Speculation is running rampant among industry observers that consumer electronics giant Apple may be preparing to enter the car business, specifically with an electric vehicle that could arrive by 2020. The iPhone maker has reportedly been luring employees away from both electric-car builder Tesla and battery-maker A123 Systems. Fellow high-tech company Google has already announced plans to be among the first to bring self-driving cars to market.
What’s more, mega-corporation Virgin could also be poised to take on the auto establishment with an EV of its own in the coming years. With his company already participating in the all-electric Formula E racing circuit, Virgin founder Richard Branson recently hinted as much in a published report.
“We have teams of people working on electric cars — you may find Virgin competing with the Tesla in the car business as we do in the space business,” Branson told Bloomberg.com. (Tesla chief Elon Musk also heads the private commercial space-travel company Space X, while Branson is planning to take paying customers to the heavens with his own Virgin Galactic.) “We will see what happens.”
— Jim Gorzelany
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