I think part of the reason for these fluctuations is that certain divisions within Google are under a lot of pressure to be profitable. So maybe Maps were reall

I think part of the reason for these fluctuations is that certain divisions within Google are under a lot of pressure to be profitable. So maybe Maps were really looking hard to make money because this kind of order came down the line from Page or whomever (I'm sure that division has a comparatively huge budget, with their scale of operations on the ground). After which maybe they realized that the kind of profitability that drives developers away is not what they were looking for. The whole "do no evil" handwringing is a bit misplaced here, I think. Google is providing a service, they're free to set their prices. They're not trying to sabotage the OSM project, and the api remains free for not for profit use.