I do not understand how a large number of software vendors have managed to turn "beta testing" into a desirable way to spend time. People even compete to be a

I do not understand how a large number of software vendors have managed to turn "beta testing" into a desirable way to spend time. People even compete to be allowed to perform free beta testing. Great from a business perspective, saves a lot of money on QA. I prefer to use the software once it has been fully released and has been out for a while for the vendor to iron out any major issues. To freely chose to beta test the self-driving feature of a huge automobile travelling at high speed on public roads (not a test track) is nearly impossible for me to understand. Where it the upside to it? Being able to blog about how you nearly died? Had it gone a bit farther this would have been a good candidate for a Darwin award.