What We Know
The Apple Car is what the media has taken to calling the electric car project that's rumored to be in development at Apple under the code name "Project Titan."
Apple is said to have hundreds of employees working on creating an electric vehicle at a secret location near its Cupertino headquarters. Little is known about the car, but sources have suggested it may resemble a minivan. The car may or may not include self-driving technology -- rumors have thus far disagreed on this point.
The Apple Car is in the very early stages of development, and Apple is still in the process of recruiting people for the project and meeting with car makers and automotive suppliers. The project is being led by Steve Zadesky, VP of Product Design, who has Cook's permission to recruit 1,000 employees, many from within Apple.
We don't know what the Apple Car will look like, but based on Apple's existing product line and its desire to expand iOS beyond the iPhone and the iPad, we can assume that any Apple-produced car will integrate deeply with the iPhone.
Apple Car History
In early February, a mysterious van leased to Apple was spotted driving around Bay Area streets. The van had a camera rig attached to it with multiple cameras, leading to speculation that Apple was using it to develop a product similar to Google Street View. More outlandish speculation ranged towards the possibility of a self-driving vehicle, but it was later determined that the vans have drivers.
One of the mysterious vans driving around the Bay Area
Just days after the van was first spotted, an Apple employee emailed Business Insider, suggesting Apple was working on a project that would "give Tesla a run for its money." The source said that Tesla employees were "jumping ship" to work on a project at Apple that was "too exciting to pass up."
That tantalizing hint led several media sites to dig deep into Apple's plans, and in mid-February, Financial Times learned that Apple was recruiting automotive technology and vehicle design experts to work in a "top-secret research lab." That piece highlighted Apple's hiring of former Mercedes-Benz Research and Development exec Johann Jungwirth, and pointed out Apple's efforts to research automotive products.
Financial Times and other media sources speculated that Apple was perhaps developing an advanced software platform to build upon what it introduced with CarPlay because a full-on car project sounded unbelievable, but just hours later, The Wall Street Journal launched a figurative bomb. Apple is indeed working on creating an electric vehicle, said the site, a project that it started exploring last year.
According to The Wall Street Journal's sources, Apple has hundreds of employees working on designing a minivan-like electric vehicle under the code name "Project Titan." Steve Zadesky, Apple VP of Product Design is leading the project and was given the go ahead by Apple CEO Tim Cook to recruit as many as 1,000 employees, many from within Apple, who are working on the project at a secret location near the company's Cupertino campus. Apple executives have been meeting with contract manufacturers of high-end cars like Magna Steyr, who may work with Apple on creating the car if Apple's project continues.
It is unlikely that Apple's electric car plans are related to the vehicles that have been seen in the Bay Area, despite early speculation that they could be self-driving vehicles. Instead, the vans are may be for an unrelated mapping project. The Wall Street Journal's source said that a self-driving vehicle was not part of Apple's plan.
A report from Reuters sourcing an automotive industry insider has directly contradicted The Wall Street Journal on the self-driving claim, so it remains unclear where Apple stands on self-driving vehicles. Reuters' claim may be slightly less reliable, however, as it was sourced from a person outside of Apple.
Recruitment Efforts
Apple is said to have a team of about 200 employees working on the Apple Car, but its goal is to have up to 1,000 employees on the project.
Over the course of the last several months, Apple has been recruiting employees from the automotive industry and other car-related fields, like workers with specialties in battery technology.
Some employees on the team have previously worked for major companies like Tesla, Ford, and GM, while others have been recruited from smaller companies like A123 Systems, MIT Motorsports, Ogin, Autoliv, Concept Systems, and General Dynamics.
High-profile recent Apple hires from Tesla include former mechanical engineering manager David Nelson, former senior powertrain test engineer John Ireland, and former Tesla head recruiter Lauren Ciminera, who may be working to recruit additional employees for the car project.
Other notable hires include five employees from A123 Systems, a company that specializes in producing batteries for electric vehicles. Apple is facing a lawsuit from A123 Systems over the poached employees, several of whom had expertise in lithium ion batteries designed for electric vehicles. The company's former CTO, Mujeeb Ijaz, is one of Apple's highest profile hires. Ijaz led a team responsible for research and development at A123 Systems, and prior to that, he worked at Ford as an electric and fuel cell vehicle engineering manager.
Apple has also recruited two former Ford engineers and an engineer that came from General Motors. Apple is likely to continue making high-profile hires over the coming months as it works to build its car development team.
Tesla Relationship
In early 2014, rumors suggested that Apple had considered purchasing electric car manufacturer Tesla, after the company's head of acquisitions, Adrian Perica, met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Musk later confirmed that Tesla "had conversations" with Apple, but declined to comment on whether those conversations revolved around an acquisition. At the time, he said that an acquisition of Tesla by any company was "very unlikely" because he wanted to stay super focused on the goal of creating an affordable electric car.
Apple and Tesla acquisition talks seemed improbable in early 2014, but now that news of an Apple Car has leaked, it seems somewhat more likely that Tesla and Apple did potentially mull over the possibility of an acquisition.
Elon Musk has said that were there a scenario where an acquisition would further Tesla's goal of an affordable electric vehicle, he would consider it.
If there was a scenario where it seemed like it would be more likely that we would be able to create the mass market sort of affordable, compelling car then possibly it would make sense to entertain those discussions. I don't currently see any scenario that would improve that probability, so that's why I think it's very unlikely.
Mapping Project
The Apple-leased Dodge Caravans with equipment-laden roofs that were spotted driving around the Bay Area a few weeks ago have now been seen all over the United States and in some other countries as well, suggesting work on the rumored mapping project is progressing. Here's a full list of reported sightings we've gathered:
- New York City, New York
- San Diego, California
- Palo Alto, California
- Concord, California
- Hawaii (main island)
- Pembroke Pines, Florida
- Glendale, Arizona
- Phoenix, Arizona
Given that the equipment on the top of the vans resembles the camera equipment that Google uses on vehicles for its Google Maps project, it is unlikely the vehicles are related to the development of the electric car. It is suspected that they are for a separate mapping project, possibly a new street-level Maps imagery feature that will compete with Google Street View and Microsoft Streetside.
One MacRumors reader was able to speak with the driver of one of these vehicles, who said the equipment on the van was for mapping.
Release Date
Apple often works on projects that never make it to market, so there's a good chance that its car plans could be shelved or used in other ways, such as the development of a new in-car platform, but it's also possible, given the size of the team, that the company is committed to bringing a car to market. At this early stage, it's impossible to determine whether the project will continue or when a car might launch, but it's safe to say that an Apple Car is unlikely to see a release for several years to come.
According to one rumor, Apple is said to be pushing for a 2020 production date for the car, launching it after a five-year development period.
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