talk talk talk, just do it Apple. This mystery and rumor mongering for years is tiresome. Tesla has set the bar on which ALL companies, automotive or otherwise, should be reaching and nobody has gotten there yet.
Yet again Apple is following on other people's footsteps and the anticipation and expectations for their product is ridiculous. Someone has already achieved great success in the EV market, Apple doesn't need to try and redefine or claim to provide more innovation in this market, if they want to offer a competitive product, do it, don't grand stand for years and spend years talking with partners that go nowhere.
Apple did the EXACT same thing with a supposed real TV set, talked for years with cable providers and content providers and TV set manufacturers, and it went nowhere. If Apple wants to brand their own car, do it, period.
The last thing on earth we need is Apple to come along and create their own proprietary charge port just because they didn't get into this market first and don't want to give a nod towards the groundbreakers and innovators that came before them. I am sure Tesla's charge port and fast charging solution is more than good enough as a standard, and there are other EV cars on the market using a standard port. Apple doesn't need to "discuss" talks about charging stations, they just need to do what they always do, follow the leader and not try to do something different for the sake of being different when they are running far behind.
The last thing we need is for Apple to claim they invented or reinvented the EV market by simply tweaking what real innovators have already succeeded in doing. At the end of the day, its 4 wheels and a steering wheel, and a port to charge it, Apple isn't going to re-invent cars, period.