You’re right that it’s unfair to exceptions, of which there aren’t many in terms of cars on the road. My point was just that the combination of spatial computing + EVs is where an Apple entry starts to make sense.

Yeah, I thought that was weird. A modern ICE car and modern EV made by the same manufacturer have the same levels of smartness, generally.

The point is that Apple is all about coming across as innovative and trailblazey while also being premium. Smart features and build quality is the premium half of the equation, being an EV is still innovative/trailblazey. Your car isn't gonna feel innovative in 2028 if it is an ICE vehicle.

> Your car isn't gonna feel innovative in 2028 if it is an ICE vehicle

Couldn't disagree more. Again, our Audi A6 is much more advanced feature-wise than any Tesla on the market. That can continue to be true as the software, torque vectoring, AWD, air suspension, MPGs, assisted driving, etc all improves.

You're talking about incremental improvements, when I say innovative I mean Apple wants more Blackberry -> iPhone moments, not "our car has better suspension".

You might really like your Audi and think its advanced features are much better than what you'll find in a Tesla, but the market couldn't disagree more with you about which company is more "innovative".

Oh, so like going from physical buttons on a console to a massive iPad? Some may call that innovation, and that many now consider a regression in terms of usability. Thankfully the market doesn’t purchase cars purely for the sake of “innovation” or whatever your biased interpretation of that is.

And yeah, the fact that my car feels like I am driving on a cloud in a quiet cabin versus a rickety Tesla is innovative and equally important to a lot of people.

You realize we're actually talking about an Apple Car, right? Not Teslas. You're making points about why you think Teslas are shit, but I merely used them for illustrative purposes. Again, regardless of how much you like your car, it is not seen as "innovative", in large part because it is an ICE vehicle. Quality control, individual components, and decisions about the best way to interface with a car are secondary to that. In fact, you're only helping make the point. The fact that Teslas have a number of clear issues (including a founder many people like to hate) and yet still win the hearts and minds of people as an innovator in the car space speaks volumes.

Building an electric vehicle does not mean you need to be like Tesla in other ways. Apple doesn't want to be a Tesla clone, they want to do their own thing. I'm sure the bigwigs at Apple would balk at panel gaps or whatever more than you do. But Apple releasing an ICE vehicle in 2028 would not be in line with their brand and market positioning at all.

As an aside, if you'd like to see a vehicle that is both electric and superior to your Audi in terms of comfort, check out the new Rolls Royce Spectre. RR also feels that the best way for them to innovate is by electrifying their vehicles, and I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a car maker further from Tesla (in terms of ethos) than RR.