The ordinarily tight-lipped Tim Cook released some exciting nuggets on Apple’s focus on developing an autonomous electric vehicle (EV). He also touched on his admiration for Tesla in the EV space.
The Apple car has long been rumoured in Silicon Valley. Rumours include a homegrown dashboard OS and a vehicle platform. Further to this, Apple is rumoured to be working on a new EV battery technology to rival the biggest EV manufactures.
Cook notes that Apple is focusing on autonomous driving rather than building another typical EV on the market. In an interview with the New York Times, Cook said “We [Apple] love to integrate hardware, software and services… And we love to own the primary technology that’s around that.”
This does not sound like a company looking to be a supplier to the Telsa’s or big automotive brands. Instead, Apple may look to become a tier-one manufacturer in the coming years.
Cook was also asked about CEO Elon Musk, who recently revealed he had once tried to sell Tesla to Apple for a fraction of what it is worth today.
“You know, I’ve never spoken to Elon, although I have great admiration and respect for the company he’s built,” Cook said. “I think Tesla has done an unbelievable job of not only establishing the lead, but keeping the lead for such a long period of time in the EV space. So I have great appreciation for them.”
