The first of anything will always be expensive. The real test is whether we get good learning curves for SMRs, that's (to me) their main advantage.
My point was comparing conventional nuclear reactors to SMRs. We used to build them for cheaper till we decided to fumble around (and in Germany and Austria's case, shut them down).
There are multiple causes of that fumbling around, and many/most irrational. But in the end Chernobyl and Fukushima really did happen. Now, even with that, there should be a learning curve for the additional technology due to the increased safety. We just never had a chance to climb that curve. And by "we", I meant the West. China appears to be making huge strides.
Ahh I see. Yeah, we really screwed the pooch on standard nuclear. We knowingly forced ourselves off the learning curve, and now people point at that as evidence it doesn't exist for nuclear.