Apple Hires Former Tesla Engineering VP With Expertise in Car Interiors

[jerryk]

What? Their super cruise doesn't even execute lane changes.

And sounds like you're brainwashed by the media. Only Tesla crashes were reported. Where are all the Tesla saves? I've had my Tesla swerve because a truck was about to merge onto my lane. Did that get reported? Nope. But had I crashed, it'll be all over the news.

Tesla is a trailblazer. And like all trailblazers you can tell them by all the arrows in their back from naysayers.

Congrats on your Tesla. Love our X. Hoping to replace one of the BMWs with Model 3 soon.
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They'll find ways to make their money. Unlike Tesla, which, despite making below average quality vehicles, still loses a mountain of money

Let's hope BMW figures out how to make a profit. This year is the first time in over a decade that the BMW automotive division lost money.

"... earnings at the carmaker’s main unit fell by 42 percent to 1.1 billion euros in the first quarter. Price competition in some markets and spending on new technology cut into profit, the luxury carmaker said Tuesday in a statement."

"To deal with the pressures, BMW in March announced a 12 billion-euro savings plan, culling models and cutting development time."

And getting back to the original issues about Apple. Why would Apple want to get into the cutthroat car business?

 

[AustinIllini]

And getting back to the original issues about Apple. Why would Apple want to get into the cutthroat car business?

They wouldn't. Well, they might but they would hire out the manufacturing

 

[Baymowe335]

With full self driving by Apple/Tesla, you're overvaluing the cost of the subscription service. There's no human component which means you'll see far lower costs compared to the cost of a Lyft monthly subscription.
[doublepost=1563920931][/doublepost]



EV tech is extremely difficult. Because building EV is difficult, there are costs associated with it. Ask Audi if they delivered on every E-Tron promise or Jaguar on their iPace when they were announced. They didn't. When Tesla unveiled the Model 3, they delivered on all of the said promises and actually exceeded them. The only exception was the carbon fiber color, which is understandable.

BMW sounds extremely puzzled. They said on the record that people aren't demanding EVs. I can easily find stats that EVs are on the rise.



Your point of manufacturers waiting for Tesla to self destruct doesn't make sense. Car manufacturers can copy the tech already. Their patents are free of use by any other company. They literally have a page on their website that lists every single patent and explicitly says they "will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use its technology."

Tesla has said that some manufacturers are already using their patents.

The tech isn’t there yet, which is why no other manufacturer is going hard into EV yet.

 

[AustinIllini]

The tech isn’t there yet, which is why no other manufacturer is going hard into EV yet.

The tech is mostly there, I just think most car companies can't sell the cars at the prices they want and maintain their standard of quality.

 

[Baymowe335]

The tech is mostly there, I just think most car companies can't sell the cars at the prices they want and maintain their standard of quality.

It’s got to be all the way and it also needs to be a reasonable cost. That’s all part of being there.

They also need to solve the range and charging time issues. Too little range, too much of pain to recharge quickly. Cars need full charge in 7 minutes or less.

 

[mi7chy]

Keep fanboying BMW and see how they treat you.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a...n-service-and-charge-customers-an-annual-fee/

BMW isn't all that and my next vehicle will be something other than so perhaps a Tesla since it's built locally and free of OPEC. Have been watching Europeans extreme testing it on autobahn.

 

[AustinIllini]

Keep fanboying BMW and see how they treat you.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a...n-service-and-charge-customers-an-annual-fee/

BMW isn't all that and my next vehicle will be something other than so perhaps a Tesla since it's built locally and free of OPEC. Have been watching Europeans extreme testing it on autobahn.

I have never owned a BMW

 

[Baymowe335]

Keep fanboying BMW and see how they treat you.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a...n-service-and-charge-customers-an-annual-fee/

BMW isn't all that and my next vehicle will be something other than so perhaps a Tesla since it's built locally and free of OPEC. Have been watching Europeans extreme testing it on autobahn.

