Tesla is going a different way with radar+cameras. Lidar TODAY is too expensive for normal priced vehicles, google's solution is very expensive, volvo seems to be targeting large trucks which are less price sensitive. The price of the future volvo passenger cars hasn't been announced, has it?

Society seems hyper sensitive to different risks, even if lower than existing risks. Thus a tesla fire is big news, even if the rate is less than the normal gas car fires. Thus weaknesses of lidar (like say fog) could cause problems, even if safer than existing cars. This is complicated by the humans driving cars around. Imagine heavy fog on the highway, and that humans decide that 45mph is safe, and the telsa (with a camera+radar system) decides on similar. Lidar might well decide the safe speed is less, and get rear ended more.

Reference for the 3 rammed cars "at speed"? The one I saw the car in front slowed, then accelerated, and merged right before a stopped car. The telsa slowed, then accelerated, decided it wasn't safe to merge, and braked hard. It did hit the car, but not very fast. Not sure I would have done better myself.