Following multiple sightings of an Apple van equipped with a LIDAR system making the rounds in the Bay Area, a new report claims Apple is working on "vehicle development" at the moment.
Business Insider claims it has received an "unsolicited email" from a person who purports to work for Apple. The alleged employee says Apple is developing its own vehicle and employees of electric car maker Tesla are "jumping ship" to work at Apple.
"Apple's latest project is too exciting to pass up," the person says. "I think it will change the landscape and give Tesla a run for its money."
A LinkedIn report shows Apple currently has around 50 employees who previously worked for Tesla, most of whom were engineers who interned at the automaker's mechanics, manufacturing, and robotics divisions.
Last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk himself said Apple is working hard at poaching Tesla's employees, enticing them with $250,000 sign-up bonuses and a 60 percent yearly salary increase, along with the additional perks of working for the world's wealthiest company.
Musk's statement comes after Bay Area blog Claycord posted pictures of a dark blue Dodge Caravan leased by Apple and equipped with laser mapping sensors and cameras that are similar to the system used in Google's self-driving car's early prototypes, prompting one analyst to conclude that Apple could be working on its own self-driving car.
Rob Enderle, analyst at the Enderle Group, says the van has "too many cameras" to simply be a mapping vehicle. He also says that Apple could be in a partnership with one of the six car companies that have a permit to test self-driving vehicles in California.
However, it is too early to make any conclusions about Apple's rumored self-driving vehicle plans. For one thing, anyone can claim to be an Apple insider and send journalists emails about one of company's plans, so it is best to take the Business Insider report with a grain of salt.
Moreover, Enderle has been widely criticized about his scant knowledge of Apple's products and services. It seems a little far-fetched for Apple, which has been very successful with its laser focus on its consumer electronics business, to take an extremely different route away from its core business.
Some more plausible explanations that have come up could be that Apple is working on vastly improving its Maps application, which has been panned over and over again due to its inaccuracy. Alternatively, Apple could be working on its CarPlay initiative, an in-car system that allows users to manage and control the various wireless technologies on their vehicles with their iPhone.
