14 DAY TRIAL // Tesla Motors, the company that is building the successful electric car Tesla Model S, is using Ubuntu to power its displays and is looking for designers.
Tesla Motors has made a name for itself with its insane performance electric cars. When most of the auto manufacturers are looking to build small electric cars, the American company is building an electric sports car that looks amazing and handles like a dream.
To top it all off, it seems that its latest car, Tesla Model S, is using Ubuntu for the infotainment displays, and the company is looking for some talented designers that will make the system much more attractive.
Tesla has already implemented a huge array of electronics in the car, and the huge 17-inch central console display is just the tip of the iceberg. It's most likely the most advanced car in terms of electronics and comes with HD radio, online radio, on-demand Internet radio, USB & Bluetooth connectivity, Google Maps with live traffic information, Internet browser, electronic car system controls, full HD backup camera, and phone.
All these features are being powered by a modified Ubuntu distribution, although it's not exactly known version is being used in the car. This specific information might not have been discovered so soon had someone not managed to hack the car by using an Ethernet cable and installing a Firefox browser. The Tesla company was not happy about it and called it industrial espionage.
Canonical's Michael Hall also explained that the Tesla makers might need some help with the design (and it wouldn't be a bad idea if they also worked a little on security).
“We recently learned that the Tesla model S runs Ubuntu for their infotainment displays, and now they're looking for a designer. Some of you here might be interested,” said Michael Hall on Google Plus.
The position being offered by Tesla is called Sr. UI/UX Designer, and it might be a little hard to fill the shoes that have been made available.
“The successful candidate will have a proven track record of excellence and a thorough working knowledge of UI and UX Design. Key objectives will be to collaborate with interaction designers, software engineers and project managers. Probably having accrued considerable experience at an OEM, Mobile OS or Apps company is essential to this role,” notes the job offer.
If you feel that you meet enough of the insane criteria put forward by Tesla, you can apply for the job. If you do manage to get hired, maybe you can also advise them a little about securing the operating system from outside intrusions.
You can also check out the test drive of the Tesla Model S made by our coleagues from autoevolution.