I'm now completely lost as to what kind of message the author is trying to convey here. One dude tries to go off on his own and people threaten to do horrible things to him to stop him, then another dude tries to go off on his own and they cheer him on, give him free stuff, and tell him he's a good example. ...wat...
it's a singular event, there's not much of a message here, you're reading a little too much.
The circumstances between the two are very different- one is less capable
and tied to an organization and crew, the other is ridiculous (ly powerful) and tied only to an AI of questionable motivations
the reactions by the crew are more or less the same, excepting the crew leader/driver who knows the MC is more or less smurfing on the car.