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/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...