In the past several days, rumors of a top-secret electric Apple Car have been circulating from the Financial Times, Reuters, and the Wall Street Journal.
The supposed secret project, code-named “Titan,” may represent more than $50 billion in revenue for Apple, Inc., according to Gene Munster, a market research analyst.
The California-based tech giant has had its hands deep inside everything from the mobile market to home automation, and analysts believe that the auto industry may be their next crossover leap.
There are even rumors that Apple is interested in paying up to $75 billion to acquire Tesla Motors, makers of the Model S, but those rumors are, so far, unfounded. In 2013, Tesla in fact stole Apple’s vice president of design to work on Tesla’s line of all-electric cars.
Speculation on Apple’s electric car is fueled by accounts that Apple has recently been hiring automotive experts from competing companies such as Tesla and Mercedes-Benz. According to the Financial Times, Apple has already recruited Johann Jungwirth, the former research and development chief for Mercedes-Benz.
Whether or not the rumors are true remains to be seen, and even if so, it will still be a long time before Titan hits the market.
For now, the question is: Will Apple or Tesla be more influential to the future of the consumer-level electric car?