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Elon Musk doesn\u2019t like lidar, the laser sensor that powers many companies\u2019 self-driving ambitions. He previously called it a \u201ccrutch\u201d<\/a> and said any company that relies on lidar for its autonomous capabilities was \u201cdoomed.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Well, apparently Tesla is stocking up on crutches. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n In its quarterly earnings report released today<\/a>, Orlando-based lidar manufacturer Luminar disclosed that Tesla was its \u201clargest LiDAR customer in Q1,\u201d comprising more than 10 percent of the company\u2019s revenue for the quarter. That translates to around $2.1 million worth of lidar, based on Luminar\u2019s $21 million in revenue for the quarter. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Tesla is stocking up on crutches<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It\u2019s a remarkable reversal for Tesla, which has famously winnowed down over the years the number of sensors it uses to power its advanced driver-assist features like Autopilot and Full Self-Driving \u2014 features that Musk has constantly sold as a precursor to a fully autonomous vehicle fleet. Later this year, Tesla is expected to reveal a robotaxi prototype<\/a> on which Musk is betting the future of his company. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Musk\u2019s lidar allergy was even on display during Tesla\u2019s own quarterly earnings call, in which he boasted about how his vehicles only rely on camera-based vision systems to power their driver-assist features. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt is obvious that our solution with a relatively low-cost inference computer and standard cameras can achieve self-driving,\u201d Musk said. \u201cNo lidars, no radars, ultrasonic. Nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It\u2019s a remarkable reversal for Tesla<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n What Tesla is doing with $2.1 million worth of Luminar lidar is anyone\u2019s guess. Luminar spokesperson Milin Mehta declined to comment, and Tesla hasn\u2019t responded officially to any reporters\u2019 queries since 2019. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n When I asked Luminar founder and CEO Austin Russell in 2021<\/a> specifically about the Tesla deal, he declined to comment, citing \u201ccustomer confidentiality.\u201d He did note that Luminar sells its older Hydra lidar units to some customers doing \u201ctesting, development… data collection, [and] benchmarking.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Even if Tesla is using Luminar\u2019s lidar to validate its Full Self-Driving feature in preparation for a robotaxi launch, that\u2019s still a lot<\/em> of lidar. According to Luminar, individual lidar sensors cost around $1,000, including software. Did Tesla buy 2,100 lidars for its vehicles? Maybe! The company is quietly operating an autonomous testing fleet in a number of cities, including San Francisco and Las Vegas. Is it going to retrofit those company-owned vehicles with Luminar\u2019s lidar? If it does, people will notice \u2014 just like they noticed the one Model Y in Florida several years ago. We\u2019ll know soon enough whether those vehicles are set to hit the road. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n What does seem clear is that Tesla is changing its tune on lidar, even if publicly Musk is still anti-lidar. Eventually, the CEO himself may be forced to swallow his pride and admit that lasers are indeed the sauce<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n