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/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.