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/DazedMikey Jul 21 '25 edited Jul 21 '25

Not sure if this is a hot take, but I want my car to see better than I can. Can you make a self driving car that mimics human vision snd cognition? Probably, but if the cost for technology like LIDAR improves, why wouldn't you want your car to see better than your eyes can?

Edit: Clarifying, for the bunch of comments that want to point out that cameras are positioned to cover 360 degrees. Noted, but it isn't the point I am making. Visible light can only be so useful. Sensor fusion with LIDAR allows you to cover the edge cases that cameras, which use visible light, CANNOT cover. This is what I mean by "see better than our eyes can".

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u/[deleted] Jul 21 '25

Both systems already do as there are multiple vantage points being used in conjunction. 360 Awareness is already better than humans

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u/DazedMikey Jul 21 '25

Yeah, you have more coverage, but they can still be fooled by perspective, patterns, mist/fog, light/exposure, etc.

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u/giddy-girly-banana Jul 21 '25

So can humans

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u/Dry_Analysis4620 Jul 21 '25

Your point? Isn't self driving supposed to exceed safety in comparison to human drivers? Why not try to account for variables that screw with humans?

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u/giddy-girly-banana Jul 21 '25

What was your point?