Tesla to Add Radar in Hopes of Achieving Full Self Driving in Vehicles

Tesla radar technology is back in the news. Last year Elon Musk made it clear that Tesla was ditching its radar technology and that Full Self Driving (FSD) would be made safer by only using Vision, or camera-only, technology. However, Tesla’s Certification Engineer, Cindi Li, wrote to the FCC last week asking for a confidentiality extension as they prepare to put radars back in their vehicles.

Li’s letter asks for things such as manuals and photos to not be published until a new date of February 7th, 2023 as to “avoid any unnecessary disclosure or competitive harm before our product launch”. This request was filed just one day before filings would have been made public and was granted by the FCC.

Chuck Gershman, CEO of Owl Autonomous Imaging, says that radar technology should theoretically be the correct move in pursuit of FSD but doesn’t believe it’ll be the last change by Tesla along this route.

Chuck’s Thoughts on Tesla Radar Technology

“It’s just been announced that the Tesla vision plan, which previously claimed that the best way to achieve self-driving was through visual, camera-only based systems as their primary sensor. They’ve now reversed course, and they’re relaunching radar to supplement their camera systems.

And the question is this an appropriate course of action? In our opinion, yes, absolutely. Radar systems are quite robust and they operate across all environmental conditions and they operate day or night. Camera systems, on the other hand, have worked quite well but have degradation issues associated with environment.

And they degrade precipitously between daytime operation and nighttime operation. So a supplemental system or a fusion of sensors is an appropriate way to make systems safer, especially for hands-free driving. Now, is this the appropriate or the final step? We believe not so much.

Again, as we said, radars are quite robust and are a good complement to the camera system. But the degradation associated with the camera system specifically during nighttime operation or foul weather operation will compromise the system and we believe that Tesla needs to address this problem”

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

What It Takes to Restore a Tornado-Damaged Clinic
What It Takes to Restore a Tornado-Damaged Clinic
August 21, 2025

When a tornado tore through Oklahoma City in April, BMS CAT was already on-site before many businesses even realized the extent of the tornado damage—including Valor Physical Therapy. Thanks to an existing relationship with Valor’s affiliated hospital, the BMS CAT team was positioned to respond quickly. “We were actually on scene before they knew…

Read More
Burl Stamp
Improving Employee Engagement Through CAREmunication — A Conversation with Burl Stamp
August 21, 2025

With the healthcare landscape seeing many evolving changes, employee engagement is no longer just a buzzword — it’s now a business imperative. Amid rising turnover and persistent staffing shortages, organizations are under pressure to build resilient, engaged teams. According to Gallup, 70% of the variance in team engagement is tied to one factor: the…

Read More
precision machining
Pharma Manufacturing: Meeting Annex I with Precision Machining for Safer Sterile Drug Production
August 21, 2025

Pharmaceutical manufacturers are under increasing pressure to deliver sterile, high-quality medicines in smaller batches and faster cycles. As pharma manufacturing evolves, regulatory demands have intensified, especially following the 2023 revision of EU GMP Annex I, which places new emphasis on contamination control strategies, improved traceability, and minimizing human intervention throughout production. According to American…

Read More
peer guidance
Leaders Who’ve Been There: Finding Clarity Through Peer Guidance at Purpose Factory
August 20, 2025

Running a business can feel isolating without peers who understand the weight of leadership. Madison Harris, founder of Cobalt Fund Services, found the peer guidance he needed through Purpose Factory. He gained strategic insight and real feedback from seasoned entrepreneurs at a time when his business needed clarity and structure. Harris realized Cobalt wasn’t…

Read More