Core Viewpoint - Rivian's autonomous driving executive, James Philbin, criticizes Tesla's rigid stance against lidar technology, arguing it does not align with engineering realities and the decreasing costs of top-tier sensors [1] Group 1: Tesla's Position on Lidar - Elon Musk has consistently expressed disdain for lidar, claiming it is unnecessary and overly expensive for autonomous vehicles [1] - Musk believes that advancements in visual recognition technology will render lidar obsolete, stating that human drivers do not use laser emissions from their eyes [1] Group 2: Rivian's Perspective - Philbin acknowledges Tesla's emphasis on machine learning and its role in advancing the automotive industry, but he views Tesla's approach to autonomous driving as having mixed benefits [1] - He suggests that Tesla's rigid viewpoint on sensor modalities is not justifiable from an engineering perspective [1]