Two Waymos Equipped With LiDAR Crash

The LiDAR vs. camera debate is a major battle in the autonomous vehicle and robotaxi race.

Elon Musk has long insisted that using only cameras on driverless cars is the most efficient way to achieve true self-driving capability. All Tesla models, including the robotaxis, use external cameras to navigate, steer, and brake, while robotaxi competitors, such as Waymo, use far more expensive LiDAR.

LiDAR is far more expensive, costing approximately $12,000 per vehicle, as compared with cameras, which come in at around $400 per car, according to Bloomberg. Musk has maintained that camera-only technology is the most „human” way to approach self-driving. In 2019, he said, „Lidar is lame,” adding, „In cars, it’s friggin’ stupid. It’s expensive and unnecessary.”

Musk’s insistence on a camera-only approach for self-driving has prompted critics to argue for the urgent need for LiDAR, with some calling Tesla’s reliance on cameras „Autopilot’s gravest flaw,” according to Car and Driver.

However, while Tesla critics continue to call for more LiDAR … two Waymo Jaguar SUVs equipped with LiDAR have crashed into each other this week.

According to Tesla investor Sawyer Merritt, mainstream media is silent over two Waymos crashing into each other:

This is the sad state of news these days. Today, a Waymo car crashed into another Waymo, but the media hasn’t covered it at all. I’ve seen no articles. If this were two @Tesla Robotaxis, it would be all over the news. Negative headlines against Tesla generate clicks. Ones about Waymo don’t as much, so most of the media doesn’t bother to write about it. Is this crash the end of the world? Absolutely not. But the media would certainly paint it that way if it were Tesla Robotaxis. Nonetheless, the work toward a safer driverless future presses on.

This is the sad state of news these days. Today, a Waymo car crashed into another Waymo, but the media hasn’t covered it at all. I’ve seen no articles. If this were two @Tesla Robotaxis, it would be all over the news. Negative headlines against Tesla generate clicks. Ones about… https://t.co/XsdJvTRbsW pic.twitter.com/jOjhGccRal

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) July 31, 2025

„Waymo car crashed. Not a single headline. If Tesla Robotaxi had even a tiny intervention, it would’ve been all over the news,” X user DOGE Designer wrote, with Elon Musk chiming in with a „Hmm.”