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.
Popular Stories
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...
Apple is planning to release at least one iPhone 17 model next year with mechanical aperture, according to a report published today by The Information. The mechanical system would allow users to adjust the size of the iPhone 17's aperture, which refers to the opening of the camera lens through which light enters. All existing iPhone camera lenses have fixed apertures, but some Android...
