GM auto pilot is secure according to consumer reports.
About solar panels, ok you get them. If you start using a lot of electricity like have a couple ev’s, aren’t you still paying for the electricity? You get less money back from the utility than if you didn’t have the ev’s. That is still money. You are still paying the full rate to charge the cars as before by getting less money back.
What you are describing is called "net metering" and is very common in places that (thankfully) didn't invest in FIT's and other overly-generous tariff systems, pushing the burden of cost for solar onto other ratepayers.
In what you are describing yes, if Jim Bob consumed 730kWh in March and pushed 630kWh back out through his meter, he'd owe on the difference (plus delivery and all the other charges associated with transmission, regulation...etc) so he'd be paying for only 100kWh. On the other hand, if he only consumed 530kWh and pushed 630kWh back to the grid, he'd get a credit on his account if that amount exceeded the costs he'd still owe for delivery, regulatory...etc.
In places with tiered rates (more after you exceed a certain # of kWh) these arrangements can prevent you from being bumped into the more expensive tier.
In places with TOU, where the daytime is usually the highest priced tier, depending on the structure of the agreement, if you are paid at the TOU rates, and then consuming during off-peak periods, you are much further ahead, because your exported kWh are compensated at a much higher rate than the kWh's you consume.
Now, that all being said, certain parts of Australia are already experiencing the result of too much solar penetration where rooftop feed-in overwhelms the transmission system and may exceed demand on the lower demand days, so they've started to cut people off when this happens, so they of course don't get paid. We'll see more of that going forward if solar installed capacity is allowed to grow unchecked, as not only will there be excess generation but also grid stability issues.
I think that if solar continues to grow cheaper, we'll see even a pull away from net metering. Folks will have to pay to connect to the grid, have an agreement with the operator as to their ability to shut-off the feed if the power isn't needed and perhaps they'll get market (wholesale) rate rather than retail. Will it make it less attractive? Yes, but that's also more fair. Large generating plants don't get paid retail rates, despite having spent massively more than Average Joe and his roof full of panels, and they are expected to participate in the market and by market rules.
If I had a river running by my property, I couldn't just dam it, put in a turbine and start running my meter backwards. My utility would have a conniption and they'd cut me off. What makes solar different? Green advocacy, subsidies, feed-in tariffs and government action forcing the hand of grid operators to accept it. Once that starts causing issues, as I said, I think we'll see a change.
