$Apple (AAPL.US)$ is pushing ahead with its electric vehicle project codenamed Titan in several key areas.
What happened: The Cupertino company received a patent on Tuesday that depicts a new design for its ideal charging station. As seen in the diagrams, the driver would approach the 'outlet' while remaining inside the vehicle, and the automated system would handle everything else.
According to Patently Apple, a website that tracks Apple's intellectual property, the company has patented 124 project Titan patents relating to electric, autonomous, and semi-autonomous vehicles.
The patent comes just days after the company hired Desi Ujkashevic, a
$Ford Motor (F.US)$ veteran, to push its self-driving vehicle to market by 2025, according to Bloomberg.
Why it matters: If the charging port design is used, it would mean two things. Apple ensures that its design is unique, with rival EVs such as
$Tesla (TSLA.US)$ will be unable to share connectors. Second, Apple would strengthen its charging ecosystem, such as the proprietary lightning cable.
Macdonell J : Apple is still in the dinosaur age when comes to EV charging infrastructure. The market is already in the prototyping stage for Smart Street concept whereby EVs are automatically parked and wirelessly charged without human intervention, while Apple is still talking about lightenning cable.
Red__Bull : A company that has $202.6 Billion cash on hand (AAPL) can compete in any arena they choose. Cash is king. Tesla, while being an excellent company and innovator has it's value tied mostly to market cap, which can evaporate quickly (see last week) in the short-term causing a slowdown in R&D spending.
Meltyy OP Macdonell J : wow, you can argue with that bro
Meltyy OP Red__Bull : So you have absolute confidence in Apple
Red__Bull : Nothing is absolute in the market. But long term AAPL doesn't disappoint.
Red__Bull Macdonell J : I didn't say AAPL would invent their own EV tech. With their strong balance sheet, they could buy their way into the market.
Meltyy OP Red__Bull : well said!
Witty Chicken1971 : if they make them like their phones, you'll never find a place to charge up on the road
Red__Bull Witty Chicken1971 : Honestly, I wouldn't know.....I've never owned a single Apple product. Just their stock since they invented the first iPhone. Worked 20 yrs at mega telecom and noticed that customers would clamor for the latest $1,000 model and rarely switch from Apple to Android