NYT: Apple held talks with Elon Musk about shopping for Tesla, deliberate to make use of Siri as an alternative of a steering wheel for Apple Automobile

Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that the Apple Automobile mission is formally lifeless after greater than a decade of labor. In a brand new story at this time, The New York Occasions shares extra particulars on the turmoil contained in the Mission Titan crew, based mostly on conversations with “a half dozen individuals who labored on the mission over the previous decade.”

A few of these particulars have been beforehand reported by NYT know-how reporter Tripp Mickle in his After Steve e book.

Apple and Tesla acquisition

This isn’t the primary time we’ve heard about supposed discussions between Apple and Tesla about an acquisition. In December 2020, Elon Musk himself confirmed that he “reached out to Tim Prepare dinner to debate the opportunity of Apple buying Tesla” throughout the “darkest days” of the Mannequin 3 growth. In accordance with Musk, Prepare dinner “refused to take the assembly.”

Six months later, a report from the Wall Road Journal instructed that Prepare dinner had pitched Musk on the thought of Apple buying Tesla round that very same timeframe. Musk was reportedly on this proposition, however on one situation: He serves as CEO not of Tesla, however of Apple totally.

Prepare dinner and Musk have each denied having that interplay. Till just lately, the 2 mentioned that they had by no means even spoken to one another.

At present’s report from The New York Occasions provides extra gasoline to the hearth, albeit with out many particulars. The report, for instance, doesn’t embody a timeline on when these “discussions” occurred:

The corporate held some discussions with Elon Musk about buying Tesla, in line with two individuals aware of the talks. However in the end, it determined that constructing its personal automotive made extra sense than shopping for and integrating one other enterprise.

A Siri-controlled automotive

At present’s report additionally consists of particulars on how Apple initially deliberate that Apple Automobile wouldn’t have a steering wheel, and as an alternative could be managed totally by Siri. There’s this humorous tidbit on an obvious demo introduced to Jony Ive and Tim Prepare dinner:

Mr. Ive and his crew of designers drew ideas for a automotive that might appear to be a European minivan such because the Fiat Multipla 600, which has a half-dozen home windows and a curving roof. It had no steering wheel and could be managed utilizing Apple’s digital assistant, Siri.

Sooner or later, within the fall of 2015, Mr. Ive and Mr. Prepare dinner met on the mission’s headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., for an indication of how the automotive would possibly work. The 2 males sank into the seats of a cabinlike inside. Outdoors, a voice actor learn from a script of what Siri would say as the lads zoomed down the street within the imaginary automotive. Mr. Ive requested Siri what restaurant they handed and the actor learn a solution, mentioned two individuals aware of the demonstration.

The complete report might be learn over at The New York Occasions.