After a bit of research, I found out that they apparently did. Obviously every manufacturer would like to be able to use only proven technologies such as cameras and radar because they are cheap. One of the early Mercedes prototypes seemingly didn't have lidar <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlgGTi4Gs50&t=79>.

Since then, the consensus has been that without lidar, the systems would not meet safety standards. For example, the cars need to be able to detect fairly flat objects, such as pallets that have fallen onto the road, which are very difficult to see optically, especially in difficult lighting conditions. For this reason, and because the technology has come down in price, virtually everyone except Tesla, which is developing advanced driving systems, is using lidar.

This development is nearly a decade old. It is for this reason, combined with the overwhelming amount of Musk-related nonsense, that I objected so strongly.