Apple Spent More Than $10 Billion on Apple Car Before Canceling Project

[jlc1978]

Tesla should worry about BYD and Hyundai low cost EV, when the EV plant in Georgia opens soon.

And that is the crux of the matter - how big is the current EV market and how will it grow? Price cuts to maintain or grow share tends to indicate a slow growing market where manufacturers seek growth at competitors expense, rather than by capturing more of an expanding market.

I suspect Apple looked at the market and decided they simply could not make a car and get the returns they wanted, and decided to bail on it.

Toyota and Honda are slow movers , but most healthiest automakers who can probably take more risk, if they ever want to go EV.

I'm sure they will, it's just a question of when do they see the opportunity?

Tesla faces some serious headwinds in the EV market; its operating margin is declining although still healthy. I think they will survive, but aren't going to be the superstar they were.

 

[diamond.g]

And that is the crux of the matter - how big is the current EV market and how will it grow? Price cuts to maintain or grow share tends to indicate a slow growing market where manufacturers seek growth at competitors expense, rather than by capturing more of an expanding market.

I suspect Apple looked at the market and decided they simply could not make a car and get the returns they wanted, and decided to bail on it.



I'm sure they will, it's just a question of when do they see the opportunity?

Tesla faces some serious headwinds in the EV market; its operating margin is declining although still healthy. I think they will survive, but aren't going to be the superstar they were.

The increased prices (and gouging by dealerships) and rising interest rates for auto loans 100% didn't help.

Toyota has an EV they are selling. No clue if it is selling well though (IIRC reviews of it were meh at best). Honda has an EV that should be coming out soonish.

 

[imtoretto]

Long story short, $10B dollars wasted on useless people.
shoul’ve of give me that money, and Apple would’ve of start seen getting the money back.

 

[Surf Monkey]

Long story short, $10B dollars wasted on useless people.
shoul’ve of give me that money, and Apple would’ve of start seen getting the money back.

I don’t think we can chalk it up to a 100% loss. There’s no doubt that Apple learned a lot in the car project. The Vision appears to have some of the car tech, for example.

 

[imtoretto]

I don’t think we can chalk it up to a 100% loss. There’s no doubt that Apple learned a lot in the car project. The Vision appears to have some of the car tech, for example.

Me as consumer i feel like… WTH????
imagine if a was one of the investors, how would i feel…..
but reading an article yesterday and also watching a video, one of the big ideas was to build a vehicle hands free….
Are you F kidding me right now???? Not even tesla though….
Whoever was behind this idea, Apple shoul’ve off remove this individual and put this project back in track.

 

[Surf Monkey]

Me as consumer i feel like… WTH????
imagine if a was one of the investors, how would i feel…..
but reading an article yesterday and also watching a video, one of the big ideas was to build a vehicle hands free….
Are you F kidding me right now???? Not even tesla though….
Whoever was behind this idea, Apple shoul’ve off remove this individual and put this project back in track.

To be fair, the board of directors probably had a better idea of what the project was and what it was doing (or not doing) for the company than we do.

That said, it does seem like setting up the correct supply chain and the right strategic partnerships should have been easy for Apple under Tim Cook. But without any chance of self drive and no other significant way to deferential an Apple vehicle in the market they really had no choice but to axe it.

The bigger problem, as it’s reported in various sources, seems to be Tim Cook’s inability to make a final decision. Delegation is fine but the buck has to stop somewhere. Part of the Jobs genius was identifying a goal and pressing towards it with a monomaniacal urgency. To all outward appearances Tim Cook doesn’t have that same focus and drive. He’s not a product guy. He’s a numbers guy.

 

[victorvictoria]

One of my complaints was in my post that ‘you’ replied to! The software is poor, and I am by no means the only one claiming this, plus its services are breaking down seemingly weekly. Hardware is nothing without software, and over the heads Apple has struggles with the quality of its software sometimes. Use the timer app and tell me if it’s acceptable when you delete a timer, then go to use the previous still saves timer it still displays the deleted one as the one you one to use even though it’s gone from your ti ears list. Stuff like that is just poor.

That's not enough beef to feed a goldfinch.🤣

 

[Analog Kid]

Just a note to history here: on April 19th, Tesla announced a recall of all Cybertrucks to fix an accelerator issue. As part of that announcement, they said there are currently 3,878 Cybertrucks on the road. That is less than half the F150 Lightnings sold in Q1 2024 alone.

Tesla announced a year over year decline in total vehicle sales for Q1 2024. Tesla continues to discount their vehicles and have just laid off 10% of their employees. All indications are that the mythical budget EV Tesla was supposedly working on has been canceled.

This shades the "Ford's electric truck lines are suffering and Tesla is an unstoppable juggernaut" rhetoric a bit differently.

 

[bushman4]

While it took Apple years to realize, it’s better they ended the project than pursue an autonomous car that will never see day of light

 

[rurounihana]

People are realizing that electric cars are:

1. Dangerous due to the giant flammable and explosive batteries
2. Takes ages to recharge VS 1 minute to fill up the tank of a normal car
3. Extremely unreliable, especially during cold areas and wintertime

Apple and Tesla now realize this. Video above will prove it further.