Apple is working on an electric car, Wall Street Journal reports

[enzo1]

The rumors have been getting stronger all week, and now they've come to a head: WSJ is reporting that Apple is indeed working on a car. "Project Titan," as it's known internally, is an all-electric vehicle that apparently "resembles a minivan" in its current iteration and has a team of several hundred people working on it.

THERE'S NO GUARANTEE IT'LL MAKE IT TO PRODUCTION

That's not to say that there'll ever be an Apple car on the road, necessarily. WSJ hedges its report, noting that it'd be several years at least before Titan could be ready for production, and that's assuming Cook and company decide to go through with the project. It could also end up being more of a platform for testing other products and technologies related to mobility that Apple is working on — things like CarPlay, for instance.

Apple has apparently had this in the hopper for a while: the report claims that Tim Cook signed off on Titan nearly a year ago, giving ex-Ford engineer and current Apple exec Steve Zadesky a team of 1,000 staff from across a variety of departments in the company. In recent months, company staff have visited contract manufacturers that could potentially build a car (or components of a car) on Apple's behalf; one company that WSJ names is Magna Steyr, which has built cars for Mercedes and BMW in the past, among others.

[JavaBrewer]

Will it have to sync with iTunes?

[motion]

Tesla has proven that a company without any legacy in the car business can build a car better than the legacy builders. I think this is a natural for Apple. The cars of the future will be much smarter than they are today. Meanwhile, Detroit and Japan keep building cars that are barely an improvement over what they were 50 years ago. We need companies like Apple, Google and Tesla to take over this industry. Its another opportunity for the USA to re-assert itself building cars that the world admires.

[Don Ro]

I heard this morning on Fox Business that Apple is considering buying Tesla.

[motion]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

I heard this morning on Fox Business that Apple is considering buying Tesla.

That's been a long-time rumor. I wish they would, but why? EM has no motivation to do this. He has things pretty well under control.

[Nostril Cheese]

Like we need a car with more proprietary parts and tools than Mercedes-Benz?

[Bill Douglas]

Yes electric cars definitely are the way of the future and Apple may be the guys to make it happen. Good on them.

[island911]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Yes electric cars definitely are the way of the future ...

not with cheap hydrocarbon fuel. ..which has magnitudes more energy density, btw.

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

...and Apple may be the guys to make it happen.

Because Tesla is failing too badly? --not expensive enough? Not disposable enough? Should have a non-replaceable battery FTW?

or, because Toyota just can't make an electric car?

[intakexhaust]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

I heard this morning on Fox Business that Apple is considering buying Tesla.

And how many beeeelions? I'm not quite sure shareholders would be on board or ready for it. Valuation....hmmm. And if they did, doesn't take much to tear apart a still relatively new car company, especially Tesla. I'm not referring to the politics either.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by island911

not with cheap hydrocarbon fuel. ..which has magnitudes more energy density, btw.

Cheap gasoline is only a temporary thing.

Originally Posted by island911

Because Tesla is failing too badly? --not expensive enough? Not disposable enough? Should have a non-replaceable battery FTW?

or, because Toyota just can't make an electric car?

Because apple are smart, innovative and have plenty of money for R&D.

[M.D. Holloway]

Quote de Bill Douglas

Yes electric cars definitely are the way of the future ...

not with cheap hydrocarbon fuel. ..which has magnitudes more energy density, btw.

Quote de Bill Douglas

...and Apple may be the guys to make it happen.

Because Tesla is failing too badly? --not expensive enough? Not disposable enough? Should have a non-replaceable battery FTW?



or, because Toyota just can't make an electric car?

Just have a gas powered generator on board like a locomotive engine or a haul truck! They are electric right ?

[island911]

My 911SC has a generator and a battery - it's an electric car too!

btw, here is a Tesla FS in Hawaii http://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/cto/4900473775.html($110k but it has the winter package!) - from where does that electricity come?

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Cheap gasoline is only a temporary thing..

Jimmy Carter called. He want's his 1976 peak-oil argument back.

Seriously, recent natural gas and oil finds are huge. Neither of us will be around for this future of electric car dominance.

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Because apple are smart, innovative and have plenty of money for R&D.

And yet they can't seem to make a smart-watch battery which last beyond 1/100th that of a typical Casio. hmmm....

Battery tech is not like Si chip tech. It does not follow Moore's law in the slightest. Remember, Dr Porsches first car, designed and built, was an all electric solution. -arguably because battery tech was further along than IC engine tech, back then.

And here we are now... decades of massive pressure for portable power in all the mobile device space. Yet Battery tech is up against the wall of physics - no matter how much people can imagine that blue-shirted "geniuses" can help fix that problem. -physics.

[island911]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

Will it have to sync with iTunes?

That's pretty damn funny. Because you know it will.

[VINMAN]

Will people be lined up outside dealerships, every six months waiting to buy the newest version?


.

[island911]

Will it have an antenna integrated in to the steering wheel? --you're holding it wrong.

Will Siri drive ?

Will the Apple car be available in Orange?

Will there be a Tim Cook Special? (rainbow on the inside - and now on the out)

[stealthn]

Stupid move if correct

Not their core business and too much risk.

I'll believe it when I see it, oh yeah and where's their TV?

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by M.D. Holloway

Just have a gas powered generator on board like a locomotive engine or a haul truck! They are electric right ?

Hey Mista, whatcha bin drinkin?

[GH85Carrera]

So when the car has a strange problem that makes no sense will it have to be turned completely off and then back on like my iPhone?

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

Will it have to sync with iTunes?

Funny but probably true. You may also need an iPhone instead of a key to start it... Actually not a bad idea if you think about it. (even if I do say so myself)

I wish them well. I've had a gut full of the traditional car makers. They've all lost it as far as I'm concerned. (including Porsche)

What's needed is a fun lightweight reliable electric car. Something you can actually use day to day and still enjoy on the weekends.
The biggest problem are those heavy and inefficient batteries.

What about no batteries? A car that somehow gets it's power from the road. It would be a user pay system.
Surely we could engineer something safe and cost effective.

[VincentVega]

Who needs batteries?

Not their core business and too much risk.

That's how I see it but who knows, they generate a ton of cash. Maybe Cook is bored and wants to spend some money.