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Facebook CTO shares insights on Tesla’s shift to pure vision for Autopilot
Tesla’s decision to abandon radar and focus instead on a pure vision strategy in its efforts to achieve self-driving features may be controversial even among the company’s most ardent fans, but Facebook CTO Mike Schroepfer seems to be on the EV maker’s side. In a series of posts on Twitter, the Facebook CTO shared his thoughts on Tesla’s bold strategy and why it may actually work.
Schroepfer, who is known for his work on artificial technology for Facebook, noted that Tesla’s pure vision approach is actually pretty clever. This is because Tesla has the ability to capture and label data at a fleet-wide scale. He also reiterated a point that Elon Musk previously made on Twitter—that sensor fusion becomes tricky, especially when two sensors disagree.
Given Tesla's ability to capture and label data at fleet-wide scale this is a smart approach. Computer Vision continues to advance quickly and we have a proof point in that human drivers don't need radar :).
— Mike Schroepfer (@schrep) May 25, 2021
Granted, radar has played a key role in improving the safety of Tesla’s vehicles. Numerous Tesla owners over the years have remarked that their vehicles’ radar has detected hazards on the road in situations where pure vision would have been compromised. It would now be up to the company to prove that its vehicles could maintain their safety even after losing radar; or better yet, improve their safety after losing the sensor.
Ultimately, Schroepfer also highlighted that humans drive vehicles with mostly vision alone. And while it is true that a well-rested, focused, and trained human driver would be excellent on the road, very rarely do drivers tick all three boxes at all times. This is proven by the fact that a good number of accidents on the road could be attributed to distracted driving or exhausted drivers. Computers, such as those used by Tesla, have the potential to tick all three boxes all the time.
Cost is what makes the difference between mass scale and not. External tracking using lasers gives you "actual distance" for Virtual Reality – but it wasn't until we shipped a $299 inside-out tracked VR headset "only" based on CV that VR is becoming real. Scale matters
— Mike Schroepfer (@schrep) May 25, 2021
In previous comments, Elon Musk has noted that a move to pure vision should help Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving system improve significantly. The CEO hinted at some of the issues that such a change could address, such as phantom braking. However, Tesla is still maintaining its cautious stance amidst its shift, as evidenced by the company’s restrictions on features such as Autosteer when the pure vision update rolls out.
As per the EV maker, for a short period during the transition to pure vision, vehicles with no radar would have some features temporarily limited or inactive. These include Autosteer, which would be limited to 75 mph and a longer minimum following distance. Smart Summon and Emergency Lane Departure Avoidance may be disabled at delivery as well. These features would then be restored as over-the-air updates are deployed.
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Tesla Cybercab sightings are broadening far and wide, well outside of downtown Austin, Texas, with autonomy in focus as the company plans to launch the all-electric, two-seater this evening in the Lone Star State.
Tesla is set to launch Cybercab to a small group of people this evening in a dedicated event in Austin, Texas. Public details on the event are relatively slim.
However, Tesla’s focus on Cybercab falls well outside of the downtown Austin area and is expanding well across the United States as things continue to move quickly with the company’s autonomous efforts in 2026. Today, various images of Cybercab fleets in interesting locations have started to circulate.
The most notable is a fleet of at least 20 Cybercabs at Miami International Airport in Florida. Spotted last night, the fleet is expansive and is indicative of a looming release of Cybercabs once regulatory boxes are checked off.
Tesla has already been operating the Robotaxi platform in Miami for several months, but this Cybercab fleet at the airport could be joining the ride-hailing platform as approvals arrive:
20+ Cybercabs spotted near Miami international airport. pic.twitter.com/ORLsw8yFhf
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) September 3, 2026
Another fleet of Cybercabs was spotted at the Devon, PA showroom just outside of Philadelphia. We have seen several Cybercab units testing around the Philadelphia Metro Area, which is interesting considering Tesla does not have any active Robotaxi geofence in Pennsylvania.
Cybercab at the Devon location in PA has multiplied over the weekend. Seeing a few more test vehicles in the lot 👀 pic.twitter.com/DhJT4P1EkU
— Billy (@billykyle) August 22, 2026
Philadelphia would be an ideal location to test ride-hailing due to its dense tourist population, large, sprawling city layout, and to compete with other ride-hailing companies that operate in the city.
