Is Elon Wrong About Lidar?

Human beings are able to drive reasonably well (for some definition of “reasonably”), using only two visual sensors plus at least one audio sensor.<p>Elon seems to think that he can make a car that can do at least as well, with the same input limitations.<p>He may or may not be right, but personally I think it’s stupid to limit our devices to the same restrictions that we humans have.<p>If we can equip them to see outside of the human visual range of light perception, then I think we should probably do that. If we can equip them with more visual sensors, then I think we should probably do that. If we can equip them with sensors that have no human equivalent, then maybe we should do that, too.<p>I dunno. Maybe I’m just being stupid or something. I don’t get why he seems so violently opposed to LIDAR — other than the fact that if he added it now, then he would be proven to be a liar.

The truth is &#x27;ALLDAR&quot;, a combination of LIDAR and CAMERAS with an AI that selects the optimal solution as things change. Being tied to a single method give you problems when you hit the flaws inherent in that method alone. Use both or all three (if there is a number three??)

My take is that lidar is like ray tracing from decades ago. It was an expensive impractical &quot;holy grail&quot;.<p>But presently lidar sensors cost as much as a car.<p>If the new lidar startups ship lidar sensors inexpensively at scale, then the economics will change and adding lidar to cameras and ultrasonics will help the cars drive.<p>So right now it would save more lives to put more people in reasonably priced cars with cameras.<p>I&#x27;m also reminded of the study where bicycle helmet laws kill more people than they save (because the benefits of having more people exercise outweighs the risks of unhelmeted riders)