There was a dispute involving LTO-8 that just recently was resolved, so LTO-8 tape should now be available in the US. I wasn't following it closely, so I can't give any real insight, but it explains the wording.
"HP LTO-8 Ultrium, 30 TB, RW Data Cartridge Tape. Exhaustively tested, HPE LTO Ultrium cartridges meet all your demands for maximum reliability when restoring data, offering high storage density, ease of management and scalable storage and backup performance."
TapeandMedia.com says
"1 - HPE LTO Ultrium 8 Tape with a capacity of 12 TB and up to 30 TB compressed capacity."
Yeah, they all seem to be between $2,000 and $3,000, and I can't imagine how these things could be much more complicated than a dvd drive, if they aren't simpler.
Open a DVD player then open a VHS player, the dvd does more complicated things on a tech level but VHS player is harder and more expensive to make.
Early gen drives are cheap on the second hand market, you can pick up a crummy one for under $100, tape usually included.
https://www.google.com/shopping/product/10502190238469223139