In December, it was reported Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) was working to design a fully electric, autonomous car. At the time, it was rumored that the car intended to be launched in 2024 and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) in the race for a fully autonomous vehicle.
A new Bloomberg report states that Apple will take five to seven years to launch a self-driving car, as the company is still in the early stages of development, with a rather small team. Apple’s team of engineers is developing propulsion and interior and exterior vehicle systems with the goal of eventually shipping an autonomous vehicle. Apple also added more former Tesla employees to the team.
It looks like Apple may be taking a similar approach to Tesla. Although earlier rumors claimed that Apple was working primarily on autonomous driving systems, the company now appears to be taking everything inside the house, designing an entire vehicle around the concept of autonomous driving.
Tesla took a similar approach, designing its own vehicles, batteries, autonomous software and even designing its own computer chips, a move that Apple itself recently made after Tesla.
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The main difference is that Apple does not manufacture its own products. Apple will likely need to rely on manufacturing from outside companies, which can reduce profit margins. Tesla’s profit margins are reportedly above 20% per vehicle, according to recent studies.
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