Apple is speculated to be working on its own electric car. The Wall Street Journal has issued the report, citing the project code name to be ‘Titan.’ According to the report, the electric car is designed to resemble a minivan. Although the news is not officially confirmed yet, many incidences hint at the likelihood of truth in the rumors. The most important reason being the company’s recent spree in hiring employees from the auto-industry.
Recently, some Apple executives have flown to Austria to discuss matters with contract manufacturers of high-end cars, according to the WSJ. The report also said that the Cupertino-based company has already employed hundreds of employees in the project.
To air the rumors, Apple already has expertise n vast supply chain management, along with technology that could be used to develop an electric car. Its long-time research on battery technology for the other products, including iPhone, iPad, and Mac-devices, are also in favor of the company’s interest in manufacturing cars.
To top it all, the company’s board member, Mickey Drexler, has also said in 2012, that the co-founder of the company was greatly interested in building cars. In the same year, its senior vice president, Phil Schiller, had also admitted that the company has been struggling with the idea even before the introduction of the iPhone in 2007.
Last year, Apple had also introduced a software system for auto-manufacturers, called the CarPlay. The software allows integration of iTunes, and other application, such as mapping and messaging with cars. ccording to a Financial Times report issued earlier on Friday, the company is hiring experts for its auto-making research lab.
In this context, electric car manufacturer, Tesla’s Elon Musk also said that Apple has been luring the company’s executives by offering them signing bonuses of as much as $250,000. Apple is also offering a 60% hike in salary to Tesla employees, he said.