14 DAY TRIAL // A report this week revealed that Apple has accelerated the work on the Apple Car, with people familiar with the matter suggesting the vehicle is now expected in 2024 or 2025.
Morgan Stanley analysts believe the Apple Car is the most powerful rival Tesla could get, explaining in a note to investors (obtained by 9to5mac) that the Cupertino-based tech giant is actually a “more formidable” competitor than traditional automakers.
“Apple possesses the key ingredients that we believe are critical to be successful in the future auto industry: Access to capital, an ability to attract and retain top talent, proven hardware design (from HMI to battery), and a rich ecosystem to leverage recurring subscription/service revenue. We believe the value of the services opportunity (MAU x ARPU) embedded in Internet-of-Cars (IoC) could potentially dwarf the auto business itself (units x price),” the analysts said.
Apple Car coming in 2024 at the earliest
And all the projects that Apple has been working on lately are an indication the company could easily handle car manufacturing despite lacking the know-how in this particular industry.
“Importantly, Apple has recently invested to bring five core technologies in-house, which can aid their car development — processors, battery, camera, sensors, and display. They believe there are other growth drivers like AR, payments, and health that are likely to roll out sooner, making a 4+ year time horizon appear realistic,” the analysts continued.
For now, however, Apple has remained completely tight-lipped on everything related to the Apple Car, but based on the latest information on this topic, the Cupertino-based tech giant has already reached out to potential suppliers to discuss the production phase. If everything goes according to the plan, the Apple Car could see the daylight in 2024 at the earliest, sources with knowledge of the matter said.