It is interesting that Apple, a tech giant and not a carmaker, has been a most talked about company in the automobile industry. Numerous sources have given reports concerning Apple Inc. and the company’s intention to enter the automotive realm. While earlier reports speculated that Apple was planning to gradually diversify into car production, novel reports have indicated that Apple is in fact in the process of electric vehicle development. The possible vehicle has a great compatibility with independent technologies. It now seems that Apple intends for the car to be produced by the year 2020.
Although, numerous accounts have suggested that Apple might launch its first electric car by 2020, most of the reports in question are off record, and this makes it hard to differentiate between false conjecture and the industry secrets. Bloomberg News released such a report and it claimed that almost 200 employees of Apple are currently working on technologies like batteries and robotics for the electric car project. There are other stories that have also linked Apple with automobile technology and one such example is a novel lawsuit. The lawsuit claimed that the company has been outsourcing engineers from manufacturers of batteries. Vehicles of Apple registered vans were spotted in San Francisco and Hawaii. The question remains whether Apple is working upon this autonomous technology.
Funding will not be a major problem, if there are plans to research and develop such a huge project. The company had about $178 million dollars in cash in the last quarter and it also seems that Tim Cook, the company’s CEO is finding ways for redirecting the money rather than giving it back to shareholders. Two analysts working with Barclays, Brian Johnson and Ben Reitz wrote a letter to investors noting that as a new entrant to the auto market, Apple would have some advantages. Among the major advantages is the company’s potential to utilize multiple devices like phones and tablets in the car.
One name that frequently resurfaces when talking about Apple and its electric car project is Tesla. Analysts are still wondering if both companies will be competitors for the electric vehicle market. While some claim that the companies will compete, others think that the two companies will merge. One entrepreneur and investor, Jason Calacanis opines that there will be a partnership forming in eighteen month’s time. He has predicted that Tesla will be bought by Apple for about $75 billion. On the other hand, a Creative Strategies’ analyst thinks that the two companies are likely to remain separate entities.