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Apple Working on Tesla-like Car?

Apple Car Play
Some site reported a couple of days ago that there is a mysterious Apple van making its way around San Francisco.

One blog that wrote about a possible self-driving van, they got an unsolicited email from an alleged employee of Apple detailing the "vehicle development" at the company.

This person said Tesla employees were "jumping ship" to work at Apple.

"Apple's latest project is too exciting to pass up," the person said. "I think it will change the landscape and give Tesla a run for its money."

Apple has about 50 employees who previously worked at Tesla, according to LinkedIn. Many of those hires were engineers who interned at Tesla and specialized in mechanics, manufacturing, and robotics.

Nobody has yet to step forward and confirm the latest technological innovation and, if it is indeed true, many are wondering why the company is venturing outside their core competency.

More likely, it's working on new iPhone-to-car experiences that will be better than what Tesla offers in its own vehicles. Apple has an initiative called CarPlay that lets users control certain a car's entertainment and other systems with their smartphone. It was supposed to come out in 2014, but has been delayed, and has only just started to emerge on cars like the 2015 Hyundai Sonata.

There is a speculation that maybe this alleged Apple employee is talking about things like using your iPhone to unlock and drive a CarPlay-partner car without needing a key. Tesla began offering this with its 6.0 system update last year. Perhaps it could be a much deeper set of integrated experiences with navigation, audio, and other systems.

Whether or not Apple is working on a car of its own, the company seems to compete with Tesla for top talent.

Tesla has hired about 150 people from Apple so far, according to Bloomberg, and Apple has reportedly tried to appeal to potential Tesla hires with US$ 250,000 signing bonuses and huge salary hikes.
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