As Swedish automaker Volvo pulls out of its partnership with Luminar Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:LAZR), are Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk's bearish views on LiDAR technology finally vindicated?
Volvo To Not Offer LiDAR in 2026
The automaker will not offer any LiDAR tech on its 2026 ES90 and EX90 models, according to a report by The Drive on Tuesday. Volvo will "discontinue its relationship" with Luminar over supply chain issues and the LiDAR maker's failure to "meet its contractual obligations," a spokesperson cited in the report said. Volvo did not specify if it will be offering LiDAR in its vehicles via alternate suppliers, the report said.
Luminar, on the other hand, hit an all-time low on the NASDAQ, currently priced at $0.9018 after surging 4.12% in pre-market, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Elon Musk Says LiDAR Technology Users Are Doomed
Speaking at an event in 2019, Musk expressed his views on the technology, which is crucial for autonomous vehicles. "LiDAR is a fool's errand," Musk said, adding that the LiDAR technology was expensive and anyone relying on it "is doomed."
He reiterated that he didn't "super hate" the technology, outlining that he led the efforts of SpaceX building sensors from scratch to use in docking sequences, but added that in cars, the technology was "stupid." "Once you solve vision, it's worthless," Musk said.
Tesla's Vision-Only Approach, FSD's NHTSA Probe
Tesla uses a camera-based approach for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology, something that has raised questions among experts like Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER) CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who opined that building a camera-based autonomous driving tech was "going to be very difficult."
Meanwhile, Musk recently touted the growth of Tesla's autonomous driving tech, claiming that the technology could be spreading "faster than any technology ever" as the CEO also shared that the company's Robotaxis in Austin would go driverless by the end of 2025.
However, Tesla's FSD system has been under scrutiny by NHTSA, which recently launched a probe into 2.88 million Tesla vehicles after reviewing incidents of traffic violations and accidents involving cars on FSD or Autopilot.
LiDAR Still Has Takers
The technology still has many applications, with Tesla’s Robotaxi rival Alphabet Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) autonomous cab company Waymo, which favors a LiDAR-based approach, announcing that its Robotaxis would be operating on the highways in multiple cities.
LiDAR maker Hesai Technology (NASDAQ:HSAI) also announced that it entered into an agreement with Tesla’s rival Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ:LI) to become the automaker’s sole supplier of LiDAR technology.
Tesla scores well on Momentum and Quality metrics, while offering satisfactory Growth, but poor Value. Tesla also has a favorable price trend in the Medium and Long term. For more such insights, sign up for Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings today!
Price Action: TSLA slipped 1.88% to $401.25 at market close, but slipped 0.72% to $398.38 at the end of the regular trading session.
Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.
Read Next:
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
