Hotz isn’t an expert, he’s a loudmouth tinkerer who never produced anything working before NHTSA shut him down. I’ve never heard Levandowski comment on the long-term necessity of lidar, but actions speak louder than words: Otto/Uber definitely used lidar (actually, the entire lawsuit with Waymo was over their lidar tech. Why would Levandowski have risked everything stealing it if he didn’t think it was necessary?)

Elon really is alone in claiming that lidar isn’t needed for self-driving.