Apple stock closes at record high, Microsoft unseated for top valuation

I hold both stocks so I’m happy.

"aggressive release timeline of 2025"

Well not that aggressive.  Project Titan has been underway for a decade, right?

The Zunemobile will put MS back on top... ;)
I think Xboxster would probably get poopooed by Porsche.

AppleInsider said:

Apple shares have hit a record high amid new "Apple Car" rumors, with Microsoft tumbling from its position as the world's most valuable company.

Credit: Laurenz Heymann/Unsplash

The Cupertino company's share prices hit a record high on Friday following a report Thursday that the company was accelerating efforts to launch a vehicle.

Apple shares surged more than 1% Friday afternoon to above $160. After the "Apple Car" report was published Thursday, Apple's share price surged around 2.5%. The company's stock closed at $160.55 after the bell rang on Friday.

In late October, Microsoft overtook Apple in terms of market valuation. After the Thursday and Friday surges, Apple regained its position and dethroned Microsoft's brief run as the world's most valuable company.

Apple's total market capitalization, which is calculated by multiplying share price by number of outstanding shares, was $2.63 trillion as of market close Friday.

The Bloomberg report on Thursday, citing sources familiar with Apple's car development, indicated that the company had decided to pursue a fully autonomous vehicle that could lack a steering wheel and pedals.

According to the report, Apple was targeting an aggressive release timeline of 2025 for its self-driving car. Recently, Apple's Special Projects Group -- which is working on the vehicle -- hit a key milestone in the development of a specialized chip to power the "Apple Car's" autonomous features.

Apple's entry into the electric car space, which the company has not yet publicly confirmed, would put it in direct competition with existing players like Tesla, Rivian, and legacy automakers who are pursuing an EV strategy.

Earlier on Friday, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty predicted that the "Apple Car" could be a "game changer" for the automotive industry. Wedbush's Daniel Ives also forecast that Apple would announce some type of strategic EV partnership in 2022 to set the stage for a potential launch three years later.

Read on AppleInsider

So Apple will take full liability of Apple Car? Every rider will assume the luxury of a queen sitting in Apple Car? 

waveparticle said:

So Apple will take full liability of Apple Car? Every rider will assume the luxury of a queen sitting in Apple Car? 

No one seems to know that question, but I wouldn't expect the "passengers" to be held liable, since they are not drivers.  No doubt the nutty bloodsucking lawyers will try to still pin problems on "car owners" simply due to the fact it's their car, but I look forward to the day all police traffic stops end.  No more unmarked cars, speed traps, and quote fillers!  Perhaps LED tech can help keep tail lights from burning out as quickly as the bulbs do, and an onboard computer could detect when a light is out, then suggest a low cost replacement to the car owner -- all without police intervention.  No more, "oops! I didn't see the guy!" accidents either.  Indeed, most stupid accidents may become a thing of the past.  I really look forward to this.

However...

I still don't believe in 100% autonomy with current tech.  The human brain is a far more powerful computer than anything these programmers have come up with to date, and no doubt that includes Apple too.  I cannot see how a car can drive itself under all circumstances.  A lot of tech used in 2021 Toyota cars that keep the thing in the lane relays on painted lines.  What about roads with no paint?  Even Toyota's Radar Cruise stops working when it sees a curve