Tesla considers lasers to keep robotaxi cameras clear, engineering VP says

Tesla might one day clear its robotaxi cameras with lasers rather than wiper blades, Vice President of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy said on a new episode of Jay Leno's Garage released on Monday, Teslarati reported.

Firing focused lasers at a small area can clear a sheet of water and form a barrier, Moravy said, and for autonomy it could be enough to clean only the spot where the camera sits, since doing a whole windshield would need too many lasers. He gave no timeline and described the idea as under consideration, not a confirmed feature.

The idea echoes a Tesla patent for pulsed laser cleaning of debris on glass, filed in May 2019, granted in September 2021, with an updated divisional version granted on 31 March 2026. The filing covers windshields and side windows as well as camera lenses and solar panels.

The cleaning question grows with the driverless fleet: on Monday the company opened unsupervised Robotaxi rides in San Antonio, its eighth city, and widened its Austin service area the same day, in markets that include rainy Houston, Miami and Tampa.