Fans have been speculating if Apple will be creating their first electric vehicle. Rumors have been out since 2015 and alleged Apple employees are the ones spreading it. Here's what we know:
According to a Fortune interview, Elon Musk, CEO and co-Founder of Tesla Motors, said the rumors are true. Apple plans to enter the automobile business. The Tesla CEO mentioned that it is pretty obvious and that hiring more than a thousand engineers is a move that Apple took to develop their own electric car.
Apple has not made any official announcement yet, but reports have been emerging since February 2015 and that the project is nicknamed "Titan. The rumors have come from various sources, including employees and former employees of Apple. There are also reports that Apple is having talks with McLaren to either buy or tie-up with the luxury supercar company.
Although Apple has not made any official announcement yet, they may be on their way to rival Tesla as Apple's history of leakages tend to come true. An example is the rumored design of the iPhone 7 that does not include a headphone jack, rendered images have spread throughout the internet months before the official release, and to no surprise, it did come true.
Another example of leaked reports happened very recently with the new MacBook Pro having a touch bar. Initially, it was just part of the wish list of some fans, and like the iPhone 7, rendered images could also be found on the Internet months before the release. The new Macbook Pro did feature the touch bar when it was announced a couple of weeks ago.
Both companies are also strikingly similar in various ways. Both Apple and Tesla specialize in high-end technology products. Tesla paved the road for electric and autonomous vehicles, which in turn put all other car manufacturers in the corner, forcing them to create and manufacture their own lines of EVs.
Apple has also done the same in both their computers and mobile phones. The Macbook lineup was the first to feature an aluminum unibody design which forced other computer manufacturers; such as DELL, HP, and even Microsoft with the Surface Book, to come up with a similar design.
Longer range of batteries in electric cars is also being led by Tesla and other EV manufacturers like Nissan and Toyota did not have a choice but to comply and come up with batteries that can outlast their Tesla counterpart. Similar to when Apple's MacBook's can last up to 10 hours on batteries while other Windows based computers can only reach up to 4 hours.
Although similar in business strategy, Tesla may be the one who placed Apple into the corner, forcing them to enter the automotive business. Or, Tesla may not have anything to do with Apple's rumored move, but could be Apple's sole decision to challenge Tesla to prove who is the best in technological advancements.
If so, Apple needs to up the notch and confirm the speculations before Tesla furthers the lead. Tesla is now on their Model 3 autonomous car and has already received 400,000 reservations that are due for release on late 2017 or 2018.
A rivalry could be brewing between Apple and Tesla; unfortunately, nothing will be true unless the iPhone producer shows their next big move to the public. When that happens, consumers can be assured that Tesla will be there to face and answer the challenge.
