Apple’s Electric Car — All the Rumors We Know

The word on the street is that Apple’s building an electric car.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple’s car project is codenamed Titan.

And it was approved by Apple’s CEO Tim Cook more than a year ago, and is headed up by Vice President Steve Zadesky.
Source: Wall Street Journal.

Since then, Apple’s built a team of 600 people to work on the project, with the go-ahed to triple that number.
Source: Wall Street Journal.

The company’s snagged engineers, designers and executives from Mercedes, Tesla, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler.
Source: Wall Street Journal.

And just settled a lawsuit with lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems, for poaching employees to allegedly work on automotive battery tech.

But it’s not just Apple’s hiring practices that point to a possible car.

According to AppleInsider, the company has a secret facility in California called “SG5,” where Apple is developing the car.

The location was recently renovated by Apple, and has an “auto work area” and “repair garage.”
Source: AppleInsider.

Apple supposedly also started a shell company named “SixtyEight Research,” which project Titan is run through.
Source: AppleInsider.

To help with the car’s production, Apple is rumored to have reached out to BMW.

And might base Titan on the German automaker’s i3 electric car, though the companies have yet to make any deals.

And the car may be assembled at a San Jose location that Apple recently purchased for $138 million.
Source: AppleInsider.

While Apple’s first car isn’t expected to be autonomous, some reports show the company is at least looking into it.

Apple recently talked to GoMentum Station, a company that owns a former naval weapons station that’s now used as a test track for autonomous vehicles.
Source: The Guardian.

And most recently, The Guardian reported that Apple lawyers met with the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
Source: The Guardian.

If Apple ends up testing an autonomous car on public roads, it will have to disclose some of car’s details.

“Manufacturers applying for a permit have to detail the make, model and vehicle identification number (VIN) of cars they want to test, share details of autonomous features and capabilities, and identify test drivers by name.”
— Mark Harris, The Guardian
Source: The Guardian.

The latest report from The Wall Street Journal says Apple’s electric car could be ready as early as 2019.
Source: Wall Street Journal.

Which means we may be just a few years away from seeing project Titan on the road.

If, of course, all of these rumors are true.