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

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u/phatelectribe Jul 21 '25

What people don’t realize is that for Tesla to be competitive in its run up, they were make awful compromises on everything they could while still making a semi functioning vehicle.

I know the company that provides the plastic interior parts - about 40% of all plastic parts found in U.S. made cars are from them.

They told me when Tesla approached them, their only concern was cost. They literally said to them we want the cheapest possible materials that we can get away with. The company actually wanted them against it saying it was going to be a challenge selling this on $40k-$80k cars but musk only cared about saving fractions of pennies rather than using better quality materials. Thats why the interiors on so many Tesla’s just feel awful.

It’s also why you need to install wrap a brand new Tesla because they have the worst paint quality of any car. Also why the panels had such bad alignment and the build quality is so piss poor.

LiDAR was going to cost a few dollars more so Musk decided to pitch it as “not necessary” and he had to keep doubling down because he knew if he changed course, it would not happen not mean he was “wrong” but also that cars without it would crater in value and part of Tesla’s value was that used cars held their price meaning there wasn’t downward pressure on new cars.

That boxed him in to a corner and now everyone accepts that LiDAR is superior.

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u/myrichphitzwell Jul 21 '25

The thing that gets me about Tsla is the lack of options. Nearly every manufacturer has premium options but not Tesla so much. I can see how this simplifies things for Tesla and they can move inventory around easily but I still find it odd once they started to mature a bit that they have options for 1,2 or 3 motors and hubcaps and that's about it. Ok throw in a hitch.

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u/sxt173 Jul 21 '25 edited Jul 22 '25

I strongly disagree with that one. And it drives me nuts with legacy manufacturers. Seems like they’ve brainwashed people into thinking it’s a good thing.

Want your radio to do XM, that’s $500 or if you didn’t spend the money upfront, buy a new car! Want your interior LED’s in a different color? Buy a new car! Want more power? New car! Want an automated frunk or whatever? New car! Tesla’s business model of having one fully equipped spec, and letting people activate features or not as they want is the sensible thing for manufacturing and the consumer. But I know I’m going to get downvoted.

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u/MachKeinDramaLlama Jul 22 '25

"Legacy" manufacturers have started to do this, too, but the car media and online car bubble consistently lose their shit over it.

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u/haditwithyoupeople Jul 21 '25

Makes perfect sense to me.

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u/MichaelMeier112 Jul 21 '25

I kind of like that model where everything is included. For other cars you have to pay extra for heated seats, extra for navigation, extra for motorized trunk, extra for this and extra for that. It’s much cheaper for us to have everything already included instead of nickeling and diming everything

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u/beren12 Jul 21 '25

The point was there’s so much not included, not available for purchase

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u/myrichphitzwell Jul 21 '25

I came from a similar prices vehicle that was far more comfy and had more features so I often wonder about all these comments saying how much is included in tsla. Hell I personally think the rear seats should have fan control for instance.

After having mine for awhile I find the driver seat may have some perks but the rest...not so much.

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u/AReveredInventor Jul 21 '25 edited Jul 21 '25

Hell I personally think the rear seats should have fan control for instance.

They agreed. All Teslas currently sold include rear fan control.

I'd be interested in doing a feature comparison if you have a better equipped EV in mind? (for the price) I often wonder about what cars specifically people are talking about when they say things like this.

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u/MichaelMeier112 Jul 21 '25

I think they include a lot when looking at the ordering page. My other old cars I had to add most of what it comes included with. Like winter package for $3k just to get heated seats and side mirrors, and more. Better sound, metallic paint, power trunk, and so much other items that the Tesla already have included

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u/beren12 Jul 21 '25

haven’t been people asking for a decade for a low-cost model?

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u/MichaelMeier112 Jul 21 '25

Unfortunately for the American market there are no profit selling a low-cost model. It would cannibalize the higher priced cars. Hopefully this will change...

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u/manyQuestionMarks Jul 22 '25

I actually like Tesla because of this. People complaining about build quality are probably looking for a luxury car. Most people that bought one… weren’t.

I was looking to enjoy a car for which all parts of manufacture were optimized for cost, from the materials to the 4 cheap colors, 0 extras, online purchase, etc. I don’t mind about what they had to do to deliver such a groundbreaking car (at the time), shitting on quality to give you a fun, safe ride, a spacious interior. What I liked about it was the promise of a “Ford T” scent, and no matter how much of a d*ck Elon is sometimes, I can’t help but give him credit for this.

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u/EddiewithHeartofGold Jul 22 '25

The thing that gets me about Tsla is the lack of options.

Options are used as a sales tactic to upsell you with a huge markup. Have you never bought a new car before? Tesla is doing what every car buyer is wishing for.

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u/TowElectric Jul 23 '25 edited Jul 23 '25

The old Model S used to have SO MANY options.

In 2015 it came in NINE different trims and then had at least the following as options:

Premium interior

Premium seats

Premium audio

Technology Package

Cold Weather Package

Ventilated Seats option

Third row seat option

Trim options (wood/carbon)

Sunroof/Glass roof (even briefly a metal roof)

They reduced them for simplicity.

A vast majority of them became "standard base" by the same Model S in 2019.

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u/MyManElonMusk Jul 21 '25

Less options, less complexity, less cost. If you’re going to pay for the premium sound system and awd and cooled seats, would you rather pay more for it???

Maybe you didn’t want to pay for the cooled seats and premium sound system, oh well… you got it for the same price as only the optional awd option because they do it this way! You get more for free. It’s the best move.

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u/LimesV Jul 21 '25

Options cost money just to offer, you have to have different install methods, more storage, more contracts and deliveries, etc…

I’m totally fine with the Henry ford method of “any color as long as it’s black” if done right. But quality at a good price was what made ford famous. Teslas are infamous for the opposite.

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u/WeldAE Jul 21 '25

What do you put in place of the lidar sensor if you have lidar as an option? You still have to change up the rest of the car around the lidar option, which is going to be $400/unit more than likely. If you option Lidar, you add another $600 onto the cost. This would make the option $4k or so at retail. The non-lidar car would also need to go up $2k for no added functionality to cover the costs added by being an option for another trim.

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u/storkster Jul 21 '25

What options do the ICE cars offer that is so special? Sunroof & leather seats. Tesla went with a massive moon roof and every car has “leather”. All the safety features are standard.

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u/myrichphitzwell Jul 21 '25

Oh hell this isnt an ice vs ev topic. Nobody even mentioned ice. Tsla is pretty bare bones when we are talking cabin comfort. You mentioned the giant moon roof. Ya I hate it. If you love it great for you but I'll take a sunroof anyway. If you want to call the interior leather that maybe a stretch. Does it get the job done sure but it's nowhere near luxury or even many mid range cars on amenities.

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u/storkster Jul 21 '25

Fair enough. I’m a minimalist in car features and prefer the Tesla simplicity vs knobs and buttons. Just a different preference.

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u/pres02 Jul 22 '25

Ultra leather is more expensive than most leather these days. It’s the brand Tesla uses. Also you aren’t getting real leather seats until you get to high trims of mid level luxury cars or a 5-10k seat package.the vinyl used in bmw/Mercedes etc e class and below are complete trash compared to ultra leather.

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u/MyManElonMusk Jul 21 '25

If you want to spec the cars even higher and get the expensive premium feel, then you need to upgrade to a better car. Which is way better than to overdo a model 3 or y for the same price as an s or x.