Tesla Admitting Google Has Better Autopilot?

Well, for short ranges, infrared LIDAR seems good for precision. I imagine they can place the emitters and detectors in a less obvious manner - behind a pair of forward looking IR transparent trim that passes IR, facing front and another pair facing rear.

They obviously need to deal with the aliasing that occurred when the bright sky and bright truck side were seen wrongly by the old system.

Research carries on

I don't know if we will ever hear the whole story, but, as I understand it:

1. The tesla system is not intended to be fully autonomous. The driver is supposed to be there with his hands at the wheel.

2. The driver was watching a Harry Potter movie when the accident occurred.

The university logo tends to make me think this may be a college research vehicle. however it would not surprise me if Tesla was evaluating a back up system to its opticals. Granted semi's turning across the adjacent lane of travel in front of a vehicle is not a "normal" scenario. (Then again, neither is driving under it making no attempt to stop or avoid.)