Electric car race: The US newspaper pointed out that Tesla is wrong when it “refuses to push” a new technology, at risk of falling behind VinFast?

While more and more rival automakers are adding sensor Lidar technology to the development of new electric vehicles, Tesla is still conservative and sees this as just “costing money”. Tesla CEO said that if humans only need their eyes, the car also needs only a camera to be able to drive itself. It is because of this concept that Elon Musk has always been suspicious of Lidar – which VinFast and many other major manufacturers are testing and applying on their models.

So what is Lidar that Tesla constantly denies pushing and repeatedly criticized in public, even calling those who believe in this technology “stupid”, and car manufacturers using Lidar will never succeed?

Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) is a technology for sensing, detecting and positioning by laser

Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) is a technology of sensing, detecting and positioning by laser, thereby helping to measure the distance from the sensor to surrounding objects. The Lidar scanner will allow the creation of 3D models of objects around the sensor, but in terms of the image signal, the camera will help the artificial intelligence system better recognize the object.

In the race to develop self-driving cars, Lidar gradually became the standard. Many companies have equipped this technology, combined with other sensors and cameras, etc., to help the car better identify its surroundings and move safely. For example, the Waymo self-driving car project operating in California and Arizona is equipped with 5 Lidar sensors to expand the vehicle’s vision.

Tesla still doubts the functionality of Lidar

Lower production costs and an increase in demand for Lidar make this technology increasingly applied and tested, even with specialized vehicles. As of January, according to the latest statistics from BloombergNEF, 17 car manufacturers globally have launched 21 models equipped with Lidar sensors. This number is expected to continue to grow as systems such as Ultra Cruise become widely adopted.

Recently, Mercedes announced that it will “shake hands” with Luminar and plan to integrate Lidar sensor technology into upcoming vehicle lines. Volvo also has a similar move from mid-2021, while BMW chooses to cooperate with Innoviz to develop its iX model. GM has combined with Cepton and considers this as an official Lidar supplier.

However, the leading position in the Lidar application race still belongs to Chinese manufacturers. According to statistics, up to 70% of current or upcoming Lidar-equipped models on the market have the “brand” of China. In which, “homegrown” brands such as Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto are said to be the most notable. It is the acceptance of consumers with the desire to have access to more advanced technologies that has helped the Chinese electric vehicle market step out of its infancy and gradually assert its position.

According to experts, in the context that users expect more about standard safety driving features, Lidar will become more and more popular and popular, not only with high-end cars. At that time, the question was whether Elon Musk would be far behind his competitors, when according to the 5-level self-driving rating scale of the American Society of Automotive Engineers, Tesla’s technology is currently only level 2. that is not really complete.

Before that, in May, an image taken in Florida showed a Tesla Model Y fitted with Lidar sensors. Bloomberg at the time reported that Tesla was working with Luminar to apply Lidar sensor technology to its products.

The Tesla Model Y is fitted with Lidar sensors

However, according to some experts, the fact that a single Tesla has been discovered with sensor technology does not mean that Tesla has changed its opinion on Lidar. According to analyst Sam Abuelsamid, it is likely that Tesla is only using the Lidar sensor to verify its Full Self-Driving feature.

By: Bloomberg