Musk's reasoning is as follows: computer vision is getting better and cameras will always be cheap. We use LIDAR today because computer vision isn't that great.

Musk's reasoning is as follows: computer vision is getting better and cameras will always be cheap. We use LIDAR today because computer vision isn't that great. Although, LIDARs and sensors that do the same thing as LIDAR are getting cheaper. One thing that might change the game is the development of sensors that don't require mechanical scanners. DARPA recently demonstrated a non-mechanical way to scan a laser beam very fast and mm-wave radar is starting to approach the capabilities of LIDAR[1]. [0]http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131014006233/en/Panasonic-Develops-High-Precision-Wide-Field-View http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131014006233/en/Pana... [1]http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131014006233/en/Panasonic-Develops-High-Precision-Wide-Field-View http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131014006233/en/Pana...