Amid swirling rumors that electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors may end up building EVs for Apple’s Project Titan “Apple Car,” Lucid shares, which is merging with Churchill Capital Corp IV (CCIV), surged more than 10% on Monday.
The internet thinks that Lucid Motors and Apple are working together to build a new class of super-cool electric vehicles. This belief stems mostly from two things.
One, when asked in a recent interview whether or not Apple had approached Lucid Motors, Lucid’s CEO declined to comment — which, in business speak, almost usually means “yes.” Two, Apple’s legendary former chief designer — Jony Ive — is on the board at Lucid…
The market believes Lucid Motors/Apple rumors, because they’re believable — and they’re believable because Lucid Motors has the most talented team of managers, engineers, and designers in the EV space outside of maybe Tesla.
MacDailyNews Take: Some company is going to assemble “Apple Car,” but the identity of that partner changes like the wind, so, outside of some fun speculation, we’ll just wait and see if it’s Lucid Motors or Magna Steyr or someone else. The only way to be sure you’re investing in “Apple Car,” if it ever comes to market, is currently via AAPL.
Oh please don’t let the car be designed by Ivy. Apple needs a car, not a space-pod on wheels with one button. Not to mention anything designed by Ivy will be unnecessarily expensive due to ‘design considerations’.
Lucid hasn’t actually brought a car to market before – they originally said they would by 2019.
If you recall Apple’s failed partnership with GT Advanced in Arizona to make glass, it illustrates the problems with partnering with a company that lacks a history of manufacturing success . . . this is why you see Apple continuing to partner with Foxconn, an established manufacturer . . . Rumors about Apple partnering with a Korean car company make sense in this context — but working with Lucid seems like a stretch (for manufacturing) . . . so I often wonder if these rumors are just an attempt to bump a company’s stock (sort of like ESPN and sports blogs running a headline: “Are the Packers trading Aaron Rodgers to the Patriots?” – great to get viewers and clicks in the off season, but no basis in fact)
So the role of Lucid isn’t entirely clear.
Agreed, not totally convinced about this story but wouldn’t write it off completely, Lucid’s first product if as claimed, will be at the forefront of what’s presently possible and undoubtedly upmarket and should be starting sales later this year working out from Apple’s home turf. If the company proves its impressive claims by year end or soon after and shows thereafter its business model, managerial/production competence and engineering is fundamentally sound, then cooperation might fit in well with Apple’s own plans, considering no one is expecting product before 2025 at the very earliest. It would therefore allow Apple to continue develop and perfect its design, forge cooperation in so doing but depending on agreed targets being met, not establish any final production commitment unless and until Lucid prove themselves in the market place and capable of meeting the expectations Apple would be demanding from cooperation. More importantly as a new developing brand with high ambitions but no pre existing baggage, both companies can potentially at least, mutually benefit free of pre conceived industry/public prejudices and grow in the market together far quicker than either could alone. So as I say you can’t write it off as yet.
However one would need to know so much more of what is happening behind the scenes on various levels to judge the practicality of such a venture, I fully accept.