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Apple won’t do that.

They may buy a chassis or power train, but they aren’t going to rebadge a car.

Would be nice if this rumor is true. My 2013 Tesla S is beginning to act a little strange.
So bring your 6 year old Tesla back to the Tesla service center and get it fixed? Do you upgrade cars every 6 years? Still rocking a 2003 MB S500 and a 2007 Mazda RX8.

Must be very fortunate to throw away a 6 year old car like it’s an iPhone 5S 😂
 
No way, releasing a car means prototypes on the road now and now way they wouldn’t have been spotted... this is not a computer or phone you can hide in the lab, and where is the car assembled? Lines would be running now...
Exactly it takes 10 years to R&D then manufacture a vehicle, and that’s by companies that are highly experienced.
 
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I’m really not sure what to expect from an Apple Car. The nice part about Apple products is that while they’re expensive they’re typically accessible by a majority of people. The only way I could see them doing that with a car is if it was fully self-driving, and if they can beat Tesla to market with a better implementation.

It seems desirable if it were to have the best of everything, including the interface and sound system along with a stunning design, but it will likely carry a price tag of $50k+.

I don’t think Tesla is the end-all-be-all of the automotive industry and there is an opportunity for Apple to step in. There are a lot of considerations here as well that go far beyond the typical Apple product, since you can’t just drive an Apple Car into a Genius Bar. Releasing a car will be a major commitment for Apple in an industry with comparatively thin margins.
 
So bring your 6 year old Tesla back to the Tesla service center and get it fixed? Do you upgrade cars every 6 years? Still rocking a 2003 MB S500 and a 2007 Mazda RX8.

Must be very fortunate to throw away a 6 year old car like it’s an iPhone 5S 😂
When it comes to early Tesla it is like a piece of technology, so in a lot of ways it is more comparable to an iPhone 5s than a Mazda RX8.
 
Doubtful. And really, Mansfield wouldn't have quit if the car was this close...unless he felt like they were going to deliver a PoS because the timeline was too unrealistic.

The other issue is car assembly. AFAIK you can't just contract out car assembly. I mean I suppose it's possible, but most of the smaller manufacturers are really small (< 100 cars). And everyone else has their own lines, which cost a billion+ to make. Tesla's factories take a year to make, but they've gotten good at that. Assume it would take Apple 2. If construction had started it would be in Apple's financials somewhere, but there's nothing that big hiding out in any of the statements.

Maybe NIO or someone has excess capacity, but they would rather build their own cars than Apple's cars.
 
So bring your 6 year old Tesla back to the Tesla service center and get it fixed? Do you upgrade cars every 6 years? Still rocking a 2003 MB S500 and a 2007 Mazda RX8.

Must be very fortunate to throw away a 6 year old car like it’s an iPhone 5S 😂

7 year old, actually. And it’s spent a lot of time at the service center the last couple of years - looks like it will need its mcu replaced for the second time. Last time I was without the car for a month. So if not for the fact that I’m locked down, it would be getting pretty inconvenient trying to keep it running.

And assuming an Apple car arrives next year, 8 years is a reasonable time after which to consider replacing the Tesla.
 
I'm NOT sure they're going in the right direction.

IMO, they would be better served going after the under-3300 lb sports sedan market, which has more OR less been Abandoned by those who owned that Market (e.g., BMW).

Put in a (super smooth) 3.3-liter inline-6 with 270 HP @ 6250 & 270 lb-feet of torque @ 1750, the latter courtesy of a single Electric Turbo (which Mercedes should have out very soon) & with ONLY 9.9 PSI of max pressure (to make it feel as NA as possible), & couple that to a 6-speed manual + rear axle "geared for California" !

Then, Apple would have what BMW should be developing now !

Design it so that it gets 30 MPG on the Freeway @ 90 MPH, & many of those with a Tesla will say, I want that next !

16 gallon gas tank x 30 MPG = 480 miles of legit cruising range !

Here in California, that gets you from San Diego to Silicon Valley, OR vice-versa !

BTW, Porsche does NOT have anything that legitimately competes with what I've described, at any price !
 
I don’t see fully autonomous cars ever allowed to operate on the public roads as public roads are currently constructed.
 
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Apple will not be producing a car. If that is even on their roadmap, it is a decade or more out. What they WILL do will be similar to what Google just did with the Polestar 2 but on a grander scale - that is, the vehicle's integrated electronics (it's "brain") will be an Apple-designed system. Basically, CarPlay but for every function of the car. Many of these features already exist in SOME cars or through third-party products/services, but Apple would be integrating them into a central system and it could be offered on lots of cars.