Teslas have all kinds of parts requiring oil to produce, fyi.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

The exterior of a car is always subjective; Model S can be nice in the correct version, Model X always an awkward looking big blob, Model 3 nope, don't like it at all.

And yes their supercharge network is fantastic, a real selling point. And when you have ludicrous mode you get great performance.

But all of this comes at a significant premium compared to the alternatives. And when you then compare the interior for that cost against the alternatives; well it is well below par. Sure it is minimalistic, and I won't argue about looks as that is subjectives. But there can be no argument about the cheap materials used all-round. It is really not fitting its price tag but more equivalent to some Korean cheap budget car. And not just that, its not clever either. I find a model s cramped on the inside, my daughters complain about limited headroom in the back. Again simply not good enough for the cost. Sure the Model X has space, but its an ugly big blob, just like a voyager used to be ugly.
.

it was the best selling luxury car of 2018 in the USA. it's the #1 best selling car in the Netherlands. they only recently started selling international too. what are you smoking?

They are mainly used as taxis, and company vehicles due to the tax incentives. Without such incentives they wouldn't sell so much.

However you seem to be a bit of a liar, yes a liar, as they are simply NOT the #1 best selling car. I don't understand why you feel the need to make up nonsense like that. Here is the official sales for all cars and models in 2018 in the Netherlands;
https://raivereniging.nl/artikel/marktinformatie/actuele-verkoopcijfers/verkoopcijfers-2018.html

Very sad behaviour on your part.

Based on the couple Tesla interiors I’ve been in I think Tesla should have hired an interiors expert.

Totally agree, they much be having a party to have finally gotten rid of that guy.

They are spartan, but comfortable. But the spartan part is in keeping with Tesla minimalist design, sort of like like Scandinavian furniture. Also, the design saves money. No need to have a lot of knobs and dials that have to be installed and spares stocked. Changing software is relatively cheap compared to having boxes of spare parts that may never get sold sitting on shelves in a warehouse.

Using a touch screen on the move is really not great. Yes it is minimalist and I won't argue about subjective looks. The materials used, and the price point it is at simply don't match up. There is no excuse.

Oh honey. Yes they are.
[doublepost=1563855163][/doublepost]Laughing at the Tesla hate on these forums. Tesla is the best car around and my model 3 is incredible. The upgrade is literally similar to going from flip phones to the iPhone back in the day.

It all depends what ones reference framework contains, if you've come from a **** car then obviously a new car is going to be great. If you are already used to great cars then it is really not much of an upgrade, and interior wise definitely a downgrade across the range in my opinion.

 

[farewelwilliams]

The tech isn’t there yet, which is why no other manufacturer is going hard into EV yet.

tech is here with model 3 with supercharging v3 already released. car manufacturers are actually going hard into EV, but it takes them several years to react with a new product.
[doublepost=1563951922][/doublepost]

However you seem to be a bit of a liar, yes a liar, as they are simply NOT the #1 best selling car. I don't understand why you feel the need to make up nonsense like that. Here is the official sales for all cars and models in 2018 in the Netherlands;
https://raivereniging.nl/artikel/marktinformatie/actuele-verkoopcijfers/verkoopcijfers-2018.html

Very sad behaviour on your part.

very sad that you failed to read properly.

i said #1 in USA for 2018.

did i say "it's the #1 best selling car in the Netherlands for 2018"? no. of course it wasn't the best selling car in Netherlands in 2018 because Tesla didn't start selling Model 3 in Netherlands until 2019.

all i said was "it's the #1 best selling car in the Netherlands" which is currently (present day) true as of this moment.

read carefully next time before you accuse someone of being a liar.

 

[Doomtomb]

Apple Car Pro™

Made in China

 

[cmaier]

The exterior of a car is always subjective; Model S can be nice in the correct version, Model X always an awkward looking big blob, Model 3 nope, don't like it at all.

And yes their supercharge network is fantastic, a real selling point. And when you have ludicrous mode you get great performance.

