> "manufacturers are responsible for 100% of everything that happens when automation is active" will stifle tech development
That's... technically true but not at all an acceptable explanation for anything. We don't just go ahead and do whatever we want to "speed up innovation". All kinds of abuse constantly gets bundled under the "only way to innovate" umbrella.
If a manufacturer advertises a feature and even charges money for it then it certainly should take responsibility for the feature working as expected and for the fallout from any failure outside of user control. The customer insures against things that are their own doing, or simply cannot be assigned to someone (weather?). The company pays for it's mistake directly, not via "market forces". That's why companies don't get out of such lawsuits by just claiming "innovation" and "the market will deal with us".
"Driving" is absolutely core to a car. It's not a GPS where the manufacturer can or should be able to just say "we take no responsibilities for the outcome of a GPS or (self)driver malfunction".
If the insurance on your car suddenly triples because the stuck accelerator pedal caused accidents, you're now left with a car which is not only terribly expensive to operate but also impossible to sell because the expense follows the car. All because of something the manufacturer caused. And that will also stifle innovation in all kinds of ways.
Insurance shouldn't (but probably will anyway) go up when your brake pedal is discovered to be defective, because the insurance is there to pay for the financial loss caused by the defective pedal. The loss in the resale value of your car and the increase in future premiums are losses caused by the defective pedal.
Of course, the insurance company can simplify this by just not charging you more for future premiums, rather than paying you for future premiums and taking it back later. And by not charging other people more for future premiums, they preserve the resale value of the car.
This is an automobile equivalent of "why health insurance should cover preexisting conditions"--any increase in future premiums caused by your condition is an expense caused by the condition, so your insurance should pay for it. If you switch companies, technically the first company should pay for the increased premiums from the second company, but averaged over the whole market this is still equivalent to just not increasing premiums.
> Insurance shouldn't (but probably will anyway) go up when your brake pedal is discovered to be defective, because the insurance is there to pay for the financial loss caused by the defective pedal. The loss in the resale value of your car and the increase in future premiums are losses caused by the defective pedal.
I actually have (some) personal experience with that. When Toyota has the defective accelerator pedal issue:
1. I got a check from Toyota from a settlement compensating me for the reduced resale value of my car due to the issue.
That's... technically true but not at all an acceptable explanation for anything. We don't just go ahead and do whatever we want to "speed up innovation". All kinds of abuse constantly gets bundled under the "only way to innovate" umbrella.
If a manufacturer advertises a feature and even charges money for it then it certainly should take responsibility for the feature working as expected and for the fallout from any failure outside of user control. The customer insures against things that are their own doing, or simply cannot be assigned to someone (weather?). The company pays for it's mistake directly, not via "market forces". That's why companies don't get out of such lawsuits by just claiming "innovation" and "the market will deal with us".
"Driving" is absolutely core to a car. It's not a GPS where the manufacturer can or should be able to just say "we take no responsibilities for the outcome of a GPS or (self)driver malfunction".
If the insurance on your car suddenly triples because the stuck accelerator pedal caused accidents, you're now left with a car which is not only terribly expensive to operate but also impossible to sell because the expense follows the car. All because of something the manufacturer caused. And that will also stifle innovation in all kinds of ways.