Tesla’s major advantage over other self-driving vehicles is hiding in plain sight (pardon the pun).

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) uses a vision-based approach that combines its cars’ suite of cameras and AI to navigate in self-driving mode. On the other hand, autonomous rivals such as Waymo and Cruise rely on LiDAR, a technology that Tesla CEO Elon Musk is rather dismissive about: “Anyone relying on lidar is doomed.” The company’s AI Director Andrej Karpathy explains the difference in a February lecture. (TESLARATI)

FSD with LiDAR may not be ultimately feasible

A car in the full self-driving (FSD) mode may not be able to navigate in areas where there are too many road uncertainties such as highways and inner-city zones. A pre-mapped approach simply cannot work efficiently here. It’s the reason Waymo is successful only in a few locations despite its technology being in development for many years.

Tesla’s sight-based approach combined with AI is more similar to how human beings drive. It does not rely on maps and what-it-sees-is-what-it-does. This is more brain-like and decisive in real-time. Since it’s Autopilot is an AI-based software, Tesla can update the car to the latest technology instantly and wirelessly. Moreover, it can do this for its entire fleet.

Video clips from Tesla and rivals such as Waymo look rather similar, however.

“The critical point to make is that it looks the same, but under the hood, it’s completely different in terms of the approach that we take,” says Karpathy.

It’s way more difficult!

Tesla’s AI-based approach is very difficult as it requires training a neural network. But the company is undeterred and determined to achieve an FSD solution that can be implemented in all its cars anywhere in the world – mapping or not.

If history repeats itself, Tesla critics may again be proved wrong.

The electric vehicle maker wrong-footed critics when it successfully developed the Model S – a mass-produced, premium electric vehicle designed and built from the ground up. Critics said it wasn’t possible and relegated the company to the status of a niche automaker. Tesla had other ideas, however.

Tesla’s FSD playbook may just work out the same way.

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