On April 22nd, according to foreign media reports, the US Patent and Trademark Office published a patent, showing that Apple is studying a three-phase AC induction motor for "Apple Car", which is similar to Tesla's squirrel-cage motor technology. Despite the submission of documents and patents required by law, Apple has not confirmed whether it is developing vehicles.
The patent number of this patent is 10630 127, and its name is "cooling motor with rod wound around stator end". Apple may choose this technology because its manufacturing cost is relatively low, it is useful on rugged terrain, and it can generate high starting torque when controlling voltage/frequency. If properly controlled, the efficiency of this motor can reach 90%. Compared with permanent magnet drive, this kind of motor is expected to have a longer life and require less maintenance.
In fact, it was revealed in 20 18 that Apple will lock in the "next star product"-Apple Auto, which will completely change the automobile market like the iPhone in 2007.
Guo Ming Ti, an analyst with Tianfeng International Securities, who is known as the "Oracle of Apple", predicts that Apple will launch Apple cars between 2023 and 2025, and AR glasses in 2020.
In a research report, Guo Ming predicted how Apple would create a market value of $2 trillion. "Services, AR (augmented reality) and Apple cars will create the next trillion-dollar market value for Apple."
Guo Ming said in the above report that there is a "huge demand for upgrading" in the current automobile market, because the industry is in the process of being redefined by new technologies. Apple's advanced technology will redefine the car and "make Apple cars different from other products".
Guo Ming also believes that Apple can "do better in integrating hardware, software and services", which can surpass other competitors in the current consumer electronics field and potential automobile field. After the release of Apple Auto, as the company enters the "huge auto finance market", Apple's service business will also grow significantly.
Last August, according to the American technology blog Daring Fireball, Doug Field, a former Tesla executive, will join Apple's Project Titan team to develop cars. Before 20 13 joined Tesla, Field was Apple's vice president in charge of hardware. This joining means that he has returned to Apple.
It is understood that Doug Field joined Tesla in 20 13 to help develop new electric vehicles. In 20 17, he was appointed to be in charge of the production and manufacturing department of Model 3 at the same time, but later, due to the excessive automation of the production line, the output lagged behind. In April, Musk took the initiative to intervene in the production line. By this time, Field's responsibility has been relieved a lot. In July, Dogfield officially chose to leave Tesla.
Subsequently, the American consumer news and business channel, an American financial website, made an in-depth analysis of the "digging the wall" between Apple and Tesla. The website reported that according to LinkedIn, a social networking site in the workplace, about 46 Tesla employees jumped ship to Apple last year.
It is worth noting that not all employees hired from Tesla participated in the Titan car project, and many people also developed display, optical and battery technologies for Apple.
This year, Apple also hired employees in Autopilot autopilot system, quality assurance (QA), power system, mechanical design and firmware engineers from Tesla, as well as several global supply chain managers. Some employees jumped directly from Tesla to Apple, and some employees were fired or dismissed by Tesla before joining Apple.
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