Li Xiang’s Perspective on Lidar Technology
Li Auto’s CEO, Li Xiang, has shared insights on the importance of Lidar technology for autonomous driving in China, countering Elon Musk’s opposition to Lidar systems.
He suggests that Musk’s stance might shift if he experienced driving conditions on Chinese highways during nighttime hours.
Li emphasized that China’s driving environment presents unique challenges that make Lidar particularly valuable for safety.
He further emphasized Lidar’s superior detection capabilities, identifying objects up to 200 meters away, while cameras are limited to 100 meters.
Li Auto L9’s Lidar Technology:
According to Li, This advantage is crucial in China, where drivers often face hazards like large trucks with malfunctioning taillights on main roads.
The safety imperative is particularly significant for Li Auto, given their focus on family vehicles.
Li stated,
“I think it’s very important because our cars are family-oriented, and the safety of everyone’s life is very important.”
This commitment to safety has led Li Auto to incorporate Lidar in their current vehicle lineup, with plans to continue its use in future models.
Tesla’s Contrasting Approach
Elon Musk and Tesla maintain a distinctly different position on autonomous driving technology.
Tesla’s approach, known as Tesla Vision, relies exclusively on cameras and artificial intelligence, deliberately excluding Lidar technology.
Tesla’s Autopilot Technology:
This system has demonstrated promising results, with the recent Full Self-Driving (Supervised) V13 receiving positive feedback from Tesla users.
Musk has criticized Lidar as a “crutch,” predicting that companies relying on it for autonomous driving will be proven wrong.
However, it’s worth noting that Musk’s opposition to Lidar is specific to autonomous driving applications.
He has acknowledged the technology’s value in other contexts, as evidenced by its use in SpaceX’s Dragon capsule.
Industry Context
Reports from CNEV Post indicate that most Chinese automakers pursuing autonomous driving have chosen to include Lidar in their systems.
