I think we'll have to agree to disagree. You seem to have ignored the points I made about humans not driving with compromised vision, so cameras and eyes are not analogous even if you disregard the AI vs brain aspect.
I have a problem with the mindset that "we can do everything with just vision so why can't the car?", on a number of fronts. Most important of them is that technology continues to surpass human ability in many areas, and I embrace the idea that technology can augment the driving experience, not only in making things more comfortable and effortless for the driver, but also provide data precision that human vision is unlikely to be able to replicate.
As I said - there are people who rely on USS to drive their cars into tight spaces on a daily basis, there's threads on here elsewhere from people talking about real world experiences involving USS. I can't tell down to the inch how far away I am from an obstacle when driving, USS can. Will cameras be able to do that? On a good day I doubt it simply due to the positioning (the rear one will probably fare better, in the day at least, than the front one which is some distance from the front of the car). Also just because you don't feel you need this functionality doesn't invalidate the problem for those that do. For whatever reason you seem to be unwilling to give experiences other your own any consideration.
"We managed fine before X" is such a myopic point of view that I can only assume you're being obtuse (condescension seems to be a recurring theme). We managed fine before pretty much everything you can think of in cars, computers, and technology in general. It doesn't mean anything, really, and it certainly doesn't mean things were better or equivalent back then. We own cars that drive themselves and you talk of how we managed fine back in the 00s or whenever ultrasonics were uncommon. You could make the same intellectually hollow point about ABS, electronic stability, traction control, etc.
I could accept that at some point in the future Tesla and/or other manufacturers might produce cars with cameras that are comparable or better than human vision is, with heating, IR blasting (for night vision), self-cleaning, etc. We're not at that point though, not by a long shot, and Tesla are pushing ahead with this changeover anyway. I also have doubts that other manufacturers will go down that road, when USS, rain sensors, etc already do their specific jobs very well.
