Gene Munster, co-founder of venture capital firm Loup Ventures, believes that if Apple begins producing electric vehicles, it will undoubtedly be a strong rival to Tesla. In an interview with CNET, Munster said that while Apple’s software technology is great, it’s just a fledgling inexperienced person when it comes to building cars.
Still, he claims that it’s actually this tech giant that will be Tesla’s rival.
Munster has a deep understanding of the business models of both Apple and Tesla, with years of follow-up experience, and sees Tesla as a technology company like Google and Amazon rather than a car maker. In fact, if you look at Elon Musk’s career and how Tesla operates, that’s not a mistake.
Meanwhile, it’s now clear that Apple is about to step into the automotive world. “It’s important to distinguish between when Apple is preparing something and when it sees the light of day. It’s very clear that Apple has the ambition to build a car. Half a year. Before, that wasn’t clear yet. ”
To be sure, half a year ago, no one knew if Apple’s EV would really come out. However, rumors of negotiations with Hyundai have now been reported, and after that, reports that it is also negotiating with other car makers have made it clear that Apple is specifically trying to produce cars.
The automobile industry is known to be difficult for newcomers to enter among various industries. But the rumored talks between Apple and the car maker make it clear that the computer company is willing to step into the car industry, for example, if the negotiations with Hyundai go bankrupt. Munster said there is an order of magnitude larger market for Apple and there is room for growth that Apple wants. And Apple’s entry will pose Tesla the greatest threat, he said.
And because Apple is working on it, it’s not about some of the features of the product, such as the Apple TV + app on third-party TVs and CarPlay on cars, but the entire “magical experience” you get with the product. He said, “The future of the car is not just about hardware, but about software and services,” he said, and said it was Apple’s best-performing area.
If Apple were free to design everything in the car, as Munster said, we could imagine (if not concretely) that it would have something to break the existing notion. .. Perhaps the battery control technology cultivated in MacBooks, iPhones, iPads, etc. may help bring out the battery performance of EVs. It’s possible that Apple’s self-driving capabilities, which it has developed under the name Project Titan, are more advanced than anywhere else.
However, in order for Apple to be included in automobiles, it needs a partner who has experience and equipment in its development and manufacturing and undertakes OEM of Apple brand EV. Information released by JP Morgan last week stated that Renault has emerged as a strong candidate for a partnership with Apple. Renault has extensive experience in partnering with other companies and has surplus production capacity in Europe, where production from Apple can be allocated. We have also formed an alliance with Nissan, which has already been named in negotiations with Apple.
VW, which is currently the number one seller, cannot see the line of partnership with Apple, as CEO Herbert Diess has stated that it is “terrifyingly insufficient” such as Apple cars. Toyota is unlikely to bother to help other brands’ EVs that compete with the business model centered on hybrid vehicles, which have maintained the world’s highest production for many years. If so, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Union seems to be a realistic favorite for Apple to join hands to sell its own brand cars in the world.
For the latest information, Reuters and others have said that Nissan is no longer in talks with Apple. So where is the car maker working with Apple? It seems that the fun of anticipating this and that will continue for a while.