Late yesterday the internet became buzzing with reports that Hyundai is working with Apple for an upcoming Apple Car. Those reports indicated that Hyundai went so far as to, in fact, confirm the story.
Now Hyundai says, “Not so fast.”
Bloomberg is now reporting that Hyundai Motor Company has backed away from a statement confirming it’s in talks with Apple. That initial statement added a whopping $8 billion to Hyundai’s market value.
The updated statement says Hyundai has been contacted by potential partners about autonomous electric vehicles. Any reference to Apple was removed.
Does that mean Apple is working with Hyundai? Maybe. For Hyundai to come out and say it initially does lend credence to the argument that they’re working together. But they also risk catching the ire of the tech giant and that could potentially sour the deal.
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Steve Jobs was known to cancel products and deals all the way up to just before he was to take the stage to announce them. Tim Cook is not Steve Jobs, but he will certainly do what is best to protect his company and his shareholders.
We’re still not really certain why Apple would want a car. It makes more sense to be in the dashboard of another car, or just not in the space at all.
As always, we’ll just have to wait and see.
