You're asking why Apple doesn't comment on rumours that are not true. Think about that a moment.
Apple could easily plant a "sources familiar with the matter say..." It's not like Apple never plants stuff with the WSJ or Re/Code. This story is sucking all the oxygen now when the Watch shoiuld be front and center.
As Andy Ihnatko said just a few days ago, we're more likely to see an Apple television before we see an Apple Car.
And yet when the WSJ story broke, Marc Andressen re-tweeted it saying "yes please". For everyone that thinks this is ridiculous, someone else is saying if Tesla can do it so could Apple if it wants to.
Apple could easily plant a "sources familiar with the matter say..." It's not like Apple never plants stuff with the WSJ or Re/Code. This story is sucking all the oxygen now when the Watch shoiuld be front and center.
Right. Which is why the rumors probably do not originate from Apple and are the work of web sites seeking unearned clicks.
Apple is designing a fully autonomous vehicle. Similar to Google's original design with no steering wheel but by the time Apple's hits the road (2020ish) the mandate for human intervention capability will no longer be there.
They will outsource the manufacturing to Tesla and Tesla will share in the battery advances made by Apple and manufacture the Apple/Tesla batteries at the new Gigafactory. Apple will invest in installing Tesla compatible charging stations throughout the country, and eventually the world.
Apple and Tesla will continue to invest in solar power throughout the country
Apple will control this new media viewing room called the iTransporter which will be fully connected to the internets and media capable.
Apple will control the world!
Or Apple may be betting that Tesla is going to be stuck with a giga pile of batteries with old technology and Apple will be making batteries that are lighter and more powerful. Everybody thinks there is a first mover advantage in technology, but Apple always seems to prove the advantage is to the second mover (probably because they watch someone do it wrong).
Apple could easily plant a "sources familiar with the matter say..." It's not like Apple never plants stuff with the WSJ or Re/Code. This story is sucking all the oxygen now when the Watch shoiuld be front and center.
1) For you to say that Apple should let us know when a rumour is false will simply lead to more rumours as well as let us know which rumours are true when they don't speak up, per your request.
2) Now you're implying that Apple has no control over these current rumours while also saying they have planted false stories with WSJ and Re/Code in the past. Where is this evidence? Why can't it be something more mundane, like Apple has never used media outlets to plan a rumour, or perhaps Apple did plan this rumour, but not in the way you think. Perhaps they planted this car rumour to obfuscate their real plans for these LiDAR equipped cars. We simply don't know, which is why we can only speculate.
3) It's February and ?Watch will still be in its early-2015 window through April. Based on Apple's history they will launch at the ned of their self-imposed timeframe. I think there is plenty of time for Apple to get people excited about ?Watch again, which I believe needs another event to give us price points, new data, and new features that will be available (or coming soon)
4) I can't help but push a good part of the blame on us, the readers of these Internet rumours.
Right. Which is why the rumors probably do not originate from Apple and are the work of web sites seeking unearned clicks.
Apple could easily call up their buddies at Re/Code and have them run a story that was attributable to anonymous sources. Unless they figure it will peter out once MWC starts and the new Samsung Galaxy phone is announced.
I don't really believe Apple would choose to make a car. If they did however, it would have to be the most sexy, beautiful, riveting vehicle anyone has ever seen. If it was not, it would be considered a fail by all the naysayers, the stock would tank massively and the project would likely fail.
The stakes may be too high even for Apple. We know how people gin up unreasonable expectations for regular Apple products. Just imagine how out of control it would be for a car. Seems like a good way for Apple to hurt themselves.
Apple is designing a fully autonomous vehicle. Similar to Google's original design with no steering wheel but by the time Apple's hits the road (2020ish) the mandate for human intervention capability will no longer be there.
...
Apple and Tesla will continue to invest in solar power throughout the country
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blastdoor
Electric cars basically suck to own as an individual. But they start to make more sense if you're running a car service. I think that's what Apple might do -- they won't sell cars, they'll sell transportation. And that transportation will be provided by Apple-designed electric cars, manufactured by a contractor, and deeply integrated into the Apple ecosystem.
Yes and Yes. The issues with personal ownership of electric vehicles (charging time, high cost) are greatly minimized if the vehicles are owned/maintained by a single business entity (i.e., public transportation). If the vehicles are kept in the city, the range anxiety issue is also minimized. Make it autonomous, make it centrally controlled -- an autonomous taxi service.
Add in Apple's new-found penchant for renewable sources on a large scale, then make the batteries swappable (same as Better Place), and the pieces start to fall in place.
Apple could easily call up their buddies at Re/Code and have them run a story that was attributable to anonymous sources.
I don't get why you write such things as if they are meaningful statements. Because Apple could do something in no way means they have or would do something.
You can create a hypothesis as to why you think Apple would, should, or have seeded the media with rumours in some Orwellian way, but I doubt you'll ever get any method to test or back up your hypothesis.
1) For you to say that Apple should let us know when a rumour is false will simply lead to more rumours as well as let us know which rumours are true when they don't speak up, per your request.
