Apple's self-driving cars to run Tesla and Google off the road

Apple’s Tim Cook strongly pushed the concept of autonomous driving at the WSJDLive conference last week, proving that Apple will soon start building self-driving cars to compete against Tesla and Google.

Cook’s push has triggered widespread speculation the world’s most valuable company is dead set on developing self-driving electric vehicles in a bid to compete against companies like Tesla, Google, Uber and other automakers that already have autonomous cars, said Recode Net.

The success of Apple in electronic devices reflects the formidable changes in the IT industry and has also boosted its links to the supply network it will need to build its electric cars. Apple driverless car pilot project, Project Titan, is moving rapidly forward, as reported by The Guardian.

Apple’s entry into the car industry is a threat to traditional automakers and suppliers but also bring opportunities along with it. Bobby Hambrick, CEO of AutonomousStuff (a supplier of products and services for autonomous machines), said autonomous driving will bring all car-making companies onto the same platform.

If Apple joins the driverless car race, it’s unlikely Apple can build its cars entirely by itself. We have to wait to find out who Apple will turn to.

Silicon Valley, Germany, Japan and Detroit share similar beliefs that self-driving cars are the future of the car business worldwide. These autonomous vehicles will help transform the transportation business and other industries associated with cars.

Morgan Stanley projects that by 2022, autonomous vehicles will save a massive US$488 billion (AU$685 billion) in avoidable accidents and will contribute US$507 billion (AU$712 billion) in ‘productivity gains’.

While Tesla is at the frontier, other big car makers like BMW, Audi and Daimler are in the same brigade promoting autonomous driving.

Many big companies are simply into building hardware and software to equip vehicles with autonomous features or build autonomous cars from the scratch. And these are the opportunities Apple is looking to explore.

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