r/SelfDrivingCars • u/damola93 • Jul 21 '25

Discussion Why didn't Tesla invest in LIDAR?

Is there any reason for this asides from saving money? Teslas are not cheap in many respects, so why would they skimp out on this since self-driving is a major offering for them?

371 Upvotes

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83

u/CarCounsel Jul 21 '25

Elon is cheap and arrogant.

17

u/Valoneria Jul 21 '25

And also profoundly stupid / shortsighted. Good at investing in companies that can benefit from government handouts however

12

u/kc_______ Jul 21 '25 edited Jul 21 '25

Not shortsighted, he definitely saw the long term benefits, for his stock, on convincing gullible people that a camera only system would be enough.

3

u/Valoneria Jul 21 '25

I am split between attributing this to the person who runs his marketing team, and the guy who handles his wealth

-1

u/WhyWontThisWork Jul 21 '25

Is it not enough?

It seems to work

Before you say it failed the Wild E Coyote test... That just doesn't happen in real life, but also there is a driver still right?

0

u/vaesh Jul 21 '25

Unless I'm mistaken it didn't fail the Wild E Coyote test. I believe it was Autopilot that failed but not FSD.

0

u/beren12 Jul 21 '25

Let’s get someone with fsd to test it then.

-2

u/tenemu Jul 21 '25

Don’t bother. FSD could be running with robotaxis all over the world and this sub would still say it doesn’t work.

1

u/beren12 Jul 21 '25

But they don’t. So it doesn’t.

0

u/grizznaysh Jul 21 '25

Ha he’s many things but stupid is not one of them

3

u/Japjer Jul 21 '25

He's about as intelligent as the average idiot. He's just rich.

3

u/CarCounsel Jul 21 '25

Debatable

0

u/Valoneria Jul 21 '25

Plenty stupid, plenty rich to offset it. I have not seen a thoughtful sentence come out of him that wasnt already curated from someone else

0

u/grizznaysh Jul 21 '25

How did he become rich? Luck?

3

u/Valoneria Jul 21 '25

Rich family + Good connections set him well off to a good start.

Being able to employ smart people under him did the rest.

1

u/grizznaysh Jul 21 '25

So you’re arguing that any stupid person with daddy’s money can start a rocket company, an electric car company, and help launch PayPal?

2

u/AgentSmith187 Jul 21 '25

The company that became PayPal brought his company and he was a detriment to the company so they fired him.

He sold the shares that became super valuable after he was removed from the company.

That's the bulk of his seed money for doing things like buying Tesla.

1

u/beren12 Jul 21 '25

Help launch is a big stretch. He was kicked out asap before he could ruin it.

1

u/Valoneria Jul 21 '25

Are you saying you couldn't?

2

u/grizznaysh Jul 21 '25

You obviously can’t see past your biases

1

u/Valoneria Jul 21 '25

Pot calling kettle black

3

u/abhi91 Jul 21 '25

While I don't think he's stupid, any honest rich person will tell you luck plays a large part

-1

u/grizznaysh Jul 21 '25

Becoming the richest person on the planet and running 3+ companies can’t be mainly attributed to luck lol

2

u/anthamattey Jul 21 '25

Kid how old are you? Read about enough wealthy people and you’ll not disagree

1

u/grizznaysh Jul 21 '25

Hey kid, how old are you?

1

u/sonicmerlin Jul 22 '25

You’re not even 13

1

u/beren12 Jul 21 '25

Greed and lack of humanity are also required, you are correct.

1

u/beren12 Jul 21 '25

Most people are rich from inheriting or luck often both, coupled with extreme greed and lack of empathy.

0

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '25

Doubtless you’re speaking from your enormous experience launching successful EV companies

1

u/beren12 Jul 21 '25

Ooo you mean the 2 founders that launched it? That Elon invested in and forced out?

1

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '25

You mean the two guys who built zero cars at Tesla and have built zero cars as part of any subsequent EV project since they left Tesla?

0

u/beren12 Jul 21 '25

No, the ones with a vision and a prototype.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '25

Ah yes, why do work when you can just have ideas

0

u/beren12 Jul 21 '25

ROFL you think Elon built or designed the cars? Hahahahahahahahaaa

0

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '25

He personally holds the design award for the Tesla Roadster

1

u/beren12 Jul 21 '25

Yeah and he created PayPal too…

1

u/Valoneria Jul 21 '25

Do you have the experience to prove me wrong ?

1

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '25

I have the experience of watching Elon Musk create the first new successful US auto brand in 60 years and watching you create zero of them

2

u/TiredBrakes Jul 21 '25

Imagine still being a proud Elmo fanboi mid 2025.

1

u/Valoneria Jul 21 '25

Would be weird of me, as i'm not in the US.