Apple Car reportedly revving its electric engine for a 2019 release date

(NASDAQ:AAPL) is potentially launching its electric vehicle in 2019, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) sources.

“This drive to put electric-powered rubber on the road comes from an internal project codenamed ‘Titan”.

USA Today shared that some members of the Titan project have come onboard from Elon Musk’s Tesla and that the company had also been in talks for securing a location as its automotive testing site. Apple Insider reported talks between Apple and BMW, which suggest a potential partnership and also raised rumors that Apple may apply the existing BMW i3 electric vehicle as the platform of its new model. Most vehicle manufacturers have their own plants, but with products such as the iPhone Apple has preferred to engage third parties. The news outlet wasn’t sure how Apple plans to manufacture the auto or if it has a partner on board, such as BMW, and called the 2019 shipment date “ambitious”.

With a date now pencilled in, the company has given the leadership team of Project Titan the green light to triple its workforce from around 600 to nearer 1800.

The company’s first electric vehicle won’t be fully autonomous but that remains a long-term goal, said The Wall Street Journal. Apple has met with officials from GoMentum Station, a high-security Bay Area test site for driverless cars.

So far, Apple executives have not commented on the report, and remain tight-lipped over the matter, just like in the past.

Apple would look to apply its battery, software and hardware production experience from its range of devices to churning out cars. It’s unclear who would be manufacturing the vehicle. On the other hand, Apple is flush with cash on hand-more than $178 billion earlier this year-and can pretty much afford to do whatever kinds of research and development it wants to try.