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Anthony Levandowski , the engineer who co - founded Google ’s ego - driving car program ( now known as Waymo ) and has gone on to start anoff - route AV startup , hopped on the telephone set with me after Tesla ’s big Robotaxi reveal to deal his thoughts . He is bullish on Elon Musk ’s visual modality for Tesla ’s and the earthly concern ’s future , but he ’s not without his , albeit small , reservations .
“ I think the issue is n’t building the car without a steering bike ; it ’s draw the software work , ” Levandowski told TechCrunch . “ There ’s a lot of gap between driving around on a track at an entertainment common and driving around in Los Angeles dealings . The optimism is there . The realism is what ’s coming next , and that will be where the hard part is . ”
The engineer agreed with Musk ’s visual modality - only approach to self - drive , rather than using “ expensive detector , ” and said full self - drive is likely in reach . He take down that while Waymo already has in full operational driverless robotaxis in San Francisco , Los Angeles , and Phoenix , it ’s a “ much more engineer - heavy and sensory - hard approach . ”
“ But to scale that out to the multitude , you need something that ’s low-cost , ” he say . Levandowski note that he was really looking for Tesla to announce find in its FSD software program , which it will need if it want to get to unsupervised FSD by next class .
When it comes to the stage business model , Levandowski said he loved the melodic theme of the Cybercabs being available for sale eventually .
“ You ’re putting the ability back into the people ’s hand , where a small business proprietor could have , you know , a fleet of 10 cars or 20 cars that they work themselves as their job . It ’s a great model for the future where it ’s lots of mom and daddy , rather than one mega corp that does that . ”
The engineer said he agrees with Tesla ’s vision of the future overall but does n’t expect it to add up anytime presently , and surely not within the timeline Musk bent .
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“ If you ca n’t set off a webcast on time , maybe your prediction for 2026 is a footling ambitious , ” Levandowski said , referencing Musk ’s put forward timeline that the Cybercab would start production in 2026 . ( Also , the event apparently started tardily because a guest had a aesculapian pinch , but Musk ’s timelines are famously too affirmative . )
Levandowski also say he was bullish on the Optimus robots , which were mingling with invitee at the event Thursday .
“ But it ’s a longer condition bullish , ” he said . “ It ’s not bullish this year . It ’s a bullish over time … Robots in ecumenical are going to be the biggest product . They ’re gon na be right smart bigger than Tesla railroad car , but they ’re much further off than full self - force back gondola . ”
Wall Street investors did not seem to share Levandowski ’s optimism . Teslashares fell more than 7 % in early trading .
