Tim Cook hints at Apple’s car plans and marvels at Tesla’s success
Apple CEO Tim Cook gave an interview to American journalist Kara Swisher from The New York Times, during which he once again hinted that the company is working in the field of self-driving cars.
“In my opinion, autonomy itself is a key technology. With some reservations, a car can be considered a robot. A self-driving car is a robot. With autonomy, you can do a lot of interesting things. Let’s see what Apple can do about it. At the company, we research many different things. Many of them will never see the light of day. But I’m not saying none of these things will ever appear, ” Tim Cook stated on the Sway podcast.
He moved away from directly answering whether Apple is working on the car itself or just on self-driving vehicle technology.
“We love integrating new hardware, software, and services and finding the right touchpoints. It is at this moment that the magic happens. This is what we love to do. And we’re glad we own the technology that surrounds it all, ”added Cook.
Apple has long been expected to enter the automotive business or implement the developments it already owns to other automakers. In 2019, Apple acquired Drive.ai, a self-driving car technology startup, reaffirming itself as a company aiming to bring self-driving cars to the road. A year earlier, Apple hired former Tesla chief technologist Doug Field, presumably to lead Apple’s secret autonomous driving project. Also, the company lured several other key employees out of Tesla, including the former head of powertrain development for Tesla’s electric vehicles, Michael Schwekutsch. He joined Field’s team.
The head of Tesla, Elon Musk, said that he was ready to sell Apple, but Tim Cook refused to meet and discuss this plan. This question was also raised in the interview.
“You know, I never spoke to Elon. However, I have a lot of admiration and respect for the company he built. I think Tesla has done an incredible job of not only becoming the leader in the electric vehicle segment but maintaining that leadership for a long time. I’m very happy for them, ”Cook said in an interview.
