Apple's project “Titan” BEV

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Apple entering the market will have a greatly positive impact on EV adoption - irrespective of all the obvious jokes. So, I'm really looking forward to this - and I hope the rumors are true ... also for the jokes ;)
 
"With rumors that Apple is not only moving ahead on its electric car initiative, but trying to accelerate its development, a former GM and BMW exec is giving a few words of warning. Bob Lutz appeared on CNBC and expressed his doubts that Apple has a fighting chance to make any impact on the auto industry. "And when it comes to actually making cars," Lutz said, "there is no reason to assume that Apple, with no experience, will suddenly do a better job than General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota or Hyundai. So I think this is going to be a gigantic money pit, but then it doesn't matter. I mean Apple has an embarrassment of riches, they don't know where to put the cash anymore. So if they burn 30 or 40 billion dollars in the car business, no one's going to notice.""

https://bgr.com/2015/09/22/apple-car-gigantic-money-pit/

evnow said:
Apple entering the market will have a greatly positive impact on EV adoption - irrespective of all the obvious jokes. So, I'm really looking forward to this - and I hope the rumors are true ... also for the jokes ;)
Click to expand...
 
TomT said:
"With rumors that Apple is not only moving ahead on its electric car initiative, but trying to accelerate its development, a former GM and BMW exec is giving a few words of warning. Bob Lutz appeared on CNBC and expressed his doubts that Apple has a fighting chance to make any impact on the auto industry. "And when it comes to actually making cars," Lutz said, "there is no reason to assume that Apple, with no experience, will suddenly do a better job than General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota or Hyundai. So I think this is going to be a gigantic money pit, but then it doesn't matter. I mean Apple has an embarrassment of riches, they don't know where to put the cash anymore. So if they burn 30 or 40 billion dollars in the car business, no one's going to notice.""

https://bgr.com/2015/09/22/apple-car-gigantic-money-pit/

evnow said:
Apple entering the market will have a greatly positive impact on EV adoption - irrespective of all the obvious jokes. So, I'm really looking forward to this - and I hope the rumors are true ... also for the jokes ;)
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Lutz and his friends said the same thing about Tesla a few years ago. There is an old video with them chuckling about all that Tesla does not know about how hard it is to build a car. We'll, they upstarts from Silicon Valley seemed to figure it out, and since Apple is using many of the same people (they took them from Tesla) then I think they will also have the same result. Not an easy task, but they will make it. I think after two startups succeed then the old manufacturers will wake up and start to recognize that they are in trouble. Right now they are still in denial. VW got a different wakeup call and may have to go full electric just to save the company from their own mistakes.
 
Sony CEO said it best.

http://ecomento.com/2015/09/07/sony-considers-building-an-electric-car-of-its-own/
Chief executive Kazoo Hirai reportedly believes that the advent of modern electric cars has lowered the barrier for entry into the car industry, and “won’t rule out” Sony’s eventual participation in it.
Click to expand...
 
2.0 years FaradayFutureGen1- Could be "Likely" Apple in disguise!! http:/www.ff.com

Faraday Future, the electric-vehicle startup backed by Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting, which plans to manufacture its first car in 2017 at a $1 billion factory near Las Vegas. Thus puts it a neck and neck tie with Tesla 3 - question is where is the Lithium carbonate for batteries coming from?

LeEco brought out 4 concept EVs on their behalf

Apex Industrial Park - Broke Ground in North Las Vegas Clark County 25 miles north East of strip

Smack in the middle of 3 natural gas - GE jet engine fired - electricity plants (2,383 MW) since the Hoover Dam (2,080 MW) now has to parse out electricity to multiple states and Las Vegas cannot keep the lights and AC running from the Dam anymore!!
 
TomT said:
"With rumors that Apple is not only moving ahead on its electric car initiative, but trying to accelerate its development, a former GM and BMW exec is giving a few words of warning. Bob Lutz appeared on CNBC and expressed his doubts that Apple has a fighting chance to make any impact on the auto industry. "And when it comes to actually making cars," Lutz said, "there is no reason to assume that Apple, with no experience, will suddenly do a better job than General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota or Hyundai. So I think this is going to be a gigantic money pit, but then it doesn't matter. I mean Apple has an embarrassment of riches, they don't know where to put the cash anymore. So if they burn 30 or 40 billion dollars in the car business, no one's going to notice.""

https://bgr.com/2015/09/22/apple-car-gigantic-money-pit/

evnow said:
Apple entering the market will have a greatly positive impact on EV adoption - irrespective of all the obvious jokes. So, I'm really looking forward to this - and I hope the rumors are true ... also for the jokes ;)
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

I don't think Apple can do it, but I just HAVE TO point out that there was a great speech by Balmer at Microsoft, who at the time had a big majority of the smart phone market, about how Apple is going to learn a hard lesson about trying to make phones...

