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<\/a><\/p>\nWhether Tim Cook will actually green-light a product for all these prospective buyers is still unclear. \u201cWe\u2019ll see what Apple does,\u201d the chief executive officer told the New York Times last year. \u201cWe investigate so many things internally. Many of them never see the light of day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bloomberg\u2019s Mark Gurman has reported Apple is shooting for a fully autonomous electric car and aims to have one ready around 2025. Many companies working on self-driving technology have been unable to deploy robotaxis on the timelines they targeted, and only a handful are offering ride services in select cities.<\/p>\n
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration keeps having to remind Americans that no vehicle available for purchase today is capable of driving itself (hear that, Tesla owners?)<\/p>\n
Autonomous or not, an Apple car could be a formidable force, especially given the amount of tech consumers want in their new vehicles and the challenges incumbents have had meeting those expectations.<\/p>\n
Cook employs legions of coders capable of developing the brains a modern electric vehicle needs to manage battery power and navigate traffic. The company also owns all sorts of content that could be piped into dashboard screens, assuming passengers will be able to safely avert their eyes from the road.<\/p>\n
For the time being, at least, Apple lacks an industrial partner. But one of the companies it knows best \u2014 iPhone assembler Foxconn \u2014 recently acquired a former General Motors assembly plant in Ohio from struggling startup Lordstown Motors. That factory is big enough to easily make 400,000 vehicles a year.<\/p>\n
While there are already plans to make Endurance pickups for Lordstown and an EV called the Pear for Fisker, both those companies are unproven startups. There may be plenty of space for Apple in that factory\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
Strategic Vision\u2019s study indicates automakers already having issues responding to the competitive threat posed by Tesla could be in for another menace. But Elon Musk also ought to take notice: More than 50% of Tesla owners said they\u2019d definitely consider a future Apple vehicle. \u201cEveryone should be prepared,\u201d Strategic Vision President Alexander Edwards says.<\/p>\n
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