News

An Apple Electric Car Is Coming!

by Jenny Hollander

On Monday, The Wall Street Journal published a report claiming that Apple is building an electric car, which is projected to be completed by 2019 and hit the roads at some point after that. The article apparently crashed the Journal's website briefly; it was unavailable in the minutes following the announcement. (As of 2 p.m. Monday, the website was fully functioning again.) While Apple has declined to comment on the Journal's report, the newspaper's sources alleged that a 600-person team working on the vehicle will be tripled, signifying a huge commitment to the project.

Prior to the Journal's report, outlets like The Guardian had taken note of Apple's high-level meetings with the automobile industry, and the Journal points out that LinkedIn is a giveaway. According to the outlet, recent hires are well-equipped to oversee the development of an electric car. Unlike Google's self-driving cars, the Apple car won't be completely driverless, but it will have features that imitate those of a self-driving car.

The project's code name? "Titan," according to reporter Daisuke Wakabayashi. If true, it's clear that Apple has not set low expectations for the car — but when does the company have low expectations for anything? After all, they rolled out iOS9 just last week, and they now claim that more than half of its devices carry the updated software. Apple hasn't officially said anything about iPhone 6S pre-order numbers yet, but it has hinted that they are "positive."