2) Now you're implying that Apple has no control over these current rumours while also saying they have planted false stories with WSJ and Re/Code in the past. Where is this evidence? Why can't it be something more mundane, like Apple has never used media outlets to plan a rumour, or perhaps Apple did plan this rumour, but not in the way you think. Perhaps they planted this car rumour to obfuscate their real plans for these LiDAR equipped cars. We simply don't know, which is why we can only speculate.
3) It's February and ?Watch will still be in its early-2015 window through April. Based on Apple's history they will launch at the ned of their self-imposed timeframe. I think there is plenty of time for Apple to get people excited about ?Watch again, which I believe needs another event to give us price points, new data, and new features that will be available (or coming soon)
4) I can't help but push a good part of the blame on us, the readers of these Internet rumours.
I never said Apple plants false rumors. I think any Apple blogger will tell you there are times when Apple leaks stuff to places like WSJ or Re/Code. If Apple PR wanted to they could call up their buddies at Re/Code, give them a story but say "you didn't hear it from us". It doesn't have to be a denial of the rumors (I do think Apple has a team working on something) but just something to put the breaks on what's spiraling out of control. I can guarantee you all CNBC will be talking about tomorrow is this Bloomberg story.
I don't get why you write such things as if they are meaningful statements. Because Apple could do something in no way means they have or would do something.
You can create a hypothesis as to why you think Apple would, should, or have seeded the media with rumours in some Orwellian way, but I doubt you'll ever get any method to test or back up your hypothesis.
I'm saying Apple could easily put cold water on these rumors if they wanted to without it being an official comment. Ever heard of Jim Dalrymple's "nope"? We got one of those last year when rumors were flying around that Apple would be releasing a new ?TV in March.
I have no idea where these car rumors are originating from. I'm very skeptical that Apple is the one leaking this stuff.
Its helping the stock and is good hype. No reason to shutdown the rumor.
The truth is something is cooking. No way 4 of the biggest business news services all got the same rumor unless Apple feed it to them
I fail to see how it's good hype. A lot of people think the idea of Apple building a car is ridiculous. And I wasn't aware that Wall Street was worried about Apple's pipeline at the moment so why leak now?
3. The battery is extremely heavy and bulky. This means that boots are tiny.
Here's another point you are wrong on. The boots on the Tesla Model S are quite generous because the motor is tiny and there is no gas tank. There are front and back boots ("trunks" in Yank speak) and there is no center hump in the passenger cabin for the driveshaft.
The Tesla battery is basically a bunch of flat cells on the chassic floor, the embossed silver area below the passenger compartment: that's the fuel tank. It's not a suitcase-sized battery that lives in a storage compartment that would normally used by vehicle occupants.
That weird silver cylinder in the picture foreground? That's the electric motor.
But keep foaming at the mouth, blathering about stuff you know nothing about. It's what you're best at, isn't it?
First it was the Financial Times. Then the Wall Street Journal. Now the New York Times is reporting on this, citing "two people with knowledge of the company's plans".
When you have a family to run, you need every minute in the day. You aren't going to wait for a bus to take the kids to school or to day care, to the dentist, grocery shopping, pick up the dry cleaning, take them to violin practice, volunteer at school, back and forth with errands all day and then make it home to cook dinner. A mom can drive around town all day long and not exceed 100 miles.
You also can't have a trunk or a boot to [@]Benjamin Frost[/@] full of batteries, and carry all the soccer gear, groceries, the dry cleaning, etc... around.
You also can't have a trunk or a boot to [@]Benjamin Frost[/@] full of batteries, and carry all the soccer gear, groceries, the dry cleaning, etc... around.
Huh? The size and location of the battery and motor in electric cars allows for even more trunk space for a given automobile size. So far, only the hybrids with an internal combustion engine, gas tank, electric motors and battery array are the ones that seem to take up too much room.
In fact, the Tesla Model S's trunk is so large that they were able to place a couple extra seats back there.
Comments
You're asking why Apple doesn't comment on rumours that are not true. Think about that a moment.
As Andy Ihnatko said just a few days ago, we're more likely to see an Apple television before we see an Apple Car.
Apple could easily plant a "sources familiar with the matter say..." It's not like Apple never plants stuff with the WSJ or Re/Code. This story is sucking all the oxygen now when the Watch shoiuld be front and center.
And yet when the WSJ story broke, Marc Andressen re-tweeted it saying "yes please". For everyone that thinks this is ridiculous, someone else is saying if Tesla can do it so could Apple if it wants to.
Apple could easily plant a "sources familiar with the matter say..." It's not like Apple never plants stuff with the WSJ or Re/Code. This story is sucking all the oxygen now when the Watch shoiuld be front and center.
Right. Which is why the rumors probably do not originate from Apple and are the work of web sites seeking unearned clicks.
Apple is designing a fully autonomous vehicle. Similar to Google's original design with no steering wheel but by the time Apple's hits the road (2020ish) the mandate for human intervention capability will no longer be there.
They will outsource the manufacturing to Tesla and Tesla will share in the battery advances made by Apple and manufacture the Apple/Tesla batteries at the new Gigafactory. Apple will invest in installing Tesla compatible charging stations throughout the country, and eventually the world.
