3 ms·

Now replace "Xiaomi" with "Apple" in that headline and you'll see why they dropped the car project.

rtkwe 2y ago
Also manufacturing a car is vastly different from manufacturing small electronic devices (not that that competence lives entirely with in Apple but they're experienced in designing them for manufacture). If Apple wanted to do car manufacturing that's a completely different area of expertise they'd need to spend a decade or more building up to. Look at Tesla's journey, it took them years to get things like panel gaps even close to right on their cars and they're having massive problems with the Cybertruck's manufacturing (car washes can completely destroy their electronics, whole pieces of 'trim' falling off because they used the wrong glue, etc).
PeterStuer 2y ago
Apple never clearly decided whether it was building a full car (like Tesla)? A self-driving system (like Waymo)? A tech stack to license (like Mobileye). This lack of focus created internal turmoil and killed momentum. The car team reportedly had over half a dozen leadership changes. Apple lacked a tangible car ecosystem: no charging network, no manufacturing experience, and no clear place in the market for another premium EV. The project was burning $1B+/year without ROI. Ultimately, it chose to cut losses. Apple failed because it was indecisive, risk-averse, and out of its industrial depth—while Tesla, Waymo, and Xiaomi had clarity, speed, and alignment between ambition and execution.
- toast0 2y ago
  Not knowing what they want to build is a big problem, much bigger than these. > Apple lacked a tangible car ecosystem: no charging network, no manufacturing experience, and no clear place in the market for another premium EV. It wouldn't make sense to develop a charging network until they at least figure out what their product is. Most car makers take about three years between showing a finalish prototype and retail sales. That's enough time to build a charging network, if you even need to. Tesla needed to build a charging network, but now that's opening up. VW needed to build a charging network as a condition of their release, and that's open. I'm not an EV driver and I don't charge my PHEV unless it's free, but I see a lot of chargers around, and I don't know if there's a need for another major chsrging network. If Apple only wanted to be part of a car, not the whole car, there would be no reason for them to be involved in charging. Apple does most (all?) of its manufacturing through contractors. Foxconn is building cars [1], and there are plenty of dedicated contract auto manufacturers. Again, not a big defect until we know what the product is. Market positioning also needs to wait for the product. Maybe there's an opening now that Tesla is losing sales. [1] https://www.carscoops.com/2025/03/foxconn-gearing-up-to-build-four-new-evs-including-two-from-japanese-brands/ https://www.carscoops.com/2025/03/foxconn-gearing-up-to-buil...

Also manufacturing a car is vastly different from manufacturing small electronic devices (not that that competence lives entirely with in Apple but they're experienced in designing them for manufacture). If Apple wanted to do car manufacturing that's a completely different area of expertise they'd need to spend a decade or more building up to. Look at Tesla's journey, it took them years to get things like panel gaps even close to right on their cars and they're having massive problems with the Cybertruck's manufacturing (car washes can completely destroy their electronics, whole pieces of 'trim' falling off because they used the wrong glue, etc).

PeterStuer 2y ago

Apple never clearly decided whether it was building a full car (like Tesla)? A self-driving system (like Waymo)? A tech stack to license (like Mobileye). This lack of focus created internal turmoil and killed momentum. The car team reportedly had over half a dozen leadership changes. Apple lacked a tangible car ecosystem: no charging network, no manufacturing experience, and no clear place in the market for another premium EV. The project was burning $1B+/year without ROI. Ultimately, it chose to cut losses. Apple failed because it was indecisive, risk-averse, and out of its industrial depth—while Tesla, Waymo, and Xiaomi had clarity, speed, and alignment between ambition and execution.

toast0 2y ago
Not knowing what they want to build is a big problem, much bigger than these. > Apple lacked a tangible car ecosystem: no charging network, no manufacturing experience, and no clear place in the market for another premium EV. It wouldn't make sense to develop a charging network until they at least figure out what their product is. Most car makers take about three years between showing a finalish prototype and retail sales. That's enough time to build a charging network, if you even need to. Tesla needed to build a charging network, but now that's opening up. VW needed to build a charging network as a condition of their release, and that's open. I'm not an EV driver and I don't charge my PHEV unless it's free, but I see a lot of chargers around, and I don't know if there's a need for another major chsrging network. If Apple only wanted to be part of a car, not the whole car, there would be no reason for them to be involved in charging. Apple does most (all?) of its manufacturing through contractors. Foxconn is building cars [1], and there are plenty of dedicated contract auto manufacturers. Again, not a big defect until we know what the product is. Market positioning also needs to wait for the product. Maybe there's an opening now that Tesla is losing sales. [1] https://www.carscoops.com/2025/03/foxconn-gearing-up-to-build-four-new-evs-including-two-from-japanese-brands/ https://www.carscoops.com/2025/03/foxconn-gearing-up-to-buil...