Sept. 23, 2015—Apple is preparing to release an electric car by 2019 and is hiring 1,200 additional employees to make this happen, according to a report by Entrepreneur.
Apple’s venture into the automotive industry comes after a meeting with officials at California’s Department of Motor Vehicles. On Aug. 17, a senior executive from Apple spoke with an autonomous vehicle experts, along with the DMV’s chief of strategic planning, according to the report. This meeting fueled rumors that Apple was serious about entering the auto industry.
An earlier report had Apple’s car slated to arrive in 2020, but newer information has the car making its debut even earlier.
Sources familiar with Apple’s project said that its first vehicle will not be entirely autonomous. However, a self-driving option will most likely be available over the long term.
As for the competition, Tesla is still working on its autopilot semi-driverless software update for the Model S. The upgrade will assist drivers, not replace them. Google is going in a different direction than Tesla and Apple by considering selling its driverless tech directly to existing automakers.
