Lidar has been winning over more supporters in the automotive industry as prices rapidly decline. Developers are betting that once their sensors are cheap enough, it’ll be difficult to justify not using lidar in vehicles.

Elon Musk is skeptical of putting lidar sensors on vehicles, but a growing number of his competitors are quietly adding the technology to their lineup.

Mercedes-Benz plans to use laser sensors from Luminar Technologies Inc. in a next-generation vehicle platform to enable semi-autonomous driving features on highways.

Lucid Group Inc. said its debut battery-electric vehicle will be the first production car in the U.S. to include a purpose-built laser sensor, or lidar, enabling a broad range of advanced driver-assistance features.

Tesla Inc., whose boss Elon Musk says he can develop a fully self-driving car without using laser-sensor technology, has a contract to use such lidar sensors from Luminar Technologies Inc. for testing and development, according to people familiar with the matter.

Apple Inc. is in discussions with multiple suppliers of self-driving car sensors known as lidar, according to people familiar with the matter, a key milestone toward development of its first passenger vehicle.

AEye Inc., a startup that makes lidar systems for self-driving vehicles, is going public by merging with blank-check company CF Finance Acquisition Corp. III in a deal valued at $2 billion.

Aeva, a laser-sensor startup founded by two ex-Apple Inc. engineers, is poised to increase its war chest by $200 million with an investment by a Hong Kong-based hedge fund ahead of its public listing via a reverse merger.