Fair point on the optics. In hindsight, clear casing would have been the smart play for 2026.
That said, the scrutiny shifted quickly from the 'black box' visual to the actual tech. It wasn't just a physical inspection; they brought in a forensic expert to audit the Rust borrow checker logs and interrupt handlers to verify the triggers were benign. It turned into a very technical interview, just with higher stakes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Mohamed_clock_incident