All I know is lidar costs are falling fast as volume picks up. I have seen multiple references online speculating Lidar sensors in the $200-300 range in 2025. As I am not a purchasing agent for an automobile company negotiating volume buys, I have to trust these reports are accurate. Mercedes decided to buy in China. But costs will come down from all manufacturers.
https://archive.ph/jx2lt
And I realize that Lidar is a component of a complete system along with cameras and radar. Lidar USED to be prohibitively expensive. That will not be the case in the future when they are shipping on millions of cars. Cars wont be coming to market with those Waymo looking instruments strapped on top of the car. they will be next generation sensors from Innoviz, Hesai, Luminar that are inconspicuous and cost hundreds not thousands. If Lidar provides capabilities that a vision-only system can not meet, a few hundred bucks per vehicle adder isnt going to prohibit the use of the technology. Especially if all auto manufacturers gravitate to a subscription model for FSD. The cost of Lidar can be easily buried/covered by that alone.