Tag: Apple electric car

Apple Sued For Poaching Employees of Battery Manufacturer For its Electric Car

Apple has been in the news recently following the revelations that the company is working secretly on an electric car. The news has spread like wildfire and experts from all corners of technology are weighing the pros and cons of Apple’s decision. But between all the talks a battery maker is suing Apple for poaching their employees.

A123 Systems is a lithium-ion battery manufacturer based in the American state of Massachusetts. It makes batteries for electric vehicles, commercial vehicles, and for the business sector. In 2011, the company’s battery technology was used to create a 32 MW energy storage system that was the largest Lithium-Ion battery energy storage system of its kind in operation at that time. A123 had to apply for bankruptcy protection in 2012 following weak growth in the battery market and electric cars.

A123 makes batteries for vehicles to electric grids and claims Apple is stealing its employees to work on a potential electric car.

The company has now filed a lawsuit against Apple claiming that the technology giant has been actively pursuing its employees. A123 named five of its employees in the suit who have either moved to Apple or are in the process of transferring to the company. The company claims that the loss of the qualified talent adversely affects their business as they’ll find it difficult to find replacements.

Apple has not replied to the lawsuit as of yet. The company is said to have engaged hundred’s of employees on a secretive project that is codenamed as ‘Titan’. Apple is also said to have attracted auto professionals from Mercedez Benz and electric car maker Tesla. It apparently plans to bring out an electric car by 2020.

Apple’s competitor, Google, has already invested immense resources into the creation of its self-driving car ecosystem. Apple’s advent into the electric car market is encouraging as the electric car space needs a big boost. Tesla was seen as the only major player in the field, but with the addition of big name brands like Mercedes, GM and Apple, you should hope to see some real competition in this space.

February 20, 2015
Former GM Boss Says Apple Should Refrain From Making Cars

Former General Motors(GM) boss, Dan Akerson has warned Apple to stay away from manufacturing their own car, instead he advised the Cupertino based giant to focus on making in-car technology (something like CarPlay). He also suggested that profit margins on cars are relatively meager in comparison to iPhone which is practically a money minting machine.

[quote text_size=”small” author=”Dan Akerson” author_title=”Fomer GM Boss”]

A lot of people who don’t ever operate in it(automobile manufacturing) don’t understand and have a tendency to underestimate. They’d better think carefully if they want to get into the hard-core manufacturing. We take steel, raw steel, and turn it into car. They have no idea what they’re getting into if they get into that.

[/quote]

Reports of Apple prepping its own electric vehicle surfaced last week. The report further stated that the Cupertino-based giant has a team of up to 1,000 employees working on a secret project code-named ‘Titan’. Anonymous sources also suggest the possibility of a car that resembles a minivan.

Meanwhile, earlier it was also reported that Apple’s market value stands at a whopping $745 billion, making it the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization, could be a factor that prompted CEO Tim Cook to venture into a new territory.

February 19, 2015
Apple Might Be Working on an Electric Car

Electric cars seem to be the future of the way we commute, no wonder it has become a prime area of interest for Silicon Valley giants ranging from Google to NASA. According to several sources, we can add Apple to the list.

A new report suggests that Apple is prepping its own electric car. The report further states that the Cupertino-based giant has a team of up to 1,000 employees working on a secret project codenamed ‘Titan’. Anonymous sources also suggest the possibility of a car that resembles a minivan.

The report also claims that Apple has appointed executive and former Ford engineer Steve Zadesky as the head the project.

Though the journal also mentions that this could be just an R&D effort, and Apple may not complete the project. So, launching the vehicle in the market is still years way.

Meanwhile, a report from Financial Times claims that Apple has also been hiring automotive experts to work on this secret project. A LinkedIn search also suggests that atleast 46 former employees of Tesla are now working for Apple.

February 14, 2015