Upstart automobile manufacturer Tesla Motors has announced the hiring of Doug Field, former vice president of Mac Hardware Engineering, to lead its development of new vehicles.
Field has been at Apple for more than 5 years and led the development of recent models of the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and iMac -- all of which have seen significant redesigns in past years.
"Doug has demonstrated the leadership and technical talent to develop and deliver outstanding products, including what are widely considered the best computers in the world," said Elon Musk, Tesla co-founder and CEO. "Tesla’s future depends on engineers who can create the most innovative, technologically advanced vehicles in the world. Doug’s experience in both consumer electronics and traditional automotive makes him an important addition to our leadership team."
"Until Tesla came along, I had never seriously considered leaving Apple," said Field. "I started my career with the goal of creating incredible cars, but ultimately left the auto industry in search of fast-paced, exciting engineering challenges elsewhere. As the first high tech auto company in modern history, Tesla is at last an opportunity for me and many others to pursue the dream of building the best cars in the world—while being part of one of the most innovative companies in Silicon Valley."
Field began his career at Ford as a development engineer after graduating MIT, before moving on to Segway and then to Apple.
Top Rated Comments
I love Tesla cars and would like to own one, one day. However, in this case please don't make them any smaller. I do not love those little smart cars.
Lose some weight....:D
The current Tesla models are hardly small. Nor is the Prius.
Wish the US would tax large engines and gas a bit more, like the rest of the world.
Instead, we subsidize oversized yahoos buying oversized trucks.
Tesla is game-changer for the the auto industry and really the most exciting thing to happen to cars in at least a generation.
Complete with the Mac startup sound when you turn the key :D
Turn the key?
Looks like Tesla Gen3 is going to be smaller and lighter :p
I'm guessing that this move will mean not only that, but also it will now be put together with custom nuts and bolts that require a Pentalobe tire iron, the motor will be glued together, and it will be incredibly difficult to service anything except through Tesla itself. This will annoy iFixit to no end. :pGood for him to follow his dream, but with Musk & Tesla, I can't help but suspect that his talent will be wasted- maybe not, but probably. I think he'd be better utilized at Apple, where what he designs will actually be applied, put into production, and enjoyed by millions of people. Good luck.
He can have a much larger impact at Tesla. What do you want to do, make computers all day or transition human kind from oil to sustainable energy transport? :)
Turn the key?
I think he unknowingly meant "press the button." :-D
Want a MacTesla!
Complete with the Mac startup sound when you turn the key :D