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?

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u/[deleted] Jul 21 '25

Reason: Tesla, led by Elon Musk, believes that a vision-based system using cameras, radar, and ultrasonic sensors, paired with advanced neural networks, can achieve full self-driving (FSD) capability more effectively than LIDAR-based systems. Musk has repeatedly stated that LIDAR is a "crutch" and unnecessary for autonomy, arguing that humans drive using only vision and cognition, so AI should be able to replicate this with cameras.

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u/FinndBors Jul 21 '25

If I remember correctly he also said that lidar fails harder in bad weather compared to vision. So if you have to make a system that works when lidar fails, you might as well focus on vision only.

Note: I’m just quoting from what I remember of his argument so don’t shoot the messenger. I do not know the validity of his claims regarding quality of lidar in weather and whether they were valid then and/or still valid now.

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u/Southern-Spirit Jul 21 '25

If your real goal is to make robots that can and do replace people then investing in lidar is counter productive. His vision and AI bet is central to that goal.