Could an Apple Car Compete with Tesla?

It’s been a while since Apple has made a real splash in the news, but the Wall Street Journal broke news last week with rumors that the company responsible for the creation of the iPhone has a team of employees working on a design for an electric car.

What we know so far is that the project has been given a code name, Titan, and that the design of the car will be similar to a minivan. Apple has assembled a team of about 100 employees to begin development on the car. There’s no certainty that a car will be the end result as the project is in it’s infant stages, but executives for the Cuptertino, California based company have reportedly visited Austria to meet with automotive manufacturers.

It may seem like a stretch to think that Apple could somehow pull off the creation and development of an electric car, but their world wide distribution of their current line of products proves their chain of supply and knowledge of technology are more than adequate. Apple is continually researching technology related to batteries for use in their Macs, iPads and iPhones and in the upcoming Apple Watch. They have developed their own mapping system for use in a dashboard navigation system and have their own software, CarPlay, that current automakers use that allows drivers to integrate their personal devices with their car’s dashboard interface.

Apple has been toying with the idea of an electric car for some time and with Google developing their own self-driving car and Tesla already producing a line of electric cars, it’s a simple connection to make.

“From a design philosophy, [Apple] is relatively closely aligned,” said Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO and co-founder. Musk has also hinted that Apple has been attempting to lure Tesla employees with large signing bonuses and salary increases.

The jump from mobile and electronic devices to electric car wouldn’t be without its challenges and would mean a big change for the company, which they are clearly open to making, as their recent solar announcement confirms. Apple is building a massive solar complex in California that will fully power their operations in that state. If there’s one thing Apple has, it’s billions of dollars to play with and the willingness to stick with an idea until it works.