User blog comment:Hihowru/Does Lelouch really die in the end?/@comment-90.201.180.177-20140621214001

Lelouch is dead, the writer confirms it in this magazine extract. The question of: is he dead or not was never up to the viewers personal preference. He explains that whether this is a happy ending for him is completely up to the viewer. Also that youtube video claiming to be the "original Japanese ending" showing him to be the cart driver is completely fake. If you have seen anyone claiming to have seen this ending in the actual episode then they are lying.

Ichiro Okouchi, 'Continue' vol 42, (October 2008). "Lelouch dead!? Was it a good one or a bad one!?"

" -Still, isn't it possible that defeating the wise ruler Schneizel, the person who was supposed to have brought order to the world, might lead to some [viewers] interpreting it as a Bad End?

Okouchi: That's true. There are probably a lot of people who think of it as a Bad End, a tragedy, considering the protagonist's, Lelouch's end as well. However, Lelouch says in the first episode: "Only those prepared to be shot are allowed to pull the trigger themselves." If you were to think of that as his pride, then I think his getting shot (killed) in the end was a logical end. Of course, I understand that not all of the viewers will accept this ending. There were people who wanted a happier ending, after all.

Was there a dispute among the staff members regarding the ending? Okouchi: No. It was decided fairly naturally. During the "Code Geass" script meetings, there are many cases in which there were a number of disputes, but there were barely any when it came to the scripts for (the previous series's) episode 25 and the final episode. I think everyone felt the same when it came to the end of the character that is Lelouch.

Why were you so bold as to choose this ending when the viewers might see it as a Bad End? Okouchi: Bold... yes, we were so bold as to chose this ending. Perhaps the show that is "Code Geass" ending up this way was decided the moment Director Taniguchi and I teamed up. I suppose you can call it our sense of aesthetics, or perhaps a part of our psychological makeup.

...

I see. So Lelouch's decision was also your, Mr. Okouchi's, and Director Taniguchi's decision. Okouchi: Which is why I think of both our and Lelouch's decision as Happy Ends. I believe that there will be better things in the tomorrow awaiting Nunnally, Kallen and the rest who have been left behind. And surely Lelouch, who was able to make this into a reality, can only be happy [about this].

...

Some unresolved mysteries still remain. Okouchi: From the very beginning, [I/we] never planned on explaining everything. In fact, if you ask me, I think we might have overdone the explanations. While it's undeniable that Lelouch's story has ended with a full stop, the other characters' stories are still on-going, and it's not like the world [of Code Geass] itself has come to an end either. [I/we] didn't want to end it by closing it up for good."

There you go your question is answered he is dead.