I understand that the scale might be an issue, but I really think you are worrying about it too early. 1st, Google will likely transfer all IP to a subsidiary

I understand that the scale might be an issue, but I really think you are worrying about it too early. 1st, Google will likely transfer all IP to a subsidiary which they own all the equity to. 2nd, If a lawsuit takes place and it is a specific make/model of car and it is due to world wide failures, it will likely take down 1 manufacturer, not the whole industry. 3rd, in the event that situation does raise risk profiles of automakers (more likely represented by higher require rates of returns for stock investors over insurance premiums), there will still be somebody who will try it. The reason is that if someone succeeds, they will have 100% of the market while everyone else will have 0% of the market for cars. 4th, if Google's subsidiary is sued and goes bankrupt, the IP will be sold in an IP auction which will likely go to someone else who will create self driving cars. The end game is self driving cars, how we get there is anyone's guess, but edge cases will be handled by courts. I can't imagine any scenario which cannot be resolved. In the event all scenarios fail, legislators will hopefully step in and create an imperfect, but practical framework.