What Apple’s auto plans mean for its future

As rumors began to swirl yesterday about Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) evolving plans to enter the electric vehicle (EV) industry, the Cupertino-based company saw its stock price hit a new all-time high.

With sentiment strong around the EV market already, just how would Apple entering the fray affect the industry?

This article was originally written by MyWallSt. Read more insights from the MyWallSt team here.

So Apple is a car company now?

Apple’s plans to launch into the automotive space began as far back as 2014. However, many false starts, strategy alterations, and leadership changes have left the project struggling to come up with anything of note. However, with Apple Watch software executive Kevin Lynch now leading the charge, the tech giant finally seems to be making some concrete progress.

Reports have emerged that Apple is targeting 2025 for the release of its much talked about first auto offering. And not only will it be Apple’s first production car, but it could also be the world’s first fully autonomous vehicle. Full self-driving capabilities seem to be the goal all major EV companies are chasing right now, with even market leaders Tesla still years away from debuting this kind of technology.

However, betting against Apple’s innovative capabilities is something all investors should do at their own peril. The original iPhone came from nowhere in 2007 to completely revolutionize modern technology as we know it. AirPods, despite the initial consumer pushback, set the benchmark for a whole host of copies and clones to follow Apple may not have a broad history in the automotive space, but they have the capital and the personnel to produce something truly groundbreaking. 2025 might be a target that ends up being missed, but that kind of aggressive outlook should have investors excited to see what happens.

So I should I watch Apple stock?

It should come as no surprise that I’m not going to tell you to avoid investing in Apple. It’s already one of the largest companies in the world and arguably boasts the strongest brand across the globe. Even forgetting its potential foray into the automotive space, Apple has the kinds of underlying factors and financials that we here at MyWallSt love to see.

However, the potential for Apple to innovate further by releasing a self-driving car could propel the company to unfathomable heights. It’s hard to imagine a company with a market cap of $2.62 trillion being thought of as a potential growth company, but it just remains very hard to think about betting against the company’s penchant for innovation and success. We’ll most certainly be watching any developments closely for further movement, but right now it’s certainly an exciting time to be an Apple fan.

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