Apple and Tesla will continue to invest in solar power throughout the country
Apple will control this new media viewing room called the iTransporter which will be fully connected to the internets and media capable.
Apple will control the world!
Or Apple may be betting that Tesla is going to be stuck with a giga pile of batteries with old technology and Apple will be making batteries that are lighter and more powerful. Everybody thinks there is a first mover advantage in technology, but Apple always seems to prove the advantage is to the second mover (probably because they watch someone do it wrong).
1) For you to say that Apple should let us know when a rumour is false will simply lead to more rumours as well as let us know which rumours are true when they don't speak up, per your request.
2) Now you're implying that Apple has no control over these current rumours while also saying they have planted false stories with WSJ and Re/Code in the past. Where is this evidence? Why can't it be something more mundane, like Apple has never used media outlets to plan a rumour, or perhaps Apple did plan this rumour, but not in the way you think. Perhaps they planted this car rumour to obfuscate their real plans for these LiDAR equipped cars. We simply don't know, which is why we can only speculate.
3) It's February and ?Watch will still be in its early-2015 window through April. Based on Apple's history they will launch at the ned of their self-imposed timeframe. I think there is plenty of time for Apple to get people excited about ?Watch again, which I believe needs another event to give us price points, new data, and new features that will be available (or coming soon)
4) I can't help but push a good part of the blame on us, the readers of these Internet rumours.
Apple could easily call up their buddies at Re/Code and have them run a story that was attributable to anonymous sources. Unless they figure it will peter out once MWC starts and the new Samsung Galaxy phone is announced.
The stakes may be too high even for Apple. We know how people gin up unreasonable expectations for regular Apple products. Just imagine how out of control it would be for a car. Seems like a good way for Apple to hurt themselves.
These vans are mapping streets and POIs.
Apple is designing a fully autonomous vehicle. Similar to Google's original design with no steering wheel but by the time Apple's hits the road (2020ish) the mandate for human intervention capability will no longer be there.
...
Apple and Tesla will continue to invest in solar power throughout the country
Yes and Yes. The issues with personal ownership of electric vehicles (charging time, high cost) are greatly minimized if the vehicles are owned/maintained by a single business entity (i.e., public transportation). If the vehicles are kept in the city, the range anxiety issue is also minimized. Make it autonomous, make it centrally controlled -- an autonomous taxi service.
Add in Apple's new-found penchant for renewable sources on a large scale, then make the batteries swappable (same as Better Place), and the pieces start to fall in place.
I don't get why you write such things as if they are meaningful statements. Because Apple could do something in no way means they have or would do something.
You can create a hypothesis as to why you think Apple would, should, or have seeded the media with rumours in some Orwellian way, but I doubt you'll ever get any method to test or back up your hypothesis.
I never said Apple plants false rumors. I think any Apple blogger will tell you there are times when Apple leaks stuff to places like WSJ or Re/Code. If Apple PR wanted to they could call up their buddies at Re/Code, give them a story but say "you didn't hear it from us". It doesn't have to be a denial of the rumors (I do think Apple has a team working on something) but just something to put the breaks on what's spiraling out of control. I can guarantee you all CNBC will be talking about tomorrow is this Bloomberg story.
I'm saying Apple could easily put cold water on these rumors if they wanted to without it being an official comment. Ever heard of Jim Dalrymple's "nope"? We got one of those last year when rumors were flying around that Apple would be releasing a new ?TV in March.
I have no idea where these car rumors are originating from. I'm very skeptical that Apple is the one leaking this stuff.
I fail to see how it's good hype. A lot of people think the idea of Apple building a car is ridiculous. And I wasn't aware that Wall Street was worried about Apple's pipeline at the moment so why leak now?
3. The battery is extremely heavy and bulky. This means that boots are tiny.
Here's another point you are wrong on. The boots on the Tesla Model S are quite generous because the motor is tiny and there is no gas tank. There are front and back boots ("trunks" in Yank speak) and there is no center hump in the passenger cabin for the driveshaft.
Here's a photo of the Tesla Model drivetrain: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Tesla_Motors_Model_S_base.JPG
The Tesla battery is basically a bunch of flat cells on the chassic floor, the embossed silver area below the passenger compartment: that's the fuel tank. It's not a suitcase-sized battery that lives in a storage compartment that would normally used by vehicle occupants.
That weird silver cylinder in the picture foreground? That's the electric motor.
But keep foaming at the mouth, blathering about stuff you know nothing about. It's what you're best at, isn't it?
There may be something here.....
You also can't have a trunk or a boot to [@]Benjamin Frost[/@] full of batteries, and carry all the soccer gear, groceries, the dry cleaning, etc... around.
Huh? The size and location of the battery and motor in electric cars allows for even more trunk space for a given automobile size. So far, only the hybrids with an internal combustion engine, gas tank, electric motors and battery array are the ones that seem to take up too much room.
In fact, the Tesla Model S's trunk is so large that they were able to place a couple extra seats back there.