In recent trading, Luminar Technologies (LAZR, Financial), a company specializing in LiDAR technology, saw its stock rise by nearly 15% to $7.37, before settling at an 11% gain to $7.17. This follows a significant 27.13% increase the previous day, marking the largest single-day gain in over two months and shifting its year-to-date performance from negative to positive.
Conversely, electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla experienced a continued decline, with its stock dropping nearly 5% after a previous 4.79% decrease, bringing its year-to-date loss to over 40%.
The stock movements were influenced by a video released by Mark Rober, a former NASA engineer, who tested a vehicle equipped with Luminar’s LiDAR technology. Rober claimed the performance surpassed Tesla's autonomous driving capabilities. Rober, known for his work on NASA’s Mars rover and virtual reality projects at Apple, has a substantial following on YouTube, where the video has already garnered over 13 million views.
In the video, Rober conducted a series of six tests comparing Luminar’s LiDAR to Tesla’s camera system. The tests demonstrated that Tesla's cameras struggled to detect obstacles in smoke and water, and failed to identify false wall barriers. The video was shared on Luminar's social media, and Rober clarified that despite using a Luminar-provided vehicle, he received no financial compensation from the company.
Recent reports highlight the growing importance of LiDAR technology as autonomous driving approaches Level 3, where the need for LiDAR becomes crucial. Waymo's co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov emphasized LiDAR's critical role in Level 4 autonomous driving, providing precision and multi-dimensional data that visual-only systems cannot match.
