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The likely reason Uber wouldn't play ball is that they wanted to be able to carry paying passengers in their test vehicles, which probably wouldn't be allowed under the test regulations, or even if it was, would leave them open to much more liability if there was an accident.

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That's probably part of it, but the DMV seems to consider it a "manufacturers testing permit," which means that Volvo would have to be substantially involved in the process on Uber's behalf as they do not already have a permit of their own. [0]

The draft rules also require quite a bit of insurance and items like "autonomous test driver training programs" to be in place for a legal operation. [1]

[0]: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/vr/autonomous/testi...

[1]: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/wcm/connect/211897ae-c58a-4f28...

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