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Apple has never been interested in or involved with supplying components to other manufacturers and there is zero chance they are spending billions to join the myriad of companies building auto components to sell to companies.
Exactly. So it's a mystery why they keep spending billions on TC's pet project.
 
Is it just me or does anyone else kinda not like this? It seems like Apple is branching into so many areas that aren't "core" to what they used to be so good at. I know times change and Apple has incredible financial and engineering resources, but it seems like none of their recent endeavors ever quite get finished. I buy just about everything Apple comes out with so I have first-hand knowledge. iCloud Drive has never synced reliably across all my devices. I often have to save a random file to force a sync. My AirPods Pro don't connect about a third of the time I put them in my ears. I have to remove and try again. Siri is still a mess. Although I own four Homepods, I don't think they have the audio quality they should for the price. Then there was several years of the inferior butterfly keyboards. I guess I'm just becoming an old fart who doesn't want change, LOL. Just seems like going into the car business will suck up money and resources that I wish they would devote to "finishing" their existing products.
They are already spending billions on this project. I agree with you. Of course, when the Apple Car is release there will be lines around the block to buy one.
 
This is not happening. Digitimes has a very mixed track record and this doesn't make any sense for
Apple. The car industry is very hard to break into- Tesla almost went bankrupt- and Apple is way behind others like Waymo, Cruise and others in autonomy. Tesla is already the "Apple" of cars- verical integration, hardware+software integration, ecosystem (charging stations), charismatic CEO and cult following... what would Apple bring to the table that Tesla doesn't already offer? We know Apple is exploring autonomy- like all of Big Tech- but I don't think they're releasing their own Model S. On the other hand, licensing out a carOS to OEMs is really not their speed so I have no idea where they are going with this. But I don't think they are going to just release an autonomous EV in 2025 and manufacture it with no issues and own the market.

Nobody has a working self driving car yet. And it might take many more years or even decades or might need a completely new approach that someone has to find first.

The EV market itself is just now getting a little bit more interesting. In the next five to ten years the battery prices will go down so much that EV can be cheaper than ICE cars. That's when the real business begins. And if Tesla is still around then? Nobody knows. They might. But they still have a long and bumpy ride in front of them to fend off all the major car manufacturers that get into that field just about right now (and in the right moment).

Sure, Tesla as a charismatic CEO (who has also outed himself as a huge covidiot this year and it sometimes more a liabililty than an asset). But they also have enormous problems with build quality for example.

And as I pointed out above: That supercharger network was nice five years ago. But the landscape is changing fast and in another five years it might actually be a problem, when Teslas are the only ones using their own standard.

And so on and so on. Sure: Cars are really, really expensive. And maybe Apple thinks more about autonomous taxis, busses etc. But this company also has enormous amounts of money lying around. And a lot of other advantages that I can't get into now because this post is getting way too long and I am hungry. :D
 
I agree with your statements, historically, but Apple now offers services (TV+, Fitness to name a few) that no-one would have thought of Apple offering 5 years ago ...

IF Apple were going to make their own car, it would be electric, if you look at some of the new(er) players in that space, Rivian, Canoo, Fisker, Lucid come to mind, they are way ahead and already have or will have offerings available net year. Every traditional car manufacturer is on that bandwagon right now. That industry is going to reshape itself over the net 10 years, and it is going to be a hard fight/battle ... Apple would be a late addition, sure they have always improved and not necessarily be first, but 2024/5 is way late ...

Tesla is years ahead of everyone ... Look how long it took Tesla to get where they are today. Tesla can build a new factory in 12 months now ... Apple has always used OEMs for manufacturing, I don't know of an OEM that builds cars. Apple does not have a dealer network (for service/repair ... they could still sell at an apple store) ...
There are significant regulatory requirements that Apple is not accustomed to ...

I cannot see Apple going that way, so what are they dong in that space? The best I can think of right now, it's a new service that includes autonomous driving ...
Magna Steyr is the OEM. They are working on the Grenadier now.
 
Infrastructure: People seem to forgot that Tesla is not the only company building a charger network. Actually Tesla is the only company that is building an incompatible charger network while everyone else is establishing a different standard.