But all of this comes at a significant premium compared to the alternatives. And when you then compare the interior for that cost against the alternatives; well it is well below par. Sure it is minimalistic, and I won't argue about looks as that is subjectives. But there can be no argument about the cheap materials used all-round. It is really not fitting its price tag but more equivalent to some Korean cheap budget car. And not just that, its not clever either. I find a model s cramped on the inside, my daughters complain about limited headroom in the back. Again simply not good enough for the cost. Sure the Model X has space, but its an ugly big blob, just like a voyager used to be ugly.
.



They are mainly used as taxis, and company vehicles due to the tax incentives. Without such incentives they wouldn't sell so much.

However you seem to be a bit of a liar, yes a liar, as they are simply NOT the #1 best selling car. I don't understand why you feel the need to make up nonsense like that. Here is the official sales for all cars and models in 2018 in the Netherlands;
https://raivereniging.nl/artikel/marktinformatie/actuele-verkoopcijfers/verkoopcijfers-2018.html

Very sad behaviour on your part.



Totally agree, they much be having a party to have finally gotten rid of that guy.


Using a touch screen on the move is really not great. Yes it is minimalist and I won't argue about subjective looks. The materials used, and the price point it is at simply don't match up. There is no excuse.


It all depends what ones reference framework contains, if you've come from a **** car then obviously a new car is going to be great. If you are already used to great cars then it is really not much of an upgrade, and interior wise definitely a downgrade across the range in my opinion.

I much prefer my model s interior to my prior Porsche boxster’s interior, or the interior of my prior BMW X5 or current x3. The way people here (not you) are stating that Tesla designs are objectively bad is silly given that it’s inherently a subjective thing. A lot of people also confusing fit and finish, which is a manufacturing thing, with design.

 

[justperry]

i didn't say it was perfect. but it was revolutionary and amazing for that point in time.
touch?

Touch screen.
It was quite a phone, if Apple releases a car it won't be perfect either, lots of other brands have been in the business for decades or even a century and even those ones make perfect cars, close to it though, Apple's car will probably be a real nice one, with some "bugs" or missing features.

 

[Baymowe335]

tech is here with model 3 with supercharging v3 already released. car manufacturers are actually going hard into EV, but it takes them several years to react with a new product.
[doublepost=1563951922][/doublepost]

very sad that you failed to read properly.

i said #1 in USA for 2018.

did i say "it's the #1 best selling car in the Netherlands for 2018"? no. of course it wasn't the best selling car in Netherlands in 2018 because Tesla didn't start selling Model 3 in Netherlands until 2019.

all i said was "it's the #1 best selling car in the Netherlands" which is currently (present day) true as of this moment.

read carefully next time before you accuse someone of being a liar.

How quick will it fully charge? If I can’t drive somewhere on a road trip, Tesla is still going backwards.

It’s also too expensive and tax credits will end soon, making it even less of a value.

I disagree on why EV isn’t a bigger focus. I think it’s because other companies see it being a niche market, expensive, and not ready for mass market yet. We will get there. If Tesla isn’t profitable now, they are in trouble.

 

[alexandr]

Touch screen.
It was quite a phone, if Apple releases a car it won't be perfect either, lots of other brands have been in the business for decades or even a century and even those ones make perfect cars, close to it though, Apple's car will probably be a real nice one, with some "bugs" or missing features.

listen, if they make a kick ass car - great. somehow the apple car project(if it's for consumers) always seemed like a flop waiting to happen. like when google tried to make a social network) i am more open to being wrong though

 

[jerryk]

It’s got to be all the way and it also needs to be a reasonable cost. That’s all part of being there.

They also need to solve the range and charging time issues. Too little range, too much of pain to recharge quickly. Cars need full charge in 7 minutes or less.

Even on trips 250-300 miles of range is more than enough for most people. How often do you drive your car for 4 hours without stopping for food or the bathroom? EV chargers are usually co-located with restaurants, coffee, and/or shopping. So while you eat or use the bathroom the car charges. And in 20-25 minutes you are ready to go.

