We’ve been promised self-driving (or flying) cars for decades now, and Tesla has seemed to be the frontrunner in that arena, despite setback after setback – some of them deadly.

And it turns out that one bad decision could be at the heart of why.

A few years ago it was reported that Elon Musk made the choice to nix the in-car radar sensors because it would make the electric vehicles cheaper.

He made that decision against the advice of of Tesla’s engineers, all of whom were shocked, according to former employees.

They say the sensors are important safety features and exist in most, if not all, other self-driving vehicles, but even after attempts to change his mind, Musk held firm.

In 2021, Musk announced that Tesla’s North American cars would be made with “Tesla Vision” instead of radar technology. The former is a camera-only driver assistance tool.

The result, experts say, are the kinds of crashes that Tesla has become infamous for over the past several years.

In fact, says Missy Cummings – a former senior National Highway Traffic Safety Administration safety advisor – they’re a huge part of the issue.

“It’s not the sole reason they’re having trouble, but it’s a big part of it. The radar helped detect objects in the forward field.”

No one is saying that self-driving cars would be on the roads today if Musk had made a smarter decision.

Then again, no one is saying they wouldn’t be, either.