I think most big players (like Google) are conscious that 1) there is a lot of money to make 2) a few deaths in a row will scare the public and the regulators
So they are not cutting corners. I'll be more concerned about the companies playing catch up, or the cheap clone that will try to cut on the costly sensor like Lidar and on the long and rigorous process required to develop it correctly. .
I'm guessing that Google had deployed Level 4, built with legacy technology. Very large codebase, strong dependency on a well serviced Lidar, dependency on accurate calibration, dependency on real-time high fidelity maps. A solution scalable to well-managed fleets in good neighborhoods. If this is the case, the others still have a chance at getting to Level 5 in the same time frame as Google. If they play the technology in a right way.