And on more normal daily commutes you never wait to charge. Because just like your phone, you charge while you sleep. When I come home I spend 10 seconds plugging in my car. When I head out in the morning I spend 10 seconds disconnecting the charger. And when I get in the gauge reads full. EVERY DAY it reads full.

It is so great never having to go to gas station and wait behind some guy that is taking forever to fill there car, or went into the store to get beer.

And then there is the cost. Paying the US average of $0.12 for a KW means for 300 miles (100KW) a big EV SUV, like Tesla X (7-passengers, 6200lbs), you pay $12.00 to fill.

 

[farewelwilliams]

How quick will it fully charge? If I can’t drive somewhere on a road trip, Tesla is still going backwards.

It’s also too expensive and tax credits will end soon, making it even less of a value.

I disagree on why EV isn’t a bigger focus. I think it’s because other companies see it being a niche market, expensive, and not ready for mass market yet. We will get there. If Tesla isn’t profitable now, they are in trouble.

The supercharger network covers pretty much any location you want to go. Tesla has a trip planner on the website so you can plug in any address and it’ll tell you which superchargers to go to.

Tesla has said that based on the history of charging sessions from v2, most customers would only be at the v3 supercharger for 15 minutes. However I see most customers would opt in for the v2 chargers so they can eat lunch/dinner while it’s charging.

Model 3 is $35k which isn’t terribly expensive for a new car.

 

[Baymowe335]

The supercharger network covers pretty much any location you want to go. Tesla has a trip planner on the website so you can plug in any address and it’ll tell you which superchargers to go to.

Tesla has said that based on the history of charging sessions from v2, most customers would only be at the v3 supercharger for 15 minutes. However I see most customers would opt in for the v2 chargers so they can eat lunch/dinner while it’s charging.

Model 3 is $35k which isn’t terribly expensive for a new car.

It’s still somewhat inconvenient to not be able to fill up in 5 minutes and go wherever you want. I don’t want to use a trip planner. I want to charge anywhere I am, like I can with gas today.

The Model 3 standard says it’s $38,990 and then they have some gas savings and incentives. It isn’t terribly expensive, but the thing is pretty basic.

I can get a brand new Civic for literally half that which gets 40mpg. For people needing a budget car, they can’t afford a Tesla.

 

[jerryk]

I can get a brand new Civic for literally half that which gets 40mpg. For people needing a budget car, they can’t afford a Tesla.

True and by design. The Tesla Model 3 was designed from the beginning to compete with the BMW 3 series which it does very effectively. The number 3 was taken right from the BMW 3 series and BMW sued Tesla over it's use. So, the people that cannot afford a new Model 3 also cannot afford a new BMW 3/4 series car, which go out the door for over $45,000 on average because no one wants a stripped BMW 3 series.

 

[[AUT] Thomas]

Tesla Engineering VP With Expertise in Car Interiors

That was a good joke!

Tesla certainly has some good engineering knowledge... but efficient & precise manufacturing of the vehicle body or good interior is none of them...

 

[[AUT] Thomas]

Keep fanboying BMW and see how they treat you.
BMW isn't all that and my next vehicle will be something other than so perhaps a Tesla since it's built locally and free of OPEC. Have been watching Europeans extreme testing it on autobahn.

As far as I know most "German" cars sold in the US are built in the US.
As for Tesla... It would be a much better car if Tesla would have focused on the electric part and have a competent car manufacturer built the body & interior and consult them on the chassis as well.

 

[shaunymac]

My biggest gripe with Tesla is their parts supply. I work in the collision industry and anytime one is brought in, everyone cringes. They are nearly impossible to get parts for. The lead time is forever if not impossible meaning customers are out of a vehicle forever. Talk about a bad experience!

Apple could definitely help with their supply chain expertise as well as their bank roll.

On a side note, for those wondering, I've seen Tesla's totaled for just because we can't get parts, storage racks up on them and it isn't worth it. It is mind blowing. They are screwing themselves on that front.


