According to “The New York Times” in an article from Dec. 18, 2013, the late Steve Jobs wanted to make an “iCar.” He purportedly told John Markoff of The New York Times that if he had more energy, he would have liked to take on Detroit with an Apple car.
And, in August [2013], during the company’s patent trial with Samsung, Philip W. Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president for worldwide product marketing, said that Apple had explored making “crazy stuff” before the development of the iPhone and iPad, including a camera or a car. What’s more, several years ago there were rumors that Apple would work with Volkswagen to build a car
Then there are past comments by J. Crew CEO and Apple board member, Mickey Drexler. He says that, indeed, Jobs’s eventual dream was to create an Apple-branded iCar.
“Look at the car industry; it’s a tragedy in America,” he said. “Who is designing the cars? Steve’s dream before he died was to design an iCar … It would’ve been probably 50% of the market. He [Jobs] never did design it.”
In 2020, rumors of an iCar/Apple Car still thrive. We know Apple is working on something, but whether it will be an actual Apple-branded auto or the result of a partnership with a current car manufacturer remains to be seen.
