Before 2020 closes out, we get to hear some pretty surprising information from none other than Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. According to the chief executive, he reached out to another executive at another company in an effort to see about a potential acquisition of the electric automobile company. Turns out? Tim Cook of Apple didn't even take the meeting.
Things went dark regarding the Apple Car (or Project Titan) effort for quite some time. But, as of late, the rumor mill has started to spin back to life. The latest report suggests we may be less than five years away from seeing the new effort from Apple's big debut.
We go for a long stretch without hearing anything about the Apple Car, and then all of a sudden it's back in the cycle.
There was a time when the talk of the town was the Apple Car. But, lately, that has started to slow down. But that doesn't mean Apple's given up on whatever it is.
Appel Watch assembler Quanta Computer is understood to be currently supplying the Cupertino tech giant with "unspecified autonomous driving solutions."
Back in August of last year, it was reported that Apple's plans to launch a car of its own were back on track and that we could see the automobile launch within the next five to seven years. Interestingly enough, it turns out that Apple may have had a different plan of attack back in 2013 that involved Tesla.
TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (formerly with KGI Securities) has predicted that Apple may recruit its sole chip manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to build in-house designed processors based on ARM architecture for use in its car project.
Two recently approved U.S. patents are shining new light on Apple's long-gestating and secretive automotive initiative, Project Titan. The patents cover two areas of the driving experience, including seating and sunroofs.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes the iPhone maker is positioning itself to introduce an automobile in three to five years. If true, this would represent an about-face for the company. In recent years, most have assumed Apple was no longer planning on building a so-called "iCar," but instead was focused on improving its CarPlay technology. The reputable analyst's comments were first published by MacRumors.
Apple has picked up another high profile engineer for its self-driving car project. The Information reports that the company has hired Jaime Waydo, an autonomous vehicle expert who previously worked at NASA, and was more recently a senior engineer at Google's Waymo division.
Apple's dream of producing driverless cars has moved forward, but not in the grand way it once hoped. The iPhone maker and Volkswagen are partnering to turn some of the German carmaker's new T6 Transporter vans into self-driving shuttles for Apple employees. This comes after other carmakers said no to Apple's loftier automobile goals, according to The New York Times.
Apple's autonomous car project is an open secret in Silicon Valley. The latest update comes from a report on Jalopnik that asserts Apple is leasing the a proving ground previously owned by Fiat-Chrysler.