Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has defended the EV giant's decision to bet on a camera-only approach to self-driving cars.
‘LiDAR Has A Role In Some Circumstances,' Says Elon Musk
Responding to a post on the social media platform X on Tuesday, Musk said that LiDAR "does not work well" in extreme weather conditions like snow, dust, or rain due to "reflection scatter."
He added that the limitations of LiDAR in such weather are why Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) Waymo cabs have difficulties in operating under "heavy precipitation."
However, the billionaire did concede that LiDAR has its own specific applications. "There is a role for LiDAR in some circumstances," Musk said.
He then outlined overseeing LiDAR being used on his commercial spaceflight company, SpaceX's, docking process. "I am well aware of its strengths and weaknesses," Musk said.
Elon Musk Vs Dara Khosrowshahi, Robotaxi Expansion In Austin
In a recent podcast appearance, Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER) CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that achieving self-driving cabs with Tesla's camera-only approach could be "very difficult," to which Musk responded by saying that "sensor ambiguity" causes increased risk.
Musk's comments come as Tesla announced the expansion of its Robotaxi service in Austin. The EV giant announced an increase in its service area within the city as well as the expansion of its fleet "by 50%."
New York City Cabbies Decry Waymo Testing, Customers Want Robotaxis
Elsewhere, the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, or NYSFTD, called on state governor Kathy Hochul to halt Waymo's testing operations in the city, saying that autonomous cabs posed a risk to the livelihoods of NYC taxi drivers.
Interestingly, Uber recently shared that customers in Atlanta, where the company offers Waymo robotaxis on its platforms, were ditching trips with human drivers in favor of self-driving cabs, marking a possible shift in customer perspective towards autonomous driving.
Tesla scores well on Momentum and Growth metrics, while offering satisfactory Quality, but poor Value. For more such insights, sign up for Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings today!
Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.
Read Next:
Image via Shutterstock
