2024-08-30
Tesla has long championed a camera-based, vision-only approach to autonomous driving, even going so far as to remove all radar sensors from its latest Model 3. Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, has repeatedly asserted that full self-driving can be achieved without the need for LiDAR, famously calling it a "fool's errand." Earlier this year, Musk emphasized that Tesla no longer requires LiDAR for ground truth data collection.
However, news from August 29th has sparked significant attention: according to media reports, a Tesla Model X test vehicle was spotted in Northern California, equipped with a LiDAR system. This development has surprised many, as it contradicts Musk’s previous stance.
Tesla is known for its bold technological strategies, and its autonomous driving technology has long relied on cameras and neural networks to process road and environmental data. Proponents of this pure vision approach argue that with continuous advancements in camera quality and computational power, autonomous driving can be achieved without the need for costly LiDAR systems.
Nevertheless, the latest photos of the test vehicle suggest that Tesla may still be using LiDAR for data collection or visual verification. Although this appears to contradict Musk’s earlier statements, it could indicate that Tesla is reassessing its autonomous driving strategy. Notably, Tesla is set to unveil its new Robotaxi service on October 10th, and the LiDAR-equipped test vehicle could be closely related to the development of this service.
Whether this testing signals a fundamental shift in Tesla’s attitude toward LiDAR, or is simply a response to specific development needs, remains unclear. In any case, this move is sure to reignite the debate over the best path forward for autonomous driving technology.
