Apple recruits former Tesla engineering VP Steve MacManus

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited November 2019
Perhaps adding to evidence the company is working on a full-fledged car, Apple has reportedly hired Steve MacManus, a long-time auto industry veteran most recently with Tesla.

MacManus on the left.
MacManus on the left.


MacManus is now serving in a vague "senior director" role at Apple Park, Bloomberg noted. He was with Tesla for over four years as a VP of Engineering, but left earlier this month among several other high-profile departures, such as VP of Production Peter Hochholdinger.

The executive's LinkedIn profile reveals that he has a particular specialty in auto interiors. Between 2004 and 2010 he was a "functional manager" at Bentley for seating and restraints, and from 2010 to 2015 he was a chief engineer at Aston Martin, working on body interiors as well as exterior trim and hardware.

Some of his other credits include Jaguar/Land Rover and the Rover Group.

Apple and Tesla have poached each other's workers for years, due to their proximity to each other and overlapping development demands. In the past several months alone Apple has recruited several prominent Tesla veterans, namely chief vehicle engineer Doug Field, powertrain specialist Michael Schwekutsch, and designer Andrew Kim.

The exact focus of Apple's car efforts, known as "Project Titan," are still a mystery but appear to have shifted back to an internally-designed vehicle after a period spent on platform technology. On top of specialized hires, a number of related patents have emerged, and the company allegedly has "multiple very large drive rooms" in California, as well as "interesting and exciting" battery development.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    ivanhivanh Posts: 597member
    Another high-paid resource, used and consumed in a few years, then dump.
  • Reply 2 of 15
    seanismorrisseanismorris Posts: 1,624member
    He’s like a consultant you have on salary to keep him working somewhere else.
  • Reply 3 of 15
    k2kwk2kw Posts: 2,075member
    What would excite me would be Apple hiring Battery specialists.   Any phone that has a solid state battery (longer use time, for less weight/size) would be a definite “got to have” phone.   I don’t see any company leaping Tesla without better battery Technology.   That requires solid state technology which is why Toyota says they are working on SS batteries for their future EVs.   


  • Reply 4 of 15
    boxcatcherboxcatcher Posts: 267member
    Apple is far too slow and deliberate of a company to leap frog Tesla — that’s not a knock of Apple, just worth factoring in when we try to decipher what Apple is up to.
  • Reply 5 of 15
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,417member
    Apple is far too slow and deliberate of a company to leap frog Tesla — that’s not a knock of Apple, just worth factoring in when we try to decipher what Apple is up to.
    “PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in.”
    gregoriusmAppleExposedrandominternetpersonretrogusto
  • Reply 6 of 15
    focherfocher Posts: 687member
    boxcatcher said:
    Apple is far too slow and deliberate of a company to leap frog Tesla — that’s not a knock of Apple, just worth factoring in when we try to decipher what Apple is up to.
    We don't need Apple to leapfrog Tesla. We need both of them to bring innovation to the legacy car industry.
    not_antonMacProbyronlretrogusto
  • Reply 7 of 15
    digitoldigitol Posts: 276member
    focher said:
    boxcatcher said:
    Apple is far too slow and deliberate of a company to leap frog Tesla — that’s not a knock of Apple, just worth factoring in when we try to decipher what Apple is up to.
    We don't need Apple to leapfrog Tesla. We need both of them to bring innovation to the legacy car industry.
    - Tesla has. Continues to do so. 
    focher
  • Reply 8 of 15
    randominternetpersonrandominternetperson Posts: 3,089member
    digitol said:
    focher said:
    boxcatcher said:
    Apple is far too slow and deliberate of a company to leap frog Tesla — that’s not a knock of Apple, just worth factoring in when we try to decipher what Apple is up to.
    We don't need Apple to leapfrog Tesla. We need both of them to bring innovation to the legacy car industry.
    - Tesla has. Continues to do so. 
    I can see Tesla being the 1990's Apple of the auto industry, in the dark days when Wintel PC were a good enough replacement for the more expensive and rare Macs.  The big auto firms are lumbering behemoths, but once they see what do to, they'll be able to crank out millions more cars that Tesla ever can.
    SpamSandwich
  • Reply 9 of 15
    1st1st Posts: 443member
    aha, I expect 007 car from Apple now....
  • Reply 10 of 15
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,166member
    Oh look, AppleInsider has made the MSM! Respected no less!

    As for Apple’s plans, there is still more secrecy than clarity, although respected news website AppleInsider suggest the company appears to have “shifted back to an internally-designed vehicle after a period spent on platform technology”.


    retrogusto
  • Reply 11 of 15
    Arfshesaid...Arfshesaid... Posts: 43member
    Crikey…Apple and an AI driven car run on batteries? Just how many miles or kilometres will it travel before needing a recharge? I hazard 10-15m/kpg. Will it follow in the footsteps of many Apple products by becoming obsolete and requiring a whole new car when the batteries fail? I'll stick with my Bentley Turbo for quite a few years.
  • Reply 12 of 15
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,417member
    Crikey…Apple and an AI driven car run on batteries? Just how many miles or kilometres will it travel before needing a recharge? I hazard 10-15m/kpg. Will it follow in the footsteps of many Apple products by becoming obsolete and requiring a whole new car when the batteries fail? I'll stick with my Bentley Turbo for quite a few years.
    ^ This is best read in the voice of Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons.


    edited July 2019 retrogusto
  • Reply 13 of 15
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    I’d be perfectly fine with Apple focusing on rental/on-demand autonomous vehicles, versus selling or leasing vehicles to the general public.
    edited July 2019
  • Reply 14 of 15
    focherfocher Posts: 687member
    digitol said:
    focher said:
    Apple is far too slow and deliberate of a company to leap frog Tesla — that’s not a knock of Apple, just worth factoring in when we try to decipher what Apple is up to.
    We don't need Apple to leapfrog Tesla. We need both of them to bring innovation to the legacy car industry.
    - Tesla has. Continues to do so. 
    Agree. We have two. But the more BEVs, the better. A single company cannot replace all the current ICE vehicles both on the road and still being purchased. We need more participants in the space, and Apple is a great addition because it will also bring a technology focus to the problem. I love my current cars, not only because they are great cars that drive well but also because they beat others cars on the technology side hands down.
    edited July 2019
  • Reply 15 of 15
    focherfocher Posts: 687member

    Arfshesaid... said:
    I'll stick with my Bentley Turbo for quite a few years.
    That turbo will fail (along with other Bentley components) long before the batteries in a Tesla. It's now just plain proven fact.
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