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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 l

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...

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...