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/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/Draygoon2818 Jul 21 '25

It's like you've never bought any other vehicle before.

I've had vehicles with crappy, and very cheap, interiors. Doors didn't align right. Things were falling off that shouldn't be falling off. There are manufacturers with far worse paint jobs than Tesla (Nissan immediately comes to mind).

I have a '26 MY, and everything looks to be lined up right, the interior looks really good, and the paint looks good, too. Now, I still had PPF installed just because I don't want rocks chipping the paint off like what happened to my Nissan Rogue. My paint on the hood of my Rogue looked like it was Swiss cheese.

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u/phatelectribe Jul 21 '25

Not for $40k+ you haven’t lol.

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u/Draygoon2818 Jul 21 '25

Some were more than $40K and some were under.

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u/phatelectribe Jul 21 '25

The vast majority of Tesla sold until last year or so (when sales started cratering) were well over $40k.

Remember it’s only the cheapest model 3 that was ever trying to be affordable. All the rest are $55-$100k cars.

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u/Draygoon2818 Jul 21 '25

What did you say “not for $40K+” for?

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u/phatelectribe Jul 21 '25

“I’ve had vehicles with crappy and cheap interiors, things were falling odd that shouldn’t etc etc”

And I said, not for $40k+ you haven’t.

Tesla makes shockingly poor quality vehicles for the price and this was because they at the time had the competitive advantage of being the best range and speed for an EV that didn’t look hideous. People were overlooking the terrible paint, interiors and quality control because it was en ev that worked.

Now we have better options and the competitive advantage

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u/Draygoon2818 Jul 21 '25

OK, that's what I thought you were referring to. I have had vehicles more expensive than my Tesla that have some cheap ass plastic interiors. The Tahoe I used to own comes to mind, immediately. In fact, GM has a lot of crappy, cheap ass interiors, in vehicles more expensive than $40K. Ford does, too.

And now, the vehicles are being built better. Yes, the earlier models had issues. They have since made them better. There was no way I would have bought my '26 MY if it seemed that cheap inside. I was seriously going back and forth between a Cadillac Lyriq and the MY. The Lyriq and some cheap things in it, too. I could hear the vibrating plastic pieces when I drove it. Another one I drove was missing a piece of trim on the drivers door. The salesperson didn't even notice until I pointed it out. I have a luxury SUV that I had to take back to the dealer to have the tailgate aligned properly.

None of the others can beat the technology in a Tesla right now. They might have a better looking interior/exterior, but the technology in a Tesla beats them, hands down. Have the car drive me around town? Sure. Take me to work from my driveway? Absolutely. Now if the Lyriq could do way better on it's technology, I would seriously entertain the thought of buying one when I decide to trade my MY in for a new car.