Apple Allegedly Discussing Apple Car With Automotive Suppliers, TSMC Working on 'Self-Driving' Chips

[Alan Wynn]

Yes, but prices of albums and tracks came down and the music industry and artists got less.

The price may have come down, but that does not mean that Apple got most of the money. Even the idea that ”they got less” implies that they would have continued to get what they had been getting had Apple not created iTunes, something that is clearly false. They received around 30% of the revenue. In addition, they also substantially cut piracy, aiding the industry even more. The labels were upset that they had not created this themselves, but they had every chance and could not make it happen.

See CthuluLemon's post above.

His post just says they were used to charging monopoly rents, forcing people to purchase whole albums when they only wanted a few tracks off that album, but Apple changed that model and allowed individual track purchase.

His statement was not that the labels made less than they might have had they not had an iTunes, where is reality, they would have ended up with almost no revenue.

 

[iDron]

Is it compatible with the Mac Pro wheels?

 

[iDron]

On a more serious note: Apple is the biggest company in the world, it’s logistics are excellent.

For a car manufacturer to be successful, you need a big retail network, efficient logistics, experience with regulators and the capital to build up the large production, maintenance and retail operations. Plus marketing and a brand recognition.

Tesla was able to do that, and became one of the very few „start-up“ car brands. Tesla being an electric car helps, as combustion engine know-how was the asset of traditional car companies, while electric engines probably can be bought off the shelf or with relative ease to specifications from electrical companies.

So Apple does have some of the characteristics one needs to be successful as a car manufacturer. It has a lot of capital. Plus, it’s one of the best companies on integrated computing devices, which would be a great asset in self driving cars.

 

[webbuzz]

Can't wait to pre-order new Apple Car. Apple I'm ready to hand you my hard earned American Dollars.

Tim Cook is only going to get richer.

View attachment 1690282

I want to be there when you pick a color. 😄

 

[nylonsteel]

cool looking mapping vehicle
sorta creepy if the government decided to deploy these in force
whish i could have one though - just to show off

 

[jlc1978]

It would be an unstoppable combination and whatever losses telsa would take as a company by stepping out of certain development areas they would make up for tenfold by being an exclusive designer and producer of the physical shells of Apples future vehicle (which would come to no doubt take over the market and squash the competition)

I'm not so sure Apple would sqaush the competition. Apple has a lot of technology prowress, but so do a number of car companies when you consider the tech that goes into automoblies; and car companies are spending big on the next generation of automoblies. Selling a car involves a lot more than technology, design is key as well. I'm not sure Apple's design philosophy will carry over into the car market. Apple tends to be a "we design or way so get used to it" company, which would not play well in the car market. Visual appeal is a strong driver of buying habits; and each segment has its own design needs. I can see Apple being a strong niche player, but not evolving into a major player.

Now, in technology used in cars, such as Carplay, Apple could become a powerhouse. The problem for Apple is how do you make Apple's traditional margins if you are supplying components unless they are a must have item?

I am very skeptical of a self driving car, then again here I am using an interactive glass board that I use to talk to people on the other side of the planet completely wireless. Imagine a virus hitting the smartcar or being hacked but a terrorist group. They can wipe out a whole nation.

Don't need to imagine. The ability to take over a car remotely has already been demonstrated; the only question is how well can you scale such an attack?

 

[libertysat]

Folks, you can quote me on this, Apple is not going to MAKE a vehicle.

They are working on a multi part subscription system/service;
Apple is engineering the self driving tech, the brains, fine tuned.
Then provide to manufacturers to offer their customers as an option.

The 'juiciest' part of the 'system' is Apple will have a subscription transportation service.
You won't buy the car, you subscribe for one to show up where & when you need one
The car shows up where & when you need it, takes you where you want, drops you off & goes on to fulfill another subscriber's needs or scoot off to a charging station.

Parking problems and garage/driveway headaches reduced.
Insurance premiums reduced or eliminated....

 

[9927036]

On a more serious note: Apple is the biggest company in the world, it’s logistics are excellent.

