<story><title>Apple Speeds Up Electric-Car Work</title><url>http://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-speeds-up-electric-car-work-1442857105</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>Tiktaalik</author><text>This seems like a weird market for Apple to be pursuing because they’re such a consumer oriented company, but it seems likely that the future of transportation will be less oriented around individual car ownership.&lt;p&gt;Additionally there’s a good argument to be made that we hit “peak car” several years ago, so consumer oriented automobiles may not be a real growth industry.&lt;p&gt;I’d seriously question any business plan that assumes that the transportation mode share of cars, especially individually owned cars, will be greater than it is now.&lt;p&gt;Maybe I’m thinking too long term here.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>blazespin</author><text>Not at all.  By the time Apple gets any traction, this indeed may be the reality.&lt;p&gt;That being said, people will always want to travel in style, whether they own the car or not.   Think black car versus beaten up taxi.  Apple wants to be the luxury brand intersected with technology.  Who else does that as well as they do?&lt;p&gt;Also, as per below, Apple&amp;#x27;s model of making things which can&amp;#x27;t be serviced by the owner fits the idea of no ownership.&lt;p&gt;Finally, this new business model is going to obliterate all the old car makers that can&amp;#x27;t evolve fast enough.  When significant disruption vectors clearly exist that can only be leveraged by the extremely well capitalized... well, this is really a no brainer for Apple.&lt;p&gt;The only really question is, can Tim Cook create the tech?  Google is struggling with it and they are by far the most skillful at AI.&lt;p&gt;In the end though, we&amp;#x27;ll all be better off with Apple in the race than out of it.</text></comment>
<story><title>Apple Speeds Up Electric-Car Work</title><url>http://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-speeds-up-electric-car-work-1442857105</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>Tiktaalik</author><text>This seems like a weird market for Apple to be pursuing because they’re such a consumer oriented company, but it seems likely that the future of transportation will be less oriented around individual car ownership.&lt;p&gt;Additionally there’s a good argument to be made that we hit “peak car” several years ago, so consumer oriented automobiles may not be a real growth industry.&lt;p&gt;I’d seriously question any business plan that assumes that the transportation mode share of cars, especially individually owned cars, will be greater than it is now.&lt;p&gt;Maybe I’m thinking too long term here.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>bengali3</author><text>Tesla tried to snag Ive..  Apple retained him...&lt;p&gt;I have to believe (car guy) Ive gets what he wants at Apple?&lt;p&gt;edit:  Which would hurt the stock (ie Cook&amp;#x27;s #1 goal) more in the short term? Announcing a car in 2019 or announcing Ive leaving in 2015?  I&amp;#x27;m thinking was part of an earlier deal to keep Ive.</text></comment>