Who the hell thinks beta software is appropriate for real-world applications in something as dangerous as vehicle control at highway speeds?

I honestly think it’s a mixture of public perception and liability. The company can try to spin negative insurances as “well, we said it’s still in beta, there are bugs we’re still ironing out”. And legally I think the stance is “we said it’s a beta version, if you used it in a dangerous situation that’s on you”.

I know it doesn’t exactly work that way, but I genuinely think they’re positioning that way at that if (read: when) a legal case pops up they can use the “beta” moniker as part of a defence.