbin, Rivian's head of autonomy, described Tesla's reluctance to use LiDAR sensors as a rigid and unexplained stance from an engineering perspective. During a discussion on autonomous vehicle AI, Philbin praised Tesla's machine learning advances but called its overall approach a mixed bag. He highlighted the falling costs of LiDAR, making it a viable option for safer self-driving technology.
James Philbin, Rivian's head of autonomy, voiced puzzlement over Tesla's firm opposition to LiDAR during an event on the AI evolution of autonomous vehicles. Speaking to Business Insider's chief news editor Steve Russolillo, Philbin said, "I think they have a very sort of rigid point of view, I guess, on different sensor modalities, which I don't think is fully explainable just from an engineering point of view."
The discussion also included Charlie Tyson, Technology Activation Director of Michigan's Office of Future Mobility & Electrification. Philbin acknowledged Tesla's contributions, noting, "On the good side, they've really sort of pushed the OEMs forward in the sense that they took a very ML-based approach early on." However, he rated Tesla's autonomous driving strategy as "a mixed bag."
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has long criticized LiDAR, which uses lasers to measure distances. In 2019, Musk called it "friggin stupid" and "expensive and unnecessary," arguing that once vision is solved, it becomes worthless hardware. Earlier this year, in March, Musk posted on X: "People don’t shoot lasers out of their eyes to drive. Just try Tesla self-driving today, which just uses cameras and AI, and you will understand."
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe echoed the shift in sensor affordability. On the "Cheeky Pint" podcast, Scaringe told Stripe cofounder John Collison, "15 years ago, LiDAR was $75,000. Today, a LiDAR is like 200 bucks." He added that it excels in extreme conditions like very bright or low light, especially with robust neural networks.
Philbin predicted rapid adoption, stating, "I think every new vehicle sold in 10 years' time, to be competitive, will have to have close to best-in-class autonomy." Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.