Reports and rumors of Apple working on its own electric car popped up out of blue and quickly caught fire and spread like a fire in the jungle. Most of the rumors and reports have a general consensus that Apple is, indeed, working on an Apple Car, which is going to be an electric car. A new report from Wall Street Journal suggests that the company has upgraded the status of its electric car project to a ‘committed project’ targeting the year 2019 as shipping of its new electric car lineup.
Just like any other project, Apple may be trying to keep its electric car project, also dubbed as the ‘Project Titan’, a secret but that could not stop the rumor mill from speculating. A report from February this year claimed that Apple’s electric car will enter production this year and the company was aiming the year 2020 as its shipping date. There are also whispers of Apple hiring for its ‘Project Titan,’ that also includes an engineer from Tesla Motors.
The WSJ report indicated that the company has held the several meetings for its electric car effort, including with the government officials in California. After investigating the feasibility of an Apple Car for more than a year, the leader of the “Project Titan” have been given permission to triple the current 600-person workforce.
While the details related to the Project Titan has started to come out, still there is plenty that remains a mystery. For example, the auto manufacturers tend to have their own manufacturing muscles, while the Apple is known for outsourcing components from major manufacturers like it does from Samsung for its smartphones and tablets.
The sources also indicate that while the company has hired experts for a self-driving vehicle technology, it doesn’t plan of making its first vehicle autonomous. However, it is still part of the big plan that may come to fruition in the longer term.
Apple perhaps is inspired by Tesla and clearly sees itself becoming a player in the automotive industry. Industry analysts viewed a 2019 shipping date as an ambitious one; however, it doesn’t necessarily means that the consumers will get behind the wheel of Apple’s electric car that year. It could be the target date of when the engineers sign off on the final version of Apple car.
Does Apple entering automotive industry excite you? Share your thoughts in the comments below.