I don't understand why people keep insisting on bringing up Musk's undergrad degree as somehow evidence of his expertise. Four years of schooling many decades ago isn't a relevant "background in physics" to demonstrate that Musk is right and all of the other engineers working at competitors are wrong.
An intelligent 'driving brain' with LIDAR data can be better than one with camera data. It's probably also easier to do well with Lidar. As such Lidar might be viewed as a crutch, if and when the brain functions well without it.
I don't think anyone disputes these things. The main point of disagreement is 'when'.
Question- hasn’t the cost of LIDAR equipment dropped drastically in the past year or two?
People like Musk are proof that MBAs are overhyped.