Edit:
For the people complaining about Tesla's interior, you guys do know they use a lot of Mercedes components, right? The switches, stalks, etc. are all fine by me. Heck, even Toyota and BMW are in bed together these days. That should tell you something about competing in the automotive space these days.

 

[Baymowe335]

TSLA -11% after larger quarterly loss and revenue miss.

Tesla said it lost $408 million in the quarter and sales of $6.3B disappointed Wallstreet, which expected $6.5B.

 

[farewelwilliams]

It’s still somewhat inconvenient to not be able to fill up in 5 minutes and go wherever you want. I don’t want to use a trip planner. I want to charge anywhere I am, like I can with gas today.

The Model 3 standard says it’s $38,990 and then they have some gas savings and incentives. It isn’t terribly expensive, but the thing is pretty basic.

I can get a brand new Civic for literally half that which gets 40mpg. For people needing a budget car, they can’t afford a Tesla.

5 min vs 15 min is negligible. More often than not, people are busy using the restroom and looking around the convenience store to look for something to snack on/drink. By the time they finish, they're off to the next stop. My guess is that most don't like driving 600 miles straight without stopping to rest or eat. You may be a minority however if you do enjoy doing that.

Trip planner is also in the car's mapping solution. You type in the address and the car will figure out the best time to charge if needed. I only mentioned the trip planner on the web because you don't have a Tesla.

What you're looking at is Model 3 Standard plus, not Standard. Model 3 Standard for $35k is off menu. You can place an order via phone.

Civic also has long term service costs + fuel. Model 3 drive train is rated for 1 million miles. Model 3's battery next year will be rated for 1 million miles too (currently rated for 350k miles). Only service you need is to rotate tires. That's all.

I currently haven't paid for electricity for my car for the past year since my gym installed free EV chargers, except for when I made major vacation trips.

 

[Baymowe335]

5 min vs 15 min is negligible. More often than not, people are busy using the restroom and looking around the convenience store to look for something to snack on/drink. By the time they finish, they're off to the next stop. My guess is that most don't like driving 600 miles straight without stopping to rest or eat. You may be a minority however if you do enjoy doing that.

Trip planner is also in the car's mapping solution. You type in the address and the car will figure out the best time to charge if needed. I only mentioned the trip planner on the web because you don't have a Tesla.

What you're looking at is Model 3 Standard plus, not Standard. Model 3 Standard for $35k is off menu. You can place an order via phone.

Civic also has long term service costs + fuel. Model 3 drive train is rated for 1 million miles. Model 3's battery next year will be rated for 1 million miles too (currently rated for 350k miles). Only service you need is to rotate tires. That's all.

I currently haven't paid for electricity for my car for the past year since my gym installed free EV chargers, except for when I made major vacation trips.

I didn’t think a 15 minute fill up is reality yet in most cases. If it is, that’s a decent step. 15 minutes versus 5 still isn’t negligible to me. I spend 0 time at gas stations besides filling the car up which takes under 5 minutes.

Civic is $19K. $16K extra plus tax buys a lot of maintenance and gas. Civics need practically 0 maintenance besides oil changes for the better part of 100,000 miles.

And in the end, energy isn’t free or green. You have a free charging station, but most people will have to pay most times and definitely if you want the fast fill up.

“According to the cost calculator available from the independent website Teslanomics, consumers would need to pay roughly $712.80 in charging costs annually for the lowest-cost Model 3, assuming a daily commute of 40 miles.”

87 gas is like $2.65/gallon and the civic gets almost 40mpg. Assume 400 gallons of gas for a year driving 40 miles per day...that’s only $1,060 in gas for the Civic and it cost $16,000 less for the car.

Installing a charging station in your house also costs money.

Teslas do require some maintenance. The same site a referenced earlier says it’s $2800 over 5 years. They’ve also been unreliable, so million mile warranties mean nothing.

The tax benefits are going away completely later this year too.