Tesla's Moravy floats lasers to keep robotaxi camera areas clear of water

Tesla may one day use lasers rather than wiper blades to keep the cameras on its robotaxis clear, Lars Moravy, the company's Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, said in an episode of Jay Leno's Garage released Monday, according to Tesla-focused site Teslarati.

Moravy appeared in the episode with design chief Franz von Holzhausen, and the two walked Leno through the Model Y L. Moravy said firing lasers at a focused area could clear water and form a barrier, and that clearing only the camera's area could suit autonomous vehicles.

“If you fire them in a focused area, you can clean the sheet of water and create a barrier.”

Lars Moravy, Tesla Vice President of Vehicle Engineering

Moravy added that cleaning an entire windshield would require too many lasers to be practical, Teslarati reported. He gave no timeline and described the setup as something Tesla is considering rather than a confirmed feature.

A patent from 2019

The remark recalls a Tesla patent for pulsed laser cleaning of debris on glass in vehicles and solar assemblies, according to Teslarati. The company filed it in May 2019 and the U.S. Patent Office granted it in September 2021, and a later divisional version was granted on March 31, 2026.

Per the report, the described system detects debris on the glass and identifies its type. It then fires the laser in pulses at a set rate, so the beam reaches no further than the glass itself. The filing lists windshields, side windows, camera lenses and solar panels as possible targets.

Why it matters for robotaxis

Teslarati noted that a robotaxi heading to its next pickup has nobody aboard to notice a smeared windshield. It said Tesla has so far worked on the problem with conventional hardware, including washers spotted on side repeater cameras of Model Y Robotaxis in Austin in January, and a lens-cleaning patent granted in May that describes a fluid and wiper assembly.

A laser would remove the need for fluid and blades, both of which need regular replacement across a fleet, the report said. The report added that Tesla began unsupervised Robotaxi rides in San Antonio, its eighth city, on the same Monday and enlarged its Austin service area. It noted that several markets, including Houston, Miami and Tampa, see heavy seasonal rain.