Tim Cook drops a hint about much-rumored ‘Apple Car’

A shareholder proposal to force Apple to increase diversity among its board and senior management was rejected on Friday. Yes, it was boring and tiresome and scripted.

Apple is caught in a war of words with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the USA government over the encryption of the iPhone used by Syed Farook, one of the San Bernardino assailants responsible for the death of 14 people and the serious injury of 22 in December. However, the Cupertino-based company is still tight-lipped about the progress of the said project.

Okay, joking aside, this is at least the first real response from Cook, whereas until now he’s basically ignored or skipped around questions about the auto project. Speaking to ABC News, Cook termed the issue “complex” but said that such a software will risk the privacy of millions of customers and “trample” civil liberties.

Cook said (via Recode): “Do you remember when you were a kid and Christmas Eve was so exciting?”

While dreams of hitting the road Apple-style seem dashed for now, Cook’s lack of total denial is the closest we’ve gotten to confirmation that such a machine might exist. In fact, Cook’s comments are in line with reports which have been claiming that the likely production timeline for the Apple Car would be in 2019 or 2020. But the CEO won praise during the meeting from the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Internet rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

“I am sick and exhausted in this town and across the country of people not siding with law enforcement, and in this case that includes Apple and that includes [CEO] Tim Cook”, Jolly added.

Where we stand in times of controversy is a measure of our character. Like past year, Apple’s rumored electric vehicle project came up, only the Apple CEO didn’t automatically defer to CarPlay this go around.

So, even if some fuzzy shots of an Apple Car prototype appear on one of California’s communal proving grounds, Cook is letting analysts and shareholders know more than one Christmas may pass by before the eve of the car’s arrival.

“We’ve been down this road before”, Jackson told reporters after the meeting. Second-time attending shareholder, Don Wexler of Lake Tahoe, said that the meeting was “fantastic” and that he plans to return next year. It’s safe to assume the next annual shareholders meeting could take place at the new Apple campus.

“I do think they should unlock it”, one shareholder, who asked not be quoted by name, said on the way into Friday’s event.