Apple wants to lease a 800,000 square foot warehouse for Project Titan R&D work

Apple Car concept Aristomenis Tsirbas image 001

The Wall Street Journal yesterday shared some rather interesting development regarding Silicon Valley’s worst-kept secret, an Apple-designed electric car, dubbed Project Titan. The firm is apparently seeking a massive 800,000 square foot warehouse, presumably to keep research and development work on Project Titan secret for as long as possible.

Furthermore, the iPhone maker is said to be in the process of expanding Project Titan team, which reportedly had about 600 employees last year, according to sources.

Project Titan R&D

The revelation came through the mouth of Hudson Pacific Properties CEO Victor Coleman, who talked about increased demand for office spaces suitable for automobile research and development in the San Francisco Bay Area.

“We’re seeing the Toyotas of the world, the Teslas of the world, BMWs, Mercedes. Ford now is out in the marketplace looking for space,” said Coleman.

He specifically mentioned Apple by name.

“I haven’t even mentioned the 400,000 square feet that Google’s looking to take down and the 800,000 square feet that Apple’s looking to take down for their autonomous cars as well,” Coleman said.

Though mammoth, the 800,000 square foot warehouse that has captured Apple’s attention pales in comparison with Tesla’s 5.3 million square feet car-building plant. Another comparison: Apple’s upcoming new iSpaceship building is about 2.8 million square feet, while Google’s headquarters are about 4.8 million square feet.

Fiat wants to work with Apple

According to Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, his company is open to working with Google or Apple regarding building cars, arguing car makers shouldn’t view technology companies as the enemy.

“Google can buy every automaker out of petty cash,” he said. “And Apple—they made a net profit of $24 billion in one quarter. This is nonsense. What are we defending? What?”

In his mind, Fiat should establish a link to Silicon Valley players like Google and Apple, as well as talk to the big players, the newcomers and the underdogs.

The ultimate goal: job sharing on a high level.

Rumored partnership with Magna

“We build the cars; they build the technology that goes into them,” he said. “Ideally, I can take this technology and use it across my other brands.”

Apple had reputedly discussed the possibility of a manufacturing partnership with BMW, but the talks collapsed. Now, the Cupertino firm is said to be contemplating an advanced technical partnership with luxury vehicle contract manufacturer Magna.

Apple car concept via Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer.

Source: The Wall Street Journal