QOTD: Will (and Should) Big Tech Build a Car?
Yesterday we posted yet again about whether or not the long-rumored Apple car might or might not happen.
It's one thing to wonder if Apple itself will ever build a car or cars for mass consumption. I also wonder if tech companies should be building cars at scale -- as Elon Musk found out when he grew Tesla from one model to several, building cars is hard. That's especially true if you're trying to build and sell a lot of them.
It's one thing to be a niche manufacturer with one or two models and low volume. Quite another to sell a full line.
So, will Apple (or another tech company, like Microsoft) ever build a car? Should tech companies even try, or is it a fool's errand?
Sound off below.
[Image: zomby/Shutterstock.com]
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Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
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Thank God Tesla isn't Big Tech. (Nope, Nope, Nope)
I don't see how getting into cars helps them. To me it reeks of desperation - there's nothing new they feel they can do in consumer electronics.
I don't know if Apple will get into making EVs but I have no problem with them making one. Dyson thought about getting into EVs but decided not to. I don't believe its Apple or the tech companies to be concerned about as much as the Chinese companies who will eventually enter the US and Canadian market with their own brand EVs. The Chinese will definitely gather the data and use it which is even worse than Apple. I am concerned as well about Apple and the tech companies but China poses the great threat especially when it comes to our security.
Apple just needs to perfect the one pedal interface and they'll make fanboys forever grateful.