Sergei Brin "spending most of my time on driverless cars." TESLA PARTNERSHIP?

[callmesam]

SERGEY BRIN ANNOUNCES DRIVERLESS CARS IS HIS NEXT COMMERCIAL FOCUS

SamoSam | MAY 23, 2013

Brin happens by a reporter and two Google spokes*people eating lunch outside and spontaneously joins the group. “I think I’m going to spend most of my time now on cars,” he says, by way of introduction.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-22/inside-googles-secret-la...
Elon lets slip his autopilot ambitions for Tesla?

 

[30seconds]

I saw a Google Lexus SUV self driver coming up the 280 in SF on Tuesday. Was somewhat weird as there was still someone in the driver's seat, but "no hands"

More surreal was watching a Model S pass in in my rearview a few minutes later.

 

[callmesam]

I saw a Google Lexus SUV self driver coming up the 280 in SF on Tuesday. Was somewhat weird as there was still someone in the driver's seat, but "no hands"

More surreal was watching a Model S pass in in my rearview a few minutes later.

I'm hoping that Google buys 200 Model S for their driverless car fleet and then shares them with employees who get to test out the technology.

 

[Ludus]

http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Driverless-cars-OK-d-for-California-roads-3893374.php

By january 2015, California is supposed to have regulations in place. It would be great to see Google buy a hundred model S's and make them autonomous. Unlike Prius orLexus versions that would really seem like the leading edge. Elon sounds very practical and serious about it in saying that he doesn't think the Google lidar based tech is going to be in a real consumer version.

I'd like to see a "Nurburgring" edition model S anyway...tweaked to raise the top speed, add the front motor, maximize performance. It would be an amazing follow up if having turned in great numbers with a pro-driver on the Nurburgring, the model S could take the tricks it learned from that and do the course on it's own driverless.

Autopiloted cars will win approval by proving they can compete with the best human drivers. Nurburgring is an appropriate early venue for this (kinda silly with a Prius) because safety issues of pushing the envelope around human driven cars is not an issue. Electrics and Autopiloted robot cars belong in motor sports...certainly would make them more interesting to me