And to all the other arguments: I don't know how long you have been following Apple, but you sound exactly like the people in 2006 stating that Apple would "never" make a phone or be able to get into that market, because it's really competitive and hard to break into yadayadayada. The rest is history.
Yes, but Tesla's has been building its infrastructure for longer so they have much more fast chargers. The others are just starting. But maybe in 2025 things will be more even.

I do know that I kind of sound like the phone execs in 2006... but I do think this is different. Building a car is very different than anything Apple makes- it has moving parts. There are also a lot more regulations, both in safety and otherwise (like dealerships). And there already is a company that has "disrupted" the industry: Tesla. They are way ahead in car tech than Apple and they aren't some stodgy old company like Blackberry that believes things will never change.

Ask yourself: what would Apple gain by entering this market, as compared to others. Apple is a consumer electronics company that has been expanding into services. Even if they released a very expensive car that sold out (as I'm sure it would) it still wouldn't justify their investment. There are other places for them to expand into that Apple has much more expertise in.

Like I said before, Digitimes has a very mixed record. In all likelihood, this is simply a false rumor.
 
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I love Apple products, but I love my Tesla’s more. This move makes no sense to me, but if they can improve on a Tesla (unlikely) then I will give them a chance. I’d rather Apple and Tesla enter into a partnership. That would really be exciting and great for the industry.
 
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Same ol’ baloney. Share price is lagging so Tim Cook rolls out fresh rumors of the car project. How many times are they going to play the Press?
 
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The auto manufacturer's are also working on this. They saw what happened to the music industry and the film industry. They are not going to let Apple into their business.

It’s hard to stop change.

On a side note, I think it will be difficult for any company to catch up with Tesla’s self driving technology since they are already so far ahead and gathering tons of real world data from their fleet.
 
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I agree with your statements, historically, but Apple now offers services (TV+, Fitness to name a few) that no-one would have thought of Apple offering 5 years ago ...

IF Apple were going to make their own car, it would be electric, if you look at some of the new(er) players in that space, Rivian, Canoo, Fisker, Lucid come to mind, they are way ahead and already have or will have offerings available net year. Every traditional car manufacturer is on that bandwagon right now. That industry is going to reshape itself over the net 10 years, and it is going to be a hard fight/battle ... Apple would be a late addition, sure they have always improved and not necessarily be first, but 2024/5 is way late ...

Tesla is years ahead of everyone ... Look how long it took Tesla to get where they are today. Tesla can build a new factory in 12 months now ... Apple has always used OEMs for manufacturing, I don't know of an OEM that builds cars. Apple does not have a dealer network (for service/repair ... they could still sell at an apple store) ...
There are significant regulatory requirements that Apple is not accustomed to ...

I cannot see Apple going that way, so what are they dong in that space? The best I can think of right now, it's a new service that includes autonomous driving

Apple has been in services for many years, starting with iTunes, but that’s the besides the point, Apple’s entire company is about selling high quality experiences to consumers. They have no interest in simply manufacturing a part as you suggest and then let have someone else make an inferior product out of it. You’re thinking of a company like Samsung. Moreover, to be just another wholesale supplier of a product also means doing away with those high profit margins.

As to “it’s too late,”. LOL. Electric cars are simple on a relative basis to produce; that’s the point (no engine, transmission, etc) and Tesla and everyone else is largely using the same component parts that are available to everyone, tires, wheels, batteries, you name it. Apple can order the same components as Tesla and have any number of manufacturers build it for them according to Apple's specs. The challenge is to be able to sell them at a profit. Tesla has hemorrhaged money, has billions of debt! That’s why traditional manufacturers have shied away from producing them. Now that costs are going down and consumer acceptance going up, they are all slowly starting up manufacturing.

The differentiation in electric cars will be the software and the interior/exterior design—Apple can dominate both areas. They will sub out the manufacturing like they do all of their products. They don’t need a dealer network, Tesla showed that, and they are also likely to simply lease their vehicles to Uber, fleets, etc.
 
