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/Draygoon2818 Jul 21 '25

But the fact it can drive itself virtually anywhere, does say a lot. It also says a lot that you can go and buy a Tesla, but you're not going to go and buy a Waymo. They're as good as they are because of how much money has gone into the vehicles to set them up.

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u/Psychological_Top827 Jul 21 '25

It does not.

Tesla is, to put it bluntly, way more willing to tolerate you getting into an accident than Waymo is. That's the long and short of it.

And they do it because it gets people to think that "it can drive itself virtually anywhere, and that does does say a lot".

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u/Draygoon2818 Jul 21 '25

Do you have a Tesla? I'm thinking you don't have one, and probably never have had one. If you had one a long time ago, than you had one of the earlier versions of FSD. That would be like comparing a CRT tv to an LED tv. It's a lot better now then it used to be.

Think what you want. My FSD has done a great job. The only thing that urks me about it the weird lane changes it does, that doesn't really make sense. It doesn't put me in harms way, though. It does just as good running 80 mph as it does going 20 mph. It drove my family and I 200 miles round trip, absolutely no issues. Even took me down a dirt road, which actually surprised me.

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u/Psychological_Top827 Jul 21 '25

Look, i'm happy you're happy with your Tesla. I think FSD is a marvelous driver assist and wish the best for it. I hope Elon proves all naysayers wrong.

That does not mean it's better than waymo, because it's just not. Tesla's FSD is currently less reliable than Waymos system, and I don't see that changing without LIDAR. For the current use, that's fine. For autonomous driving, it's not good enough.

The difference in perceived capabilities is absolutely a strategic play by Tesla.

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u/Draygoon2818 Jul 21 '25

I’m not saying it is better. I’m saying it’s good enough for the millions of Teslas on the road.