Can't comment on this specific cost, but ~20 years ago when I worked at Ford I remember seeing a little poster on the wall celebrating how they value engineered $200 or so out of a Taurus by replacing or eliminating a lot of small parts and pieces.
Tesla is bumping up against 1M cars built per year. Saving $10/car can add up to real money.
Depends. SKU count is lower for sure. Wire count is less too. And in Tesla's case (Model S) where there is no real dashboard with a speedometer at all - it really would make a difference.
Didn't found how much Tesla pays for it's screen, but at $300 and even $500 I wouldn't be surprised if it would be still cheaper.