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Nobody has a working self driving car yet. And it might take many more years or even decades or might need a completely new approach that someone has to find first.
Nobody will EVER have a self-driving car.
As much as Elon Musk wants us to believe his Teslas are self-driving, they’re not. They require an attentive driver behind the wheel, deflecting the liability responsibility to the driver. And there stands the reason why there won’t ever be a self-driving car. Liability!
No manufacturer, as crazy as their CEO might be, will take on that liability.
On the other hand, self-driving cars on a private network of roads is a possibility. Companies should be focusing on buying the land or the roads from the DOT before designing anything. Or convert carpool lanes to self-driving cars only. But that’s for sure not going to fly well with the public!
 
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As to “it’s too late,”. LOL. Electric cars are simple to produce; that’s the point (no engine, transmission, etc) and Tesla and everyone else is largely using the same component parts that are available to everyone, tires, wheels, batteries, you name it.
This might be the most ignorant (and most factually incorrect) comment I’ve read in 2020. There is so nice thing as an easy to produce automobile. On the flip side, it took Apple 3 years to fix the worst laptop keyboard (and the doubled down) in the history of computers.
 
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For self driving? It will have its benefits. Tesla's chip requires liquid cooling and they went custom because they couldn't source good enough chips from Nvidia.

In a self-driving ICE car, they'll be limited to how much power they can throw at the computational resources. In a self-driving BEV, lower power usage will translate to higher range.

Nah.

Tesla uses a 72W computer. Let's say Apple uses 10W. That's a rounding error for an 82 kWh battery in the Model 3. Whether Apple uses TSMC's 16nm process or 3nm won't make a difference. Not when typical EV batteries in 2025 will likely approach 100 kWh.
 
It’s hard to stop change.

On a side note, I think it will be difficult for any company to catch up with Tesla’s self driving technology since they are already so far ahead and gathering tons of real world data from their fleet.
True but VW and Ford, amongst others, are coming out with what seem to be good electric vehicles and they have volume manufacturing expertise and capability that Tesla does not.
 
Nope, tires will not be upgradeable. Same with brakes, shocks, headlights,...
You’ll have to buy a new car unless you got AppleCare+ for $9,999.00 for two years or $499 per month.
For a moment I thought AppleCare+ would be much more than you are quoting.
 
Apple has been in services for many years, starting with iTunes, but that’s the besides the point, Apple’s entire company is about selling high quality experiences to consumers. They have no interest in simply manufacturing a part as you suggest and then let have someone else make an inferior product out of it. You’re thinking of a company like SamsungMoreover, to be just another wholesale supplier of a product also means doing away with those high profit margins.

As to “it’s too late,”. LOL. Electric cars are simple to produce; that’s the point (no engine, transmission, etc) and Tesla and everyone else is largely using the same component parts that are available to everyone, tires, wheels, batteries, you name it. The challenge is to be able to sell them at a profit. Tesla has hemorrhages money, has billions of debt. That’s why conventional manufacturers have shied away from producing them. Now that costs are goi g down and consumer acceptance going up, they are all slowly starting up manufacturing.

The differentiation in electric cars will be the software and the interior/exterior design—Apple can dominate both areas. They will sub out the manufacturing like they do all of their products. They don’t need a dealer network, Tesla showed that, and they are also likely to simply lease their vehicles to Uber, fleets, etc.
Manufacturing vehicles is not easy, as Tesla is finding out. Last time I checked Foxconn does not manufacture cars. Most of the Chinese manufacturers rely on European technology transfer and equipment e.g. ABB and Kuka robots.
 
True but VW and Ford, amongst others, are coming out with what seem to be good electric vehicles and they have volume manufacturing expertise and capability that Tesla does not.
But they don’t have a vertically integrated supply chain. Tesla controls their entire supply chain. This is a strategic advantage.
 
This might be the most ignorant (and most factually incorrect) comment I’ve read in 2020. There is so nice thing as an easy to produce automobile. On the flip side, it took Apple 3 years to fix the worst laptop keyboard (and the doubled down) in the history of computers.
Agreed. I replied and could go into a lot more detail but chose not to.
 
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