- While driving: "Hey Siri, turn up the rear A/C"
- Siri prompts that your intended (or predicted) destination might be further than your current tank will allow, maybe even suggesting where to stop for gas.
- From inside your house: "Hey Siri, warm up my car"
- Shortcut that warms up car automatically 5 minutes before departure time for an event
- Garage door automatically opens when car is in garage and starts, and closes when it leaves (car-dependent, rather than person-dependent)
- Using Apple's HIGHLY advanced software and processing core competency to utilize the sensors already in many/most modern cars and license out their integration to OEMs. i.e. Subaru and others currently use forward-facing cameras to operate many of their safety features, and Apple Maps and CarPlay could integrate this into the navigation (as some already do) alongside advanced prompts and visual cues.

Again, basically, car manufacturers have never been great at technology interfaces. They are getting better as it becomes more important to consumers, but they're still not on the level of actual tech companies. This is why they are willing to pay license money to have Android Auto and CarPlay available, because people want them more than what the OEM came up with. This is a solid precedent for them willing to pay royalties to have Apple's integrated system.

For an early version of this type of integration, I totally believe that the end of next year is feasible.
 
I could see them building out some sort of AI service for cloud connected vehicles or cars on demand but never their own vehicle.
 
I’ve given up on the Apple Car. It’s just not something that I would ever be able to afford. I can’t justify spending $99,000 on a car for the base model. No way it’s any cheaper than that. Probably more like $149,000. This is Apple. Beyond that, I barely drive any more. I’m good with my Subaru.
 
Maybe Apple is branding its infotainment software as Apple Car. This would require components, but they would go into cars of other manufacturers. For example, Volvo partnering with Google for the XC40 Recharge.
 
no, just no.. who would manufacturer it? Taiwan Semi? FoxCon? (i'm not being serious), they arent building any factories.. so.. that leaves them partnering with a major manufacturer.. (no announcements) .. this would be a MacWorld/Apple Developers announcement .. it would be THE MacWorld/Apple Developers announcement..

Tesla is having major issues scaling and with manufacturing.. Why would apple jump in this boat? Next year?ha.. if anything they'll announce a platform like carplay for other manufacturers to use. they provide the technology and the software, the car manufacturers incorporate it.
 
That will not happen. Not law or market is ready for autonomous cars on the scale Apple would be interested in sales figures. I mean 2021. Apple can release the 5G phone but the Apple car cannot see the daylight before traffic laws allow to drive it.
 


Apple's long-rumored electric vehicle is running at least two years ahead of schedule and will be released in the third quarter of 2021, according to Taiwan's Economic Daily News, which cites unnamed executives at Taiwanese manufacturers.

Apple-car-wheel-icon-feature-yellow.jpg

The report claims that Taiwanese manufacturers are preparing to ramp up for production of "Apple Car" components as early as the second quarter of next year, adding that Apple has been secretly testing dozens of prototype vehicles on the road in California. Apple received a permit from California's DMV to test self-driving vehicles in 2017, and it was spotted using Lexus SUVs rigged with LiDAR equipment that year.

While many sources have claimed the Apple Car will be released between 2023 and 2025, including analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the report cites an unnamed director at a major Taiwanese manufacturer who said Apple is targeting a September 2021 launch.

While anything is possible, the earlier timeframe is questionable, especially due to the impact of the pandemic. Earlier this month, a DigiTimes report claimed that Apple was in "preliminary" negotiations with automotive electronics suppliers, suggesting that its vehicle project still remains in the fairly early stages. The report added that Apple's chipmaking partner TSMC is reportedly working with Apple on a "self-driving chip."

Over the years, reports have flip flopped on whether Apple is developing a full-fledged vehicle or working on artificial intelligence and autonomous driving technologies for vehicles in general. Apple's artificial intelligence chief John Giannandrea recently took over leadership of the project, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Given that automakers often announce all-new vehicles years in advance, one possibility is that the Apple Car will be previewed in late 2021, but not released. For now, though, the report should be treated with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Economic Daily News has a mixed track record with Apple rumors. The publication accurately revealed that Apple would be releasing a repurposed iPhone 8 in March 2020, nearly a year before the second-generation iPhone SE was unveiled, and it also nailed down the 11-inch iPad Pro. On the contrary, the publication inaccurately reported that a high-end gaming Mac would debut at WWDC 2020 and that AirPods Pro would come in several colors.

Article Link: Sketchy Report Says Apple Car is Years Ahead of Schedule, Will Debut Next Year
Apple Car: starting at 80k USD tires sold separately.
 
So bring your 6 year old Tesla back to the Tesla service center and get it fixed? Do you upgrade cars every 6 years? Still rocking a 2003 MB S500 and a 2007 Mazda RX8.

Must be very fortunate to throw away a 6 year old car like it’s an iPhone 5S 😂

Personally, I change cars every 3 years. Somebody else will get good use out of it.
 
If Apple made a car I can only imagine form over function, no steering wheel buttons or any buttons in general ect.
You control the car by speaking to Siri!

No but seriously, this is what I expect. A car where you have to control it via Siri or touch screen. No thanks, Apple.
 
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