Apple Developing Its Own Car

The next product that Apple wants to revolutionize may be the car itself.

Apple is actually developing its own electric car and has several hundred employees working on it in secret under a project code named “Titan,” reported the Wall Street Journal Friday.

Sources at Reuters and the Financial Times also confirmed that Apple is working on an Apple Car.

Reuters said Apple is looking into autonomous vehicle technology.

The Financial Times said the Apple Car team has been working in a secret location in Silicon Valley since late last year. Apple also recently recruited the CEO of Mercedes-Benz’s Silicon Valley research and development unit, it said. And the Apple Car project is led by an Apple veteran who also led teams for the first iPod and iPhone, Steve Zadesky.

The car is said to resemble a minivan.

The Journal cautions that Apple might choose not to commercially sell the car, but based on the size of the project team, sources say the project is “serious.”

LinkedIn reveals that 46 employees at Apple were previously at Tesla, reports Autopia. Plus 640 Apple employees have past experience in the automotive industry.

Leading analysts say an Apple Car is not far fetched. Roger Lanctot of Strategy Analytics guesses the venture probably emerged when Apple got fed up with dealing with car companies that would not adopt its ideas. He said in a blog, “ I think Apple’s Tim Cook has looked at this mess we call the automotive industry and decided: ‘We can do better.’”

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, The Financial Times

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