For a car manufacturer to be successful, you need a big retail network, efficient logistics, experience with regulators and the capital to build up the large production, maintenance and retail operations. Plus marketing and a brand recognition.

Tesla was able to do that, and became one of the very few „start-up“ car brands. Tesla being an electric car helps, as combustion engine know-how was the asset of traditional car companies, while electric engines probably can be bought off the shelf or with relative ease to specifications from electrical companies.

So Apple does have some of the characteristics one needs to be successful as a car manufacturer. It has a lot of capital. Plus, it’s one of the best companies on integrated computing devices, which would be a great asset in self driving cars.

Internal combustion engines can be bought from Ford, BMW and others and are used in other manufacturer vehicles. The Grenadier is but one example. Teslas's electric motors were not bought off the shelf.

 

[9927036]

Folks, you can quote me on this, Apple is not going to MAKE a vehicle.

They are working on a multi part subscription system/service;
Apple is engineering the self driving tech, the brains, fine tuned.
Then provide to manufacturers to offer their customers as an option.

The 'juiciest' part of the 'system' is Apple will have a subscription transportation service.
You won't buy the car, you subscribe for one to show up where & when you need one
The car shows up where & when you need it, takes you where you want, drops you off & goes on to fulfill another subscriber's needs or scoot off to a charging station.

Parking problems and garage/driveway headaches reduced.
Insurance premiums reduced or eliminated....

Why would any auto manufacturer want to work with Apple? What is in it for them?

 

[farmboy]

I don't think its a self driving car, I think maybe its more like a car OS that will be sold to car manufacturers to be installed in their cars like carplay. It will have super cool features but not self drive. Maybe stuff like adjusting speed based on upcoming traffic, auto park, auto brake...but I doubt I will ride my car hit a button and in 15min I will arrive to my work location.

The reason I would say not likely to this is that so much of the car OS would be dependent on hundreds of physical Apple sensors and associated wiring to go along with the software. All in all, I say it's for an Apple car, although there is always the insurance issue and the street legality of "self-driving" that would have to be resolved before that happens as speculated in the article.

 

[sirozha]

Yep, China is making huge strides in automobiles. I work with a Chinese vendor based in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, not in auto, but I trust what he says (truest rags to riches story I've ever encountered, all through brain power and will), and according to him China has plenty of auto-makers comparable to Tesla.

That said though, along with tariffs, it's very difficult to get consumers to purchase foreign manufactured vehicles, at least in the U.S. market. There are plenty of Americans who only consider foreign models when they are manufactured in the U.S. (for many, assembled won't cut it) It's why auto companies have advertised their U.S. manufacturing heavily. Hyundai even made their U.S. factory the centerpiece of an ad campaign a decade or so ago. It also royally pisses off unions, so if Apple doesn't build at least the cars intended for sale in the U.S. domestically, the UAW and wider AFL-CIO will make it known.

And how would these unions displeasure hurt Apple?

 

[CthuluLemon]

And how would these unions displeasure hurt Apple?

By making it known to the general public, like I said in my post.

 

[sirozha]

By making it known to the general public, like I said in my post.

And the general public would really care? Like they care about the unions displeasure at foreign car manufacturers setting shop in the “right-to-work” states like GA, AL, and SC?

 

[CthuluLemon]

And the general public would really care? Like they care about the unions displeasure at foreign car manufacturers setting shop in the “right-to-work” states like GA, AL, and SC?

Yes, because right-to-work and foreign manufacturing are apples and oranges in terms of their importance to unions. One's a thorn in their side, the other is an existential threat to their members livelihoods. 🙄 Buying automobiles manufactured in the U.S. is also almost universally preferred by Americans whereas people have varying opinions on right-to-work.

 

[sirozha]

Yes, because right-to-work and foreign manufacturing are apples and oranges in terms of their importance to unions. One's a thorn in their side, the other is an existential threat to their members livelihoods. 🙄 Buying automobiles manufactured in the U.S. is also almost universally preferred by Americans whereas people have varying opinions on right-to-work.

