[jbotz]

Maybe it's because to do cutting edge self-driving you need cutting edge software and machine learning engineers, and software engineers are less likely to put up with Elon's crap because they have more options?

Tesla and Space X get heavy talent (despite the downsides of working for Elon Musk) because in their primary fields they are the leader by a large enough margin that if you're one of the best there aren't a lot of other places to go that are going to really challenge you. That's just not the case for the software involved.