Apple could hit a $3 trillion (£2.17 trillion) valuation for the first time should it finalise a deal to build its own electric car.
The Cupertino-based giant, which became the first US company to surpass a market capitalisation of $2 trillion in August, is believed to be in talks with Hyundai-Kia to manufacture an Apple-branded autonomous electric vehicle. Remarkably, it took Apple 42 years to reach a $1 trillion valuation but just two more years to break the $2 trillion mark.
A team at the tech firm has been rumoured to have been working on the “Apple Car” since 2014 with, today, around 5,000 people working on it, as reported by OGN on 10 January. The car's release is tentatively lined up for a 2024 release. It follows years of speculation that the iPhone-maker would enter the auto industry.
Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush, says: “The EV market is what could ultimately be a trillion dollar opportunity globally over the next decade and it's a smart strategic move for Apple to dive into the deep end of the pool on this new age of electric vehicles."
“The company has been working in Cupertino for years around this autonomous vision and we believe a potential larger strategic partnership with an established auto player such as Hyundai, Tesla, Ford, or VW would be a golden partnership for the next decade tapping into this EV opportunity.”
Mr Ives said that investors “would prefer” for Apple to partner with existing car manufacturers than for the tech firm to build the car itself. The Wedbush analyst said the move into electric vehicles would “expand the massive total addressable market for Apple”.
Apple’s share price currently stands just shy of $134, should entry into the EV market push the price upwards by 10 percent it would bring the company’s value up to the magic $3 trillion mark. Should growth in the tech firm’s other channels like iPhone and iPad sales continue to soar it will easily eclipse this figure.