Do you really think any fine this trial could create would ever be enough? Trials like this tend to spur political action..but my point is clear. Tesla will pay some rounding error fine, the US Gov will do nothing to stop it. This trial cannot possibly generate an actual smackdown without political intervention. This isn't the EU.
It’s also perfectly reasonable for a Tesla to be held accountable for mistakes their AI makes.
A big part of a valuation of the company is that Tesla can continue to flout any rules and do whatever they want, while blaming anyone and anything in the way. Their valuation assumes that services like self driving will drive P&L.
If the company is held accountable, you have to factor in the cost of that. Not good for a stock as highly valued.
>Do you really think any fine this trial could create would ever be enough?
Certainly! American juries have been known to return multi-billion-dollar punitive damages when they're convinced a company has acted maliciously. Look at JNJ, which is on the hook for $9B for selling baby powder contaminated with asbestos.
