Every thing is a sensor. It provides input. Tesla decided to remove more and more input while claiming it’s better. Even Tesla knows because the robo taxis need more sensors than they sell in stores. So latest HW4 you buy is already obsolete
In the sense that LIDAR can detect some things that visible light sensors cannot, it can make up (in some respects) for the lack of those other capabilities. It's not meant to replace them per se, but to provide another dimension of detection.