As Elon Musk doubles down on plans to turn Tesla into a robotaxi powerhouse, he’s maintained that cameras are the only sensors self-driving vehicles need, adamantly shunning the use of laser lidar that’s standard gear for autonomous cars and trucks operated by Waymo and other companies. But that hasn’t prevented the electric carmaker from buying lots of the high-tech 3D imaging devices this year.
The Orlando-based company said first-quarter revenue rose 45% from a year ago to $21 million, in line with its guidance. And though lidar sales to nonautomotive customers declined in the quarter, “this was offset by sensor sales to Tesla,” according to the. In fact, it “was our largest lidar customer in Q1 and comprised more than 10% of our revenue in the quarter,” Luminar said. That suggests Tesla bought several hundred, if not more than a thousand units so far this year.
It’s a curious wrinkle since just a few weeks ago, when Tesla released disappointing first-quarter results, Musk doubled down on his belief that lidar and radar are not necessary for AVs. Alphabet’s Waymo, General Motors-backed Cruise, Amazon’s Zoox and other companies hoping to perfect autonomous robotaxis all use multiple cameras, radar and lidar sensors to ensure vehicles can see their surroundings, pedestrians, other vehicles and road conditions in daylight or at night, in rain or fog. That’s something cameras aren’t always capable of.