Apple Inc’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) car project has gone full-throttle, according to tech journalist Mark Gurman.
What Happened: Gurman pointed to the Apple Watch software chief Kevin Lynch leading the company’s car efforts in recent weeks and his push to accelerate the development of the electric vehicle.
“Now he’s pushing the team behind the project to accelerate its development, with an eye on debuting a car as early [as] 2025,” wrote Gurman in his weekly newsletter.
The Apple-focused journalist noted that Lynch wants the first version of the vehicle to be fully autonomous and have no steering wheel or pedal controls.
“It’s an ambitious and aggressive plan and certainly fascinating to follow,” wrote Gurman.
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Why It Matters: Resurfaced rumors surrounding the so-called Apple car propelled the shares of the Tim Cook-led company into record territory last week.
Loup Ventures analyst Gene Munster put the chances of Apple eventually releasing a car at 50% and said it is likely more than five years away.
Although Apple has given itself a timeline of four years to release a car with the more advanced fully autonomous technology, should the iPhone maker not be able to meet its set deadline it could either delay the launch or release a vehicle with less advanced technology, as per a Bloomberg report.
This month, it was reported that Apple Car’s concept resembles Tesla Inc’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Cybertruck.
Price Action: On Friday, Apple shares rose 1.7% to $160.55 in the regular session and gained 0.27% in the after-hours session.
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