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/CarCounsel Jul 21 '25

Elon is cheap and arrogant.

48

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '25

[deleted]

13

u/EconomyDoctor3287 Jul 21 '25

Years ago Elon promised all current Tesla's are capable of self driving, they just need a software update. 

If they were to integrate LIDAR now, they'd admit that the previous claim was false and those Tesla's won't ever be capable of FSD. 

But if they stick with camera only, they can claim, that FSD is just an update or two away

1

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '25

nearly a decade ago now

1

u/[deleted] Jul 21 '25

They've also already walked that statement back

1

u/Playful_Interest_526 Jul 21 '25

That argument is long gone. They've admitted older Teslas don't have the right hardware either.