The real cap is the operator ultimately is accountable.

When a software defect kills a bunch of people, the robot operator’s owners will subject to a way lower level of liability. Airlines have international treaties that do this.

An objectively safer future is common carriers operating mass transit. Robot taxi will creating a monster that will price out private ownership in the long term. Objectively safer remains to be seen, and will require a nationwide government regulatory body that won’t exist for many years.

> real cap is the operator ultimately is accountable

Which is in practice lower than what a large operator would pay, particularly if they also write the software.

> will require a nationwide government regulatory body

It doesn’t require any such thing. That would be nice. But states are more than capable of regulating their roads.

Spoken by someone without knowledge of motor carrier regulation. That’s not a dig, few people are.

States are incredibly bad at regulating commercial entities. The Federal DOT contracts with a few universities (or at least they did) use evidence based sampling and enforcement, fulfilled by state authorities for trucks and buses in their scope. Only states like California, New York, Texas would have the resources to do it, and it would be really difficult to do anything effective when there’s 53 or more flavors.