"Kill" Tesla? The laser radar test video goes viral online, Luminar Tech's stock price surged on Monday!
Luminar's stock price surged 27.13% to close at $6.42 due to a YouTube video. In the video, former NASA scientist Mark Roberts tested a car equipped with Luminar's lidar technology, claiming its performance surpassed that of Tesla's Autopilot. The video has attracted over 11 million views since its release on March 15. Despite the stock price increase, Luminar is still down about 80% from its peak last year. The company will announce its fourth-quarter results on March 20
According to Zhitong Finance APP, former NASA scientist Mark Robert test drove a car equipped with Luminar (LAZR.US) lidar technology in a YouTube video and stated that its performance surpasses Tesla's (TSLA.US) Autopilot feature. Following this, Luminar's stock price soared on Monday, closing up 27.13% at $6.42.
Since its release on YouTube on March 15, the video has attracted over 11 million views. In the video, Robert conducted six tests comparing the lidar technology with Tesla's system, stating that Tesla's system only uses "simple cameras" and image processing for navigation.
Luminar's stock price recorded its largest increase in over two months. Meanwhile, Tesla's stock price fell by 4.8%, underperforming the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices.
Robert has previously worked at NASA and Apple, and now runs a YouTube channel with over 65 million subscribers.
He described in the YouTube video that although Luminar provided the car for testing, he did not receive any financial compensation from the company, and the video is not a paid promotion. Luminar's X and LinkedIn accounts both posted links to Robert's YouTube video on March 15.
Lidar, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a sensor technology that emits laser pulses and measures the time it takes for them to reflect off objects and return. This data is used to calculate the distance to objects and create a three-dimensional map of objects within an area.
Despite the significant rise on Monday, Luminar's stock price is still down about 80% from its one-year high reached in July of last year. The company will announce its fourth-quarter results after the market closes on March 20
