A new patent for an electric car carrying Apple’s name has sparked speculations about the company’s interest in the segment
Apple was granted a patent for an electric car on Tuesday, which tickled the interest of market watchers and many enthusiasts. The patent was filed with the name of “Apple Electric Car” and was first noted by Patently Apple.
Is Apple interested in electric cars?
The patent is about a display which could be viewed by the driver irrespective of whether they are inside or outside the car, according to the filing. However, it cannot be said with certainty that this patent has been filed by the iPhone maker. There are chances that the brand name is only a coincidence and has nothing to do with the Apple.
Nevertheless, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company has shown interest in electric cars, and now it looks like just matter of time before Apple steps into the arena. There was a buzz in the tech world almost a year ago when the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Tesla CEO Elon Musk was seen visiting Apple’s Cupertino headquarters, but Musk clarified that his visit did not not have anything to do with an acquisition.
According to Wall Street speculations, Apple could be thinking of an investment or purchase of the electric car company. Recently ELEKS designed an app for the Apple Watch that enables Model S drivers to control their car through the gadget.
Not related to Apple
Jack Purcher of Patently Apple, however, denied this outright, suggesting, “It’s likely just a one in a million fluke that it appeared on today’s list of granted patents for ‘Apple.’ Yet there it was in black and white this morning.” According to Purcher’s blog post, the patent offered might have been received by another company, as one of the inventors mentioned in the patent is not at all connected to Apple.
Within the patent, the names of the inventors were given as Anthony Bonito of Davie, Fla. and Perry Pierce of Ft. Collins, Colo., and the assignee as Miami-based Apple Electric Car, Inc. These names prove more than anything else that iGadget maker Apple has no hands in this patent, but the name is enough to lure the attention of the market.
