Every Cruise Automation Chevy Bolt is using two Velodyne HDL-32E, each of which has a list price of $30,000. Price aside, Velodyne is really struggling to produce these units. Some recent HN comments have mentioned lead times of 40 weeks [1], though the upcoming Velodyne factory should alleviate these issues in 2018 [1].
We will need miracles in lidar technology for GM to hit their target of thousands of vehicles next year.
Miracles in Lidar are coming. Quanergy, Infineon, Innoviz and Velodyne are all rushing to technologize solid state Lidar, which offers comparable performance specs to the spinning kfc bucket at quoted prices ranging from $250-$40. Imagine all the places we'll be using Lidar if it gets that cheap, the applications extend well beyond self driving cars.
From a capitalism point of view, the high price and long lead times imply that the market is signalling that it would like new entrants. Does Velodyne own patents that would keep out other players?
We will need miracles in lidar technology for GM to hit their target of thousands of vehicles next year.
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13470401