The Apple car project has been a long and complex journey for the company. Initially starting with founder Steve Jobs in 2008, the project has evolved significantly.
Apple has been notably secretive about its plans, much like Tesla. Information about the development of an Apple car predominantly revolved around self-driving cars and it wasn’t until 2018 that Apple acquired 70 permits from CalDOT to test autonomous vehicles on public roads.
Various potential partnership arrangements with wide-ranging automakers, from Faraday Future to Nissan, have arisen over the years. Reports of alliances with Volkswagen and Hyundai for the creation of an autonomous vehicle have also made headlines. However, as of now, the Apple car is still not a concrete reality.
The latest reports from Bloomberg indicate that production of an Apple car has been pushed back to 2028 at the earliest. Additionally, it is disheartening to learn that the car, if and when it does debut, will only offer a Level 2+ autonomy feature, lacking significant upgrades to existing driver assistance technology available today.
Despite the uncertainties, Apple remains focused on further management changes to both hardware engineering and autonomous software teams and is looking to European manufacturing partners to move forward with this new approach.
The Takeaway
Is the dream of self-driving cars just a party trick? Safety is often cited as a reason for autonomy, but perhaps society would be better served by technologies that prevent impaired drivers from operating a vehicle. There is also the question of the world’s need for another $100,000 electric car.
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