I can kind of understand that. Cars are not only a motor on 4 wheels. Design is one of the most important aspects when man building and selling cars, so it is not strange that people think of the camera as something that doesn't fit.
Until Tesla came and showed an electrical car that actually DID attract car / driving fans, the majority of people wouldn't consider an electrical car because most of them were plain ugly, even if the technology underneath was plain neat.
Same thing with self driving cars. I know it's not top priority for now, but I think the real breakthrough will be achieved by a completely redesigned and appealing car.
But part of the point of Tesla is that lots of hobbyists and researchers and failed companies already did the work for proving that electric cars are feasible on a basic level. They could take that work and on top of it build cars that are beautiful and have refined engineering.
Aside from the DARPA challenge in the desert, Google has had to start from square 1, so it needs to accept that it will build ugly cars first.
