In a recent letter to shareholders, Luminar Technologies revealed that electric vehicle giant Tesla was its largest customer for LIDAR products in the first quarter of 2024, accounting for over 10% of its revenue. However, a comment by Tesla CEO Elon Musk has hinted at a potential shift in their business relationship.
Musk, known for his outspoken views on LIDAR, previously dismissed it as a “crutch” for self-driving technology. Despite this, Tesla has reportedly used LIDAR units from Luminar to validate vision data on its test vehicles, a practice that Musk defended as necessary for testing and development purposes.
Responding to Luminar’s disclosure, Musk indicated a possible change in Tesla’s approach, stating, “We don’t need them even for that anymore,” suggesting a reduced reliance on LIDAR for data collection.
We don’t need them even for that anymore
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 8, 2024
Critics of Tesla have long pointed to its use of LIDAR as contradictory to Musk’s earlier statements. However, analysts have noted that Musk’s comments were likely directed at using LIDAR in production vehicles, rather than for testing.
During Luminar’s earnings call, CEO Tom Fennimore mentioned that while Tesla has ordered LIDAR units from them before, it has not been a consistent customer. “This isn’t the first time that they’ve ordered LIDARs from us, but I would say it’s been more lumpy than recurring. What exactly they’re doing with them, we can only speculate,” Fennimore remarked.
Tesla’s focus on Full Self-Driving (FSD) remains strong, with Musk recently announcing the unveiling of the company’s dedicated Robotaxi, the “Cybercab,” on August 8, 2024. Despite this commitment to autonomy, Musk clarified that Tesla is not staking the company’s future on FSD, but believes it to be a crucial strategic move. “Going balls to the wall for autonomy is a blindingly obvious move,” Musk emphasized, likening other approaches to “variations on a horse carriage.”
