Though I'm probably wrong, it'd be nice to consider the key phrase in that sentence is "...before (they) seriously considered the technology". While automakers

Though I'm probably wrong, it'd be nice to consider the key phrase in that sentence is "...before (they) seriously considered the technology". While automakers and others have been testing the technology for years, Google was probably the first to drop huge $$ into the effort, with what we can assume was aimed at bringing it to mass-market / production-level. So, yeah they probably were the first to "seriously consider" the idea of mass-market autonomous vehicles. Likewise, despite Apple's other faults, bringing quality touchscreen technology to high volume mobile devices back in 2007 is the what made that company stand out from those who preceded them in that endeavor.