Not a single unionized worker out of 5,000 plus workers employed at the unionized GM factory in Atlanta was allowed to work at the KIA plant in West Point, GA. I would think that UAW would be pretty pissed at KIA for refusing to play ball with unions or even hire former union members. Yet, KIA successfully makes cars in GA and has taken market share away from GM and also refuses to hire unionized workers.
To me that’s as serious threat to UAW and GM as are Chinese manufacturers. Moreover, I would even claim that it’s a bigger threat, as the foreign cars manufactured in the US are considered American made cars and are not subject to tariffs. Therefore, it’s not as easy to kill that competition as from cars manufactured overseas, which could have tariffs imposed on them to make them less competitive than domestically manufactured cars.

 

[CthuluLemon]

Not a single unionized worker out of 5,000 plus workers employed at the unionized GM factory in Atlanta was allowed to work at the KIA plant in West Point, GA. I would think that UAW would be pretty pissed at KIA for refusing to play ball with unions or even hire former union members. Yet, KIA successfully makes cars in GA and has taken market share away from GM and also refuses to hire unionized workers.
To me that’s as serious threat to UAW and GM as are Chinese manufacturers. Moreover, I would even claim that it’s a bigger threat, as the foreign cars manufactured in the US are considered American made cars and are not subject to tariffs. Therefore, it’s not as easy to kill that competition as from cars manufactured overseas, which could have tariffs imposed on them to make them less competitive than domestically manufactured cars.

Your argument doesn’t refute mine, for the UAW to go after the Kia factory requires the UAW to go after US workers, it’s not comparable. At the end of the day, Kia is still manufacturing in the US, and the UAW always has the hope of successfully courting and unionizing those workers, regardless of past failures. Unions don’t want to be seen as killing jobs in their own country, they don’t care about that impression in countries where they and their members aren’t stakeholders. (I’m going to preemptively ask that we not turn this conversation into a pro/con union debate, as that’s not the conversation I’ve set out to have nor have I taken a position on the pros or cons of unions, only describing their effect on the American auto market. At the end of the day we are making educated guesses where Apple may manufacture a car if they bring one to market.) The auto market is one of the few left in the United States where buying American is still seen as admirable, if not a patriotic expectation, that's all I'm saying. Apple would struggle to overcome that hurdle, especially as a U.S. headquartered company.

 

[sirozha]

Your argument doesn’t refute mine, for the UAW to go after the Kia factory requires the UAW to go after US workers, it’s not comparable. At the end of the day, Kia is still manufacturing in the US, and the UAW always has the hope of successfully courting and unionizing those workers, regardless of past failures. Unions don’t want to be seen as killing jobs in their own country, they don’t care about that impression in countries where they and their members aren’t stakeholders. (I’m going to preemptively ask that we not turn this conversation into a pro/con union debate, as that’s not the conversation I’ve set out to have nor have I taken a position on the pros or cons of unions, only describing their effect on the American auto market. At the end of the day we are making educated guesses where Apple may manufacture a car if they bring one to market.) The auto market is one of the few left in the United States where buying American is still seen as admirable, if not a patriotic expectation, that's all I'm saying. Apple would struggle to overcome that hurdle, especially as a U.S. headquartered company.

I’m sorry. I haven’t seen a lot of Americans who think that buying American-made cars is patriotic. Most people I know think that buying American cars is stupid. As for foreign cars, people don’t really care or even know if their BMW, Mercedes, Kia, or Hyundai are made in the US or overseas. People buy them as “foreign cars” regardless if they are made domestically or not. As for Kia, some of their cars /SUVs sold in the US are still made in Korea.

Apple has had more than enough opportunities to manufacture in the US. They intentionally refuse to do so. Chances of them making cars in the US are nil.

 

[OriginalClone]

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!

The whole thought of companies owning the roads is scary and dystopian. Why would anyone actually want that?

Also, you’re wrong about people having self-driving cars.

 

[Joe The Dragon]

The whole thought of companies owning the roads is scary and dystopian. Why would anyone actually want that?

Also, you’re wrong about people having self-driving cars.

and an fully private road may have issue with traffic tickets and an non cop security guard can't issue an DWI / DUI