Apple working to develop an EV ?

I was just reading this week how tesla was going after apple workers and that apple was offering a excessive signing bonus
for such skilled workers.

Guess now it makes a bit of sense.
 
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc., which has been working secretly on a car, is pushing its team to begin production of an electric vehicle as early as 2020, people with knowledge of the matter said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-19/apple-said-to-be-targeting-car-production-as-soon-as-2020

When I first started reading this on lesser sites I assumed it was rubbish but now its on Bloomberg I am pretty sure its true.
Some of you might be wondering why they just don't buy Tesla? Well I have a few ideas on that.
Firstly I think Tim Cook just sees Tesla as too expensive to buy, if they could buy all the stock at current price it would cost Apple 25 billion. To make a take over it might cost as much as 50b because you need a premium to get all the stockholders to comply.
Sure Apple has the cash but I think Tim Cook assumed there would of been a day by now it could of picked up Tesla for next to nothing due to poor sales but he was wrong.

Ultimately if Apple spends 25 billion on or less on engineers for the next 5 years then it will have its own car thats all theres and probably better. If the end of the bg article is correct maybe all you got to do to 'buy' Tesla is hire all his guys at 250k + 60% and any others you find interesting and in 5 years with less then 50million spent you have the your EV.
Its kind of like sucking Tesla from the inside out without having to eat that unhealthy expensive skin I guess :eek:
 
Hi,

http://cleantechnica.com/2015/02/21/two-cents-apple-vs-tesla-poll/
As Chris and I discussed on our first “Cleantech Talk” podcast this week, one of the biggest cleantech stories of the past couple of weeks has been talk of Apple developing a self-driving electric car. Of course, it’s not clear to the public what Apple is working on, but that seems like a good possibility. Below, I’m reposting a thorough article on the topic that I wrote on EV Obsession. However, beforehand, we’ve got a poll below where you can chime in on the matter a bit. Admittedly, this poll was created by someone else for CleanTechnica, but I think it’s a good one so haven’t changed a thing. Chime in below, and keep this key quote from an anonymous Apple employee in mind:

“Apple’s latest project is too exciting to pass up. I think it will change the landscape and give Tesla a run for its money.”

Here’s the full EV Obsession repost if you want more info before making a decision:

One of the hot electric car stories of the week is that Apple may be working on an electric car of its own. A lot of sites have been eagerly reporting on this, but with little integration of comments from different sources and sites. I know I’d love to see it happen as much as the next Apple & electric car fan, but it’s hard to believe. That said, the anonymous sources tipping people off seem to be pretty convinced it is indeed a car Apple is working on, and there have been a number of sources… but all anonymous.

imo-electric-vehicle
Not the theoretical Apple car discussed in this article. Credit: iMo
To start with, an anonymous Apple employee told Business Insider that Apple is working on something big, with the implication being that it is in the electric car market. “Apple’s latest project is too exciting to pass up. I think it will change the landscape and give Tesla a run for its money.”

So… yeah, anonymous + vague. Nonetheless, there’s also word that Apple has been trying to poach Tesla engineers with $250,000 signing bonuses and 60% pay increases… (with just limited success). Furthermore, one of the huge things Tesla has done is make its cars much more heavily based on software than other cars on the road. Updates — and even recalls! — occur virtually just as they do on your iPhone, iPad, computer, etc. With Apple’s expertise and influence in this space, it could potentially bring a good offering to market.

Also, a lot have been wondering, how far can Apple really go with new iPhones, iPads, and computers? Sure, it’s a great market, but people seem less and less impressed with the improvements that come out every 2–3 years. How far can it go, especially with Samsung and others closing in on the premium tech giant? Getting into the electric car business… now, that’s something that could lead to a lot more growth for the most valuable company in the world.

Back to the rumors, there are more pieces to the story that have been popping up.

Some outlets report that Apple has “several hundred” people working to design a car codenamed Titan. “Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly green-lighted the project almost a year ago, and company executives have already begun to meet with potential contract manufacturers, including Canadian firm Magna Steyr. Apple iPod and iPhone designer Steve Zadesky, formerly of Ford, is said to be running the project,” Apple Insider reports.

“The team — which has its own development facility away from the main Infinite Loop campus — could eventually swell to some 1,000 employees, and Zadesky has been given free reign to pull talent from any existing Apple group. Zadesky’s group is reportedly researching ‘robotics, metals and materials consistent with automobile manufacturing.’ ” Johann Jungwirth, formerly the head of Mercedes-Benz R&D, is reportedly one such person working on Titan.

Bryan Chaffin of the Mac Observer notes, “what I learned is that Apple has been looking for—and acquiring—the kind of people from Tesla with expertise that is most suited to cars. So much so that I went from being a doubter to a believer almost instantly.” He goes on:

From another source who travels in more rarified circles than yours truly, I also learned that a lot of people at the top in Silicon Valley consider it a given that Apple is working on a car. This is circumstantial, at best, but if you’re going to crowd-source wisdom, you could do a lot worse than polling the C-suite.

I should add that when I asked one of my sources flat out to put a percentage chance on Apple working on an actual car—rather than some kind of car-related technology—I was told, “80 percent.”

When coupled with everything I’ve learned since, I’m personally closer to 100 percent.
 
Uk media are also reporting on apple employing battery boffins and working towards a car.
 
Hi,

Apple iCar gets parodied on video by fictional Jony Ive
[youtube]uueC1hHYqzs [/youtube]
 
I hope it doesn't rely on Apple Maps.
 
....I wonder when goodyear will make refrigerator?

Doc
 
speedmd said:
For fist time car owners, the "cherry". If it woks very well, the "Peach". Slow to get going, the "crab apple". And if all works great, the "berries".
Since we have so many vegetables driving, it'd be appropriate for them to ride around in fruits.


