I suspect you're right. I also suspect they'll be about as successful in getting regulatory approval for a "novel interface" for driving as the Dvorak keyboard

I suspect you're right. I also suspect they'll be about as successful in getting regulatory approval for a "novel interface" for driving as the Dvorak keyboard has proven to be in supplanting qwerty. Unless Apple assumes all the risk, and the people inside just become passengers in a device insured by Apple, there are way too many outdated and complex multi jurisdictions rules about things like steering wheels, brake pedals, and driving positions. The number of laws that'd require changing here in Australia to allow me to buy and "drive" one of these without a steering wheel or brake pedal is staggering. (Maybe it'll only be for people like Jobs, who can afford workarounds and lawyers to avoid having number plates on their cars?)