Robert Rose, who was previously the engineering manager behind Tesla's Autopilot feature, has joined Google. First reported by 9to5Google, Rose's LinkedIn profile indicates that he left Tesla shortly after the Autopilot feature was rolled out in October, joining Google a month later.
It's possible that Rose is involved with Google's self-driving car project, but his position at the company is simply listed as Software Engineer for Google Robotics, leaving the door open for other possibilities at Google-owned companies like robotics arm Boston Dynamics. Rose also previously held positions at SpaceX, Sony, and HP.
Google has been ramping up testing of its self-driving car project quite a bit lately, expanding road tests to cities in Texas and Virginia earlier this year. In September Google also made another big hire, picking up ex-Hyundai CEO John Krafcik to head up the self-driving car project as CEO.
Source: LinkedIn; Via: 9to5Google
