Today’s
rumors about Apple investing in McLaren or possibly even purchasing a substantial part of the company don’t look to be true. McLaren has denied any discussions have taken place with Apple. However, we’re not done with Apple rumors yet. Now,
the New York Times reports that Apple may purchase a company called
Lit Motors.
Lit has been working on a two-wheeled electric motorcycle with a car-like body, seating position and controls, made possible by gyroscopic stabilizers. The last time we saw a major update to the project was about two years ago. The team had made progress,
driving its vehicle up to 40 miles per hour. The company had
reached about $2 million in funding at that point, and based on information
TechCrunchfound at
CrunchBase, the company has only managed to raise another $200,000 since then. So a purchase would definitely be a boon for Lit Motors.
But Lit would seem a very strange company for Apple to purchase. Aside from some admittedly nifty looking technology, Lit lacks any sort of manufacturing base, and has no knowledge or experience in the mass-produced car market. On top of that, Lit is focused on making a two-wheeled car, and we can’t imagine Apple has a problem with cars in their current four-wheeled configuration. Like most other large companies, the tech giant is probably more interested in applying connected services and autonomous driving features to the proven automotive template.
Apple is rumored to have
laid-off a large portion of its Project Titan vehicle team, and if it were to seek a partner, it would seem like a much savvier move to choose a major OEM,
as companies like Uber have done. Not only would cost and experience be shared, but neither company would shoulder all the risk.
Neither Apple nor Lit Motors commented to the
New York Times with any details. And considering how the McLaren rumor turned out, which the
New York Times also received anonymous claims about, healthy skepticism is advised.
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