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Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources

reuters.com

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Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources

#101

Post by krrrh »

neogodless wrote: post #20
the-dude wrote: post #4

Just a reminder, the first computer manufacturer who released an electric vehicle was Sinclar, the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_C5 , in 1985. Now Apple has bitten the ...? I expect MS to follow suit soon.

This reminds me of the old (rumored) exchange between GM and Bill Gates... https://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/susan/joke/crash.htm > For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day. > Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive – but would run on only five percent of the roads. > Every time GM introduced a new car, car buyers would have t…

This reminds me of the classic Neal Stephenson extended essay on computer interfaces, In the beginning was the commandline, it’s too long to excerpt here, but the basic gist was if computers were cars, Windows was a station wagon that was practical but broke down a lot, Macs were expensive Euro sedans, BeOS was a batmobile for car enthusiasts who probably already owned the station wagon, and Linux was a free tank that took a lot of training to operate and wasn’t sold through dealerships, but given away by a ragtag group of volunteers in a field.

http://cristal.inria.fr/~weis/info/commandline.html

Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources

#102

Post by nabla9 »

mikece wrote: post #17

"It remains unclear who would assemble an Apple-branded car, but sources have said they expect the company to rely on a manufacturing partner to build vehicles." Does Apple have enough money (cash, line of credit capability) to simply buy an automaker? I can see where it would make the most sense to partner but having an option to buy at a later point could bring advantages to Apple.

Even big car companies like Mercedes outsource the manufacture of some models for third parties. For example Mercedes-Benz GLC is assembled by four different companies: Daimler AG itself, HICOM, TAAP, and Valmet Automotive.

Just like they don't own companies that assemble iPhones, they don't need to own car assembly. They can dictate and control the quality without owning factories. Most parts are outsourced anyway.

Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources

#105

Post by underseacables »

lock-free wrote: post #80
abhinavsharma wrote: post #21

This is starting to make increasingly more sense even though Apple making a car seemed laughable a few years ago. Apple is fundamentally now a company that can move immense amounts of capital into new industries with the underlying ethos of user experience. Apple Card was perhaps a dipping of the toes moment. In theory, Tesla shouldn't be worth what it is because the tech behind it is increasingly getting commoditize…

I have an Apple Card, I'm unsure of what immense capital they're pouring into it with an underlying ethos of user experience.

Backed by Goldman Sachs, a company that destabilizes whole economies for profit. Apple isn’t exactly hiding which side of the income spectrum they prefer.

Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources

#106

Post by treis »

finnh wrote: post #43
abhinavsharma wrote: post #21

This is starting to make increasingly more sense even though Apple making a car seemed laughable a few years ago. Apple is fundamentally now a company that can move immense amounts of capital into new industries with the underlying ethos of user experience. Apple Card was perhaps a dipping of the toes moment. In theory, Tesla shouldn't be worth what it is because the tech behind it is increasingly getting commoditize…

> Apple is fundamentally now a company that can move immense amounts of capital into new industries with the underlying ethos of user experience. Also: insane supply-chain management chops, a skill that is more and more transferable - especially for electric cars.

I'm not sure I see that. Clearly they are good at making computer like things, but it's not like they're God's gift to supply chain management. There's been quite a few mistakes over the years. Hard to see them doing better than car companies that have been building cars for decades.

I'm also not sure what Apple's edge here is. At this point all I really want out of an entertainment center is a screen for my phone to plug into. Everything else is better done as knobs and buttons.

Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources

#107

Post by ajross »

finnh wrote: post #43
abhinavsharma wrote: post #21

This is starting to make increasingly more sense even though Apple making a car seemed laughable a few years ago. Apple is fundamentally now a company that can move immense amounts of capital into new industries with the underlying ethos of user experience. Apple Card was perhaps a dipping of the toes moment. In theory, Tesla shouldn't be worth what it is because the tech behind it is increasingly getting commoditize…

> Apple is fundamentally now a company that can move immense amounts of capital into new industries with the underlying ethos of user experience. Also: insane supply-chain management chops, a skill that is more and more transferable - especially for electric cars.

I don't know that I completely buy that. Shipping/transport and resource management at the scale of automobile production is a rather different world than consumer electronics where literally everything anyone cares about fits on a plain old wooden pallet.

Apple does have smart people, and they obviously have a ton of cash. So they absolutely could make a play here. But to imagine that they'll walk in to a market that Tesla has been growing successfully in for a decade and be competitive out of the gate seems like a stretch.

Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources

#108

Post by cortesoft »

localhost wrote: post #88
finnh wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apple is fundamentally now a company that can move immense amounts of capital into new industries with the underlying ethos of user experience. Also: insane supply-chain management chops, a skill that is more and more transferable - especially for electric cars.

But Apple have outsourced all their manufacturing. That, as we've seen in Tesla's struggles, is a huge component of making a successful product. Agree with the vertical integration aspect + nearly unlimited capital.

Yeah, that is what modern supply chain management is.... being able to manage a ton of different outsourced suppliers

Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources

#109

Post by ethbr0 »

SkyMarshal wrote: post #56
abhinavsharma wrote: post #21

This is starting to make increasingly more sense even though Apple making a car seemed laughable a few years ago. Apple is fundamentally now a company that can move immense amounts of capital into new industries with the underlying ethos of user experience. Apple Card was perhaps a dipping of the toes moment. In theory, Tesla shouldn't be worth what it is because the tech behind it is increasingly getting commoditize…

>Apple is just about the only company with a similar ethos and enough money and patience to be a viable competitor and have a competitive brand known for quality. Mostly agree, though I suspect a few of the major car companies like Volkswagon/Audi and Toyota/Lexus are capable of this as well. But yes, Apple has the cash reserves to not just manufacture electric cars, but to build out the necessary infrastructure netw…

Tesla and Apple have figured out that could is a better stock multiplier than does.

Re: Apple targets car production by 2024, eyes ‘next level’ battery tech: sources

#110

Post by crb002 »

IMHO they should do a sprinter van with a built in sleeper - and a commercial model for last mile delivery/service/transport. Hit the high end Winnebago market, family size Uber market, AWS delivery/service market, and US Postal Service.

Don't compete with Tesla on sportscars. Be the new minivan.

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