If there are rumors about you developing a self-driving car and you hire an ex-BMW exec, didn't you basically just confirm said rumors, Apple?
Following months of speculation and teasers, Apple has hired Ulrich Kranz, a former senior executive at BMW AG’s electric car division, to help lead its own vehicle efforts, Bloomberg reports.
The tech giant reportedly hired Kranz in recent weeks, this comes about a month after he stepped down as chief executive officer at Canoo Inc., an autonomous car startup. Before co-founding Canoo, Kranz served as senior vice president of the group for over 30 years and helped developed the i3 and i8 cars at BMW.
Kranz is Apple’s most significant automotive hire and is a decisive step forward in the company producing a self-driving car to rival Tesla. Kranz will report to Doug Field, who led the development of Tesla’s mass-market Model 3 and now runs Apple’s car project, anonymous sources told Bloomberg.
With a market capitalization of more than $2 trillion, Apple is the world's most valuable company and with its sights set on the automotive industry, this valuation looks to be headed for even more exponential growth.
