RUMOR: Apple has poached a bunch of people from Tesla, and it IS making a car
Apple may be developing a car, as unlikely as that sounds.
Bryan Chaffin, cofounder of Apple site The Mac Observer, says he is "certain" Apple is working on a car after talking to sources.
Chaffin was following up on our report from Monday. An Apple employee told us the company was working on something in "vehicle development" that would "give Tesla a run for its money."
Chaffin reported the following:
What I learned is that Apple has been looking for-and acquiring-the kind of people from Tesla with expertise that is most suited to cars. So much so that I went from being a doubter to a believer almost instantly.
From another source who travels in more rarified circles than yours truly, I also learned that a lot of people at the top in Silicon Valley consider it a given that Apple is working on a car. This is circumstantial, at best, but if you're going to crowd-source wisdom, you could do a lot worse than polling the C-suite.
I should add that when I asked one of my sources flat out to put a percentage chance on Apple working on an actual car-rather than some kind of car-related technology-I was told, "80 percent."
When coupled with everything I've learned since, I'm personally closer to 100 percent.
We've reached out to Apple for comment on this story and will update it if we hear back. Apple did not return requests for comment on our initial story on this.
While Apple making a car seems strange, it wouldn't be the first time Apple has considered it. Last year board member Mickey Drexler said Steve Jobs wanted to design an iCar.
And, Apple blogger John Gruber added, "I know a lot of people at Apple, at all levels of the company, who love watches. I also know many who love cars."
Read Chaffin's story at The Mac Observer >>