Apple to Produce Cars by 2020
Apple, one of the richest and most powerful corporations in the world, is set to try and conquer a new frontier: automobiles.
Bloomberg reports that Apple has plans to begin producing cars as early as 2020. That deadline means that Apple is not playing around, as the development of new cars typically lasts around five to seven years.
The company that produced the iPod and iPhone, historical technological achievements, certainly has the technical and scientific knowhow needed to get the job done. The company also has more than enough money to bring together the skills and manpower needed to develop and make a car.
In the last financial quarter, Apple had profits of $18 billion and the company is currently sitting on cash reserves estimated at $178 billion.
Bloomberg suggests that the company has been motivated to enter the car market by the success of its soon to be competitor, Tesla, which manufactures completely electric vehicles. The fact that Tesla has continued to grow and not gone bankrupt showed that it was not as hard to enter the car industry as previously thought.
The team working on developing the car already has 200 employees and has recently begun to hire more. Although work has begun, it is possible that Apple may yet cancel the project if they feel it is not up to the standards that most people associate with Apple products.
The creation of car development team has landed Apple in some legal trouble. A Massachusetts-based battery maker is alleging that Apple stole a number of its employees. That company has filed lawsuit against Apple over the practice.
Even Tesla has found itself the victim of employee theft by Apple. Tesla's CEO Elon Musk recently said Apple was offering his employees signing bonuses of $250,000, and raises of 60 percent.