Expansive fleets of Cybercabs will be popping up in and around major cities throughout the rest of the year, if we were betting on it. Tesla has made it obvious that the Cybercab rollout will be aggressive and fast-paced, but within reason. Tesla is still prioritizing safety, so these testing phases will likely go on for some period of time before more members of the public are able to snag a Cybercab for a personal chariot.
The Tesla Model Y L is arguably the most hyped trim of the all-electric crossover, other than the Performance configuration that comes with white-knuckle speed and sports car-level handling.
However, it is not all perfect. Tesla owners in China who took delivery of the Model Y L, denoted with an L to highlight its longer wheelbase, are experiencing what they are referring to as “collapsing” of the rear wheels, as suspension issues appear to be an issue with some of the builds.
🚨 Model Y L owners in China report rear suspension sag
• Six-seat long-wheelbase Y. Shanghai. On sale since August 2025
• Owners say the rear tire-to-arch gap shrinks after mileage or a full load. Some cases after about 9,000 km loaded. Others near 30,000 km
• Tesla service… pic.twitter.com/Lr6i5Tbi07— Joe Hansen (@joehansen) September 1, 2026
The gap between the wheel arch and tire has narrowed to the point that “not even a single finger” could fit, according to a report from Car News China. The failures are not tied to a specific mileage, as one owner said that after just 9,000 kilometers (5,600 miles), they noticed the suspension issue when their car was fully loaded.
Another one had the issue at 30,000 kilometers (18,640 miles) and noticed that the wheel gap shrank to two fingers, so not as drastic as the person who reported a similar issue at 9,000 km.
Tesla Model Y L is gaining momentum in China’s premium segment
Along with the visual recognition of the issue, others are saying the sagging is causing abnormal wear on the inside of the tires. Extra weight and instant torque already provide additional stress on the tires in electric vehicles during normal operation, so it is no surprise that this is another complaint.
There has been no recall issued by Tesla, and the company has not yet publicly acknowledged the issue.
Some are suggesting that owners use a “finger test” to self-diagnose whether there is an issue with the suspension. There should be four fingers between the tire and the wheel well; anything less than that starts to get dicey.
Tesla is starting to truly tease and hype its groundbreaking Cybercab event, which takes place tomorrow in Austin, Texas. It will be the first time members of the public will be able to ride in a Cybercab, a vehicle without any manual controls, on public roads.
Tesla has been dropping some hype on X over the past several days, but this morning, the excitement has truly started to build up for the event. Although Cybercab has been unveiled before, this is truly Tesla’s announcement that it is ready to start offering autonomous rides for public passengers in its new ride-hailing-geared vehicle for the first time.
The hype has started with a variety of different social media posts that are a true indication that Tesla is preparing for something big. Teasing so much of the potential of Cybercab, including its ability to truly revolutionize how people hail rides for local travel, is what the big idea for the event entails. The time that many Tesla owners, fans, and investors have been waiting for is potentially here:
— Tesla (@Tesla) September 2, 2026
The event has remained slim on details. Even invitees are still awaiting true details about what the event will entail, where they’ll go, and what is in store for the evening. This is pretty typical for an event run by Tesla; they keep things under wraps for the most part until the very last minute.
However, there is no secret about what the real intention of Tesla is for this event: it is going to be a huge reveal party for a vehicle that has no steering wheel and no pedals. It is a truly massive step for the company moving forward.
No steering wheel, no pedals
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) September 2, 2026
Speculation persists as to whether this is going to be an event that simply announces that rides will begin with the Cybercab, or it will be something more substantial. Tesla has said in the past that they plan to sell the Cybercab to the general public in what could become a great way to earn passive income by adding it to a more global fleet of Robotaxi-geared vehicles.
Tomorrow, the show begins in Austin, and the Cybercab goes live at some capacity; we just don’t know exactly how quite yet.
Tesla Cybercab sightings broaden well outside of Austin with autonomy in focus
Tesla Model Y L gets suspension complaints in over odd issue China
