The EU has a higher GDP than the US (albeit they're very close). A lot of strong engineering comes out of Europe, for example Arm or the self-driving work by Mercedes.
Which cars can you buy with Level 3 self-driving in the US? What states allow Waymo Level 3+ driving? Yes I can get around the SF Finance District if I sign up to be a beta tester with Waymo, and they do run in Pheonix, but Mercedes has full Level 3 signed off in Nevada. In fact Mercedes have said they will take ownership of self-driving accidents while Tesla for example points it to the individual driving.
We're talking about the engineering capability, not how the product is monetized. If a company had flawless L5 but it was exclusive to millionaires driving cross-continent, it would be impressive engineering albeit a niche business.
>Mercedes has full Level 3 signed off in Nevada
I wonder why they're testing in Nevada and not the EU. Could it be that the EU stifles innovation with its strict laws?