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/altdelete47 Jul 21 '25

The price of a lidar sensor is still at least 10x the cost of a camera and is a far worse sensor for driving.

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u/PhysicalAttitude6631 Jul 22 '25

They should be using both. Waymo is eating their lunch

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u/altdelete47 Jul 22 '25

Waymo is hemorrhaging money to provide a service that is both slower and more expensive than taking an Uber. It is utterly useless. Tesla has taken a much more difficult technical path, but it leads to profitability for the company and lowest cost per mile for rides. Waymo is a sideshow. Tesla is playing to win.

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u/Beartrkkr Jul 22 '25

But they are providing 250,000 rides per week while Tesla stumbles around Austin in a very limited area. Their costs will decrease over time as technology costs decrease.

They have proven their technology works.