There is independent government oversight. That’s NHTSA, the agency doing these investigations. The companies operating these vehicles also have insurance as a requirement of public operating permits (managed by the states). NHTSA also requires mandatory reporting of accidents involving these vehicles and has safety standards.

The only thing missing is the fee, and I’m not sure what purpose that’s supposed to serve. Regulators shouldn’t be directly paid by the organizations they’re regulating.

Just for context, a large chunk of “top tech talent” at the companies in the study are going to be making 200-400k. While there’s still going to be issues with pay, it’s a pretty different situation than fast food workers or similar.