FWIW, the first iMac (well, 2nd gen, I think) had fruit-named colors.
 
First off, Apple has made very little to no attempt to increase their battery life on the iPhones. I'm sure I'll enjoy my driving "experience" in the Apple car for the 20 minutes it will last haha.

But you know what, if it gets more people thinking about electric vehicles, I'm all for it.
 
Excellent read, thanks for posting. The bit about Apple and electric cars is 1/3rd down the very long page. Scroll down and start reading just after this darkened (bold) section:

2014 $182.795 billion – growth 6.95% or $11.885 billion
2013 $170.910 billion – growth 9.20% or $14.4 billion
2012 $156.508 billion – growth 44.58% or $48.249 billion.
2011 $108.249 billion – growth 66.36% or $43.179 billion
2010 $65.070 billion – growth 78.07% or $28.53 billion
2009 $36.54 billion
 
Hillhater said:
Rickard on his EVTV gave an interesting insight as to why Apple are working on a car project
Foolishness. He made two points:
1. At some point it becomes impossible to sustain high growth rates (duh!).

2. Then he says that tech companies need to do that. Why do tech companies need to sustain impossible rates of growth more than Oil companies or financial companies or steel companies? And why does any type of company need to continue to maintain meteoric rates of growth forever? Regardless that is clearly impossible.

The reason Apple might be developing a car are that they have a bunch of cash on hand and they think there is an opportunity and they think they have the ability to do it.

How good a job they do might have more to with the ability of the people they hire to work on the project than their the quality of their phones and computers. I am personally grateful that Apple provides computers because that means I don't have to use Microshit OS's (Bill Gates wouldn't recognize an elegant piece of software if hit him on the head).
 
MitchJi said:
why does any type of company need to continue to maintain meteoric rates of growth forever? Regardless that is clearly impossible.

Because senior management seem to lack the ability to perform basic arithmetic, reasoning or critical thinking. They also seem to come up with stupid or impractical and order them to be done. They consider this "creativity" to be the hard part, hence justifying their immense salaries.
 
I just recently read that Bransons "Virgin" empire has hinted that they also want to jump into producing an EV model. It may be a success, or an utter failure, but...they seem to have enough cash (or need a tax write-off) that it is believable that they would make a good-faith effort to actually produce something.

I "think" that some of this recent buzz is based on the belief that several battery "breakthroughs" might produce something innovative in the next two years...roughly the same amount of time needed to develop a viable prototype EV?
 
MitchJi said:
? And why does any type of company need to continue to maintain meteoric rates of growth forever? Regardless that is clearly impossible.
).
Because dumb shit financial analysts and investors see growth as a key indicator to business future sustainability and hence stock value.
And yes, it is impossible, hence the point regarding how other big tech companies have collapsed when they could not maintain a favourable growth.
 
spinningmagnets said:
I "think" that some of this recent buzz is based on the belief that several battery "breakthroughs" might produce something innovative in the next two years...roughly the same amount of time needed to develop a viable prototype EV?
I'm not too sure how much design and development of an EV can be done until you have a pretty good idea on the battery spec that will be used.
Energy and power density, dictate so much about the drive system, vehicle weight, battery size, etc...all fundamentals to component spec and layout.
Maybe you could plan some form of flexible layout and manufacturing system to allow for variations in battery choice ?
 
Lee Iacocca spend the first half of his executive career at Ford. He was pushed out against his will, and then he managed to negotiate his taking over Chrysler for the remainder of his career. I mention this because a generation ago, it became common for an executive to "jump ship" for a slightly better deal every 3-5 years, and then work for dozens of companies over their career.

There came a point in american corporate history where it was decided that in order for these "short term bosses" to care about the long-term health, part of their compensation was added to include stock options. If the growth and value of the company increases over your term of control...you could reap huge bonuses in the form of stock value profits (which also results in the constant media push concerning "capital gains tax"). Feel manipulated yet?

This Frankenstein was crerated with good intentions (aren't they all?), and since any competition where a "nice guy" and a sociopath (who is smart enough to take on the appearance or normalcy), the sociopath often wins, resulting in CEOs and politicians having an unusually high percentage of sociopaths in their ranks.

So...we take sociopaths (whose successes are defined as evidence of being a competitive "Alpha" male, a "winner"), and we tell them that you will get a huge bonus in stock options if the company grows fast and its stock goes up.

Here's a real cherry to put on top of this milkshake. Because the US has allowed itself to slide into a very litigious society (lawsuits are too common, and damages paid can be shockingly large as a "punitive" effort, to punish above and beyond the actual losses proven)...a lawsuit can drag out the removal of a CEO who has managed horribly, but refuses to go peacefully. The result is the "golden handshake/golden parachute". Bad CEOs are given huge bonuses in exchange for just "going away" without a fight.

Aggressively pushing for unrealistic growth can have huge rewards for the handful at the top, and the penalty for a failure that results in thousands losing their jobs? a golden parachute. Are we really shocked at the result?

And the stock market I mentioned in passing? The thing thats best for the country is: slow and steady growth, but since speculators can profit from both the upswing and ALSO the downswings?...they work hard every day to create instability. Sociopaths can easily pass a lie detector test, because lying doesn't make them nervous. Its actually a nervous detection test, and...lying for their own profit at the expense of others is as natural as breathing...to a sociopath.
 
Doctorbass said:
....I wonder when goodyear will make refrigerator?

Doc
I hear they've been working on a design that allows the refrigerator to come to you, wherever you are! Very feature rich. Instead of driving to a grocery store, going aisle to aisle, hauling all those groceries back, etc, you simply send your refrigerator and it'll auto-fill itself. Is reputed to only be able to stock beer at the moment, but they're continuing to work out the kinks so it can at least also stock potato chips.
 
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