Apple Aiming to Begin Electric Car Production in 2020

Apple is hoping to begin production on the car project that it is secretly developing as early as 2020, reports Bloomberg. According to the site's sources, Apple is pushing employees working on the car to have it ready to go in five years, a timeline that will eventually allow it to compete with similar electric vehicles coming out from Tesla and GM in 2017.

The timeframe -- automakers typically spend five to seven years developing a car -- underscores the project's aggressive goals and could set the stage for a battle for customers with Tesla Motors Inc. and General Motors Co., both of which are targeting a 2017 release of an electric vehicle that can go more than 200 miles on a single charge and cost less than $40,000.

Apple's electric car plans first came to light last week, after The Wall Street Journal shared news of "Project Titan," an electric vehicle that hundreds of Apple employees are working on. Apple has been heavily recruiting automotive experts to join the project and plans to have a team of about 1,000 employees developing the car. Bloomberg says the team currently has about 200 members.

Tesla Model X
Over the course of the last few months, the company has picked up employees from companies like Tesla, Ford, GM, A123 Systems, MIT Motorsports, Ogin, Autoliv, Concept Systems, and General Dynamics.

As with The Wall Street Journal's initial report, Bloomberg's report is quick to point out that that Apple could decide to delay or abandon its car project all together if the company is unhappy with its progress. Apple works on many prototype projects that never make it to production.

Little is known about Apple's electric car at this point, but rumors have suggested that it might resemble a minivan and that it may or may not be self-driving.