Apple suspends electric car negotiations with Hyundai and Kia

There were multiple rumors last week that Apple had been discussing Apple car manufacturing issues with Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Motor’s affiliate Kia. However, there are now reports that the company has suspended these discussions. Nevertheless, Apple has also been discussing its Apple Car plans with other automakers. Thus, Hyundai/Kia is not Apple’s only option. It might choose to establish agreements with other companies.

Nikkei said earlier that Apple is in talks with at least six Japanese automakers on cooperation and manufacturing relationships. Earlier this week, CNBC also said that Apple was close to reaching an agreement with Kia. Since Hyundai confirmed its discussions with Apple in early January, the negotiations between Apple and Hyundai have been smooth.

“As far as we know, Apple is in discussions with a number of global automakers, including Hyundai Motors. Since the discussions are still in the early stages, there is no decision yet”. The company said. Only a few hours later, Hyundai retracted the statement and canceled the mention of Apple.

Hyundai’s announcement and other detailed rumors about Apple’s negotiations with automakers made Apple dissatisfied. According to a Bloomberg report, it is unclear whether and when the discussions between Apple and Hyundai may resume. However, the number of manufacturers that can actually meet Apple’s demand is not many. 

If they eventually resume negotiations, Apple may eventually cooperate with Kia. The Japanese manufacturer will eventually produce Apple cars at its US plant in Georgia. Apple still has some time to sort out its manufacturing and production plans, because Apple cars will not be official until 3 years’ time at the earliest.

Elon Musk tried to sell Tesla to Apple

Rumors that the head of Tesla, Elon Musk, tried to sell it to Apple, turned out to be not just rumors. This information was confirmed by Musk himself.

“During the darkest days of the Model 3 program, I reached out to Tim Cook to discuss the possibility of Apple acquiring Tesla (for 1/10 of our current value). He refused to take the meeting.”

In addition, Musk questioned the veracity of a recent report about a “single-cell” battery that Apple is developing for its electric vehicle. We will remind, recently it became known that Apple expects to “radically” reduce the cost and increase the range of the car, using a new battery structure based on lithium iron phosphate (LFP).

Tesla is already using LFP batteries in its electric vehicles but a single cell design is “not possible” because the resulting battery would deliver too low voltage. The head of Tesla suggests that Apple’s battery would still have connecting cells.