SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Luminar Technologies, maker of lidar sensors for self-driving cars, said on Tuesday that Tesla was the largest customer for its sensors in the first quarter, accounting for more than 10% of its total revenue of $21 million. dollars. during the period.
Tesla’s electric vehicles sold do not use lidars and it is unclear where Tesla used the sensors. Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously criticized rivals’ use of lidar sensors, which he called “expensive add-ons.”
“Lidar is a fool’s errand. And anyone who relies on Lidar is doomed,” Musk said in 2019.
Lidar, which stands for light detection and ranging, emits pulses of light that are reflected by objects, allowing autonomous driving systems and driver assistance software to obtain a three-dimensional map of the road. Many companies and self-driving experts consider it crucial, especially in low-light situations.
Tesla has eliminated other sensors like radar and sound sensors in recent years. It relies on cameras to detect objects for its Autopilot or Full Self-Driving software, which does not make its vehicles autonomous.
Photos of Tesla vehicles equipped with lidar sensors on the roof have circulated on social media. Tesla has in the past denied speculation that it might use lidars as part of its autopilot system, saying: “We regularly test our own technologies against other sensors to calibrate our camera, sonar and radar system”.
Musk is betting big on self-driving cars and plans to unveil a robo-taxi in August. Competitors like GM Cruise have reduced their investments in self-driving cars, hampered by heavy investments and technological and regulatory challenges.
Luminar reported a loss of $10.46 million in the first quarter. Its shares closed at $1.65 apiece on Tuesday, down from $41.80 in 2020.
The Florida-based company announced last week that it would reduce its workforce by about 20% and reduce its in-house manufacturing as part of restructuring plans.
(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Chris Reese)
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