Fadell: Steve Jobs did consider building an Apple vehicle in 2008

Both have batteries, computers, and a few motor. [The conversation consisted of questions like] “If we were to build a vehicle, what would we build?”

“We had a couple of walks“, Tony Fadell, creator of the Nest thermostat and former Apple executive who’s credited with helping invent the iPod, told Bloomberg. “How would you fuel it or power it?” came up. Rumblings of an Apple vehicle have persisted for the better part of a year now although the company’s interest in the automotive industry dates back many years. “We’re so constrained. It would be great to do it, but we can’t”, said Fadell. “At the end of the day, what was the biggest [project] that had the biggest dramatic impact on the world?” And it was cell phones. “We said, ‘OK, we’re going to focus our energy on that. Forget all this other stuff'”. Bloomberg said Jobs ultimately scrapped the project; it wasn’t the right time for Apple to get into the industry, where plenty of automakers were losing money.

Mr. Fadell and the former Apple CEO contemplated upon the idea of an Apple vehicle in early 2008.

These days Apple is thinking a ton about cars. The two allegedly held multiple discussions about how they envisioned such a product, but nothing official began when Fadell was still at Apple. Apple chose to hedge its bets on the iPhone back then, at a time when the auto industry wasn’t exactly at its peak.

As you may well know, Steve Jobs was shunted out of Apple in 1985 – technically he resigned, but only after the company board members had made it clear they would be reducing the level of influence he had within the organisation. But, Tim Cook’s decision to resume work on Apple’s smart-car could be an help it become established in a market where smart cars are still a luxury.

It’s reportedly going to be electric (although not self-driving at the start), and could possibly take on Tesla in the high-end electric auto game (despite Elon Musk’s mockery). This was in 2008-just a year after the first iPhone was released. “But we’re still seven to 10 years away from a mass switch-over”.