Report

Apple has 'several hundred' employees working on Project Titan electric car

Is an Apple Car coming soon to an American roadway near you? According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, that may indeed be a likely scenario, as "people familiar with" the tech giant's so-called Project Titan have told the news agency that there are hundreds of Apple employees working on an all-electric automobile project. The vehicle being created is said to resemble a minivan, and we're sure any resulting product would be the most stylish such box on wheels ever conceived.

Steve Zadesky, a Vice President at Apple in product design who previously served as an engineer at Ford, is said to be leading the group. In September of last year, the Cupertino-based firm hired Johann Jungwirth from Mercedes-Benz, reportedly to work on Project Titan, and executives from Apple have met in Austria with Magna Steyr, a firm that has plenty of experience manufacturing automobiles for contract partners.

Rumors of a so-called iCar from Apple have appeared on these pages for years, but this time, the level of detail surrounding the reports lend an additional layer of credence to the notion that Silicon Valley may have another potential automaker on its hands. Indeed, reports of employee poaching between Apple and Tesla have circulated in recent weeks, with massive signing bonuses for those who choose to switch allegiances in the hotly-contested Silicon Valley job market.

We have no idea if Apple will indeed enter the electric car market, but the notion that it's dipping a few toes into the waters are anything but a shock. It's worth noting, too, that tech rival Google has similar interests in the automobile market. A report from Reuters suggests that Apple may follow Google into self-driving, autonomous automobile development. In any case, you can be sure we'll be paying rapt attention as the story unfolds.

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