Then again there is no longer a Steve Jobs at Apple...
 
Apple needs to get into something new, and something big to have any hope of continued growth. Smartphones are becoming a commodity item, margins are shrinking and face it that watch thing is going nowhere.
 
I agree Apple can't do it because they really don't have any manufacturing first hand knowledge since they make nothing themselves. They are a master of forcing other companies to take huge financial risk under complete secrecy for even publicly traded companies. GTAT was a perfect example of secrecy, and failure, and loss of the company which cost me personally ten of thousands.

I am not a huge Apple fan due too their discombobulation and pompous stance to the detriment of themselves and their vendors. They make Walmart look like the Church Lady.

I can easily see them partnering with another Chinese 51% percent deal since that is really all they know and this model has put 400 plus billion in the bank on the backs of <$3 per day labor rates for millions of young Chinese workers.

?The big question will come down to will US car buyers trust Apple with a Chinese made "Car" product on US Nevada soil/sand?

Computers, phones, and gadgets obviously - it does not matter who, where, and how much for consumers. Are cars the same?
 
FaraDay Future - broke story today 5/26/16 - Second auto production plant in California - Mare Island - Vallejo - North East quadrant of San Pablo Bay - North of San Francisco.

They may call the EV - the LeSee?

80.6 miles from Apple HQ in Cupertino City - just enough to easily make it in a Leaf!!

A Faraday spokesperson said Wednesday that the Nevada factory should reach maximum production capacity "within two or three years of opening," and that the company is actively seeking a second location.

http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-faraday-vallejo-20160525-snap-story.html
 
Pushed out to 2021. Musk says, too late. Apple mentions proprietary charging.

Apple car is on the way to everyone by 2021 - iAppleStuffs
https://apple.news/A-DPEo0FbNgWuNAsp54Uplw
 
DNAinaGoodWay said:
Is Titan dead?

Apple abandons electric car plans as dozens of staff laid off, reports say - The Telegraph
https://apple.news/AQXtZhYBaSU6YEI4siJn9VQ
Click to expand...

3 Dozens is .0072 of 5,000 employees as its rumored.

Faraday is still my bet that Apple is in JV with.
 
The essential problem every new entry into auto manufacturing faces.
High risks, and (relatively) low opportunities:

How Apple Scaled Back Its Titanic Plan to Take on Detroit
Good article, stating the essential problem every new entry into auto manufacturing faces.
High risks, and (relatively) low opportunities:

Apple Inc. has drastically scaled back its automotive ambitions, leading to hundreds of job cuts and a new direction that, for now, no longer includes building its own car, according to people familiar with the project.

Hundreds of members of the car team, which comprises about 1,000 people, have been reassigned, let go, or have left of their own volition in recent months, the people said, asking not to be identified because the moves aren’t public.

New leadership of the initiative, known internally as Project Titan, has re-focused on developing an autonomous driving system that gives Apple flexibility to either partner with existing carmakers, or return to designing its own vehicle in the future...

Apple isn’t the first to realize mastery of mobile gadgets and software updates is no guarantee of automotive success. Alphabet Inc.’s Google learned the challenges of building its own vehicles and has sought partners. Its car project has also suffered departures. Tech investors are dubious too. They’re used to fat profit margins, while carmakers survive on net margins well below 10 percent...
Click to expand...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-17/how-apple-scaled-back-its-titanic-plan-to-take-on-detroit
 
(thread resurrection)
Doug Field, Apple's Vice President of Special Projects, is leaving Apple and abandoning his work on the Apple Car in favor of a position at Ford, Ford announced today.
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/09/07/apple-car-doug-field-joins-ford/
 
Mr. Field is a little slow.
The Apple Car debuted in late 2017. Huge success too.
It's called the Tesla Model 3.

A family member that worked on sensors at Tesla in 2018 said when they arrived, they noticed the Model 3 software team was substantially from Apple's Titan project. Sit in a Model 3 or Model Y and operate the touch controls. It's look & feel is Apple. Interior could be Jon Ives.
Apple just wasn't hungry enough to build it. I wish they would have tried. Tesla needs some decent U.S. competition. Planet needs fewer ICE cars.
 
Uh, Doug Field was at Tesla for almost 5 years: https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/doug-field-tesla-former-model-3-boss-leaves-company/.

The funny part is that Teslas still don't support Apple CarPlay. :lol:
 

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