From The Mobilist Inbox This Week
Apple car, the silicon race, and a billion years of lithium
Each Wednesday, The Mobilist highlights reader articles on Medium, comments, and updates.
What’s with Apple: By far the most anticipated event in electric vehicles today is the Apple Car, expected to be the truest competitor to market leader Tesla. But, in a hugely egotistical auto industry, who will agree to swallow its pride and produce the Apple-branded EV? First, the reporting was that it would be South Korea’s Hyundai until that talk was squelched. Then it was Japan’s Nissan, but that also turned out not to be true.
In an email exchange, Mobilist reader Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush, says that VW and Ford are the next best cultural and strategic fits. Marriage choices can often confound, but Ford seems highly un-Apple-like. And while VW — owner of the Porsche and Audi brands — would be an excellent choice, it seems even less amenable to being a mere supplier. But Ives is adamant: Apple, he said, would simply be too seductive for VW to resist. “VW checks every box,” he said, “and when [CEO Tim] Cook calls, you drop what you’re doing and answer that call.”
The race to silicon: Last month, we chronicled the return of Sujeet Kumar, back as CEO of Zenlabs eight years after the collapse of disgraced Envia…
