Tesla's Old Autopilot Chief Roasts Camera-Only Driving (Now at GM)

GM product chief Sterling Anderson, who once ran Tesla Autopilot, called Tesla's camera-only self-driving bet "a weird religious stance" on October 27, 2026.

Cadillac Escalade IQ with GM eyes-off driving system, lidar on the roof, on a highway

There's nothing more dangerous than an ex who knows all your secrets. Tesla just found that out.

Sterling Anderson, the man who ran Tesla's Autopilot program in 2015 and 2016, is now chief product officer at General Motors. In an interview published on October 27, 2026, he called Tesla's camera-only self-driving approach "a weird religious stance that ignores physics."

Ouch.

In May 2021, Tesla began stripping radar from its two best-sellers, the Model 3 and Model Y, and went all in on cameras plus AI. Elon Musk's logic: people drive with their eyes, so cameras should be enough. In 2019 he called lidar, the laser sensor most rivals use, a "fool's errand."

Anderson's argument fits on a napkin. Radar is cheap, and it does two things a camera can't. It sees through thick fog, and it measures the speed of the car ahead of you instantly.

So dropping it to save money is like canceling your phone insurance the day before your vacation.

And Anderson knows the kitchen he's criticizing. Before GM hired him in 2025, he ran the Model X program and later co-founded the self-driving startup Aurora.

GM is going the opposite way. The company says it will launch eyes-off highway driving on the Cadillac Escalade IQ in 2028, using lidar, radar and cameras together. Turquoise lights on the dashboard and mirrors will show when it's fine to read your messages. GM's own announcement takes a swipe at "vision-only systems" by name.

Lidar sensor on the roof of the Cadillac Escalade IQL, part of GM's radar, lidar and camera setup

Personally, I'm with Anderson. A self-driving car has to work on the foggiest day of the year, not the sunniest, and a cheap extra sensor is a small price for that.

Waymo, the biggest US robotaxi company, uses all three too, including on its next robotaxi, the Toyota bZ4X.

But careful: GM's system isn't in anyone's driveway yet. GM hasn't said what it will cost, and where you can use it will depend on state law. Tesla, meanwhile, already has cars carrying passengers around Austin with nobody at the wheel, on cameras alone.

And to top it off, US safety regulators are already investigating how Tesla's Full Self-Driving copes with sun glare, fog and dust. That probe reportedly covers about 3.2 million cars.

Tesla says its cars don't need radar. Its old Autopilot boss says physics disagrees. And physics has never lost an argument.

Photos: General Motors

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