Yes, Apple Is Working on Self-Driving Car After All
Yes, Apple is working on self-driving car. Reuters reported that the technology giant is looking beyond mobile devices and is talking to experts at carmakers and automotive suppliers.
The report by Reuters, citing a senior auto industry source familiar with the discussion, said the Cupertino based company is exploring to make an entire vehicle and not just design automotive software or individual component. The source quoted as saying that Apple "don't appear to want a lot of help from carmakers."
"Fully automated driving is an evolution. Carmakers will slowly build the market for autonomous cars by first releasing connected and partially automated cars," the auto industry source said. "Apple is interested in all the potential ways you can evolve the car; that includes autonomous driving."
Another report by WSJ notes that "the size of the project team and the senior people involved indicate that the company is serious."
The WSJ report also mentions the talks with high-end car makers and Apple's work with designer Marc Newsom, who has experience with car design.
As of now, Tesla is one of the biggest names in the electric cars and the company announced last year that it will not file any lawsuits against companies that want to use its patented technology for electric vehicles. It could be possibly that in years to come Tesla gets acquired by Apple as Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed engaging in informal talks with Apple execs, though denied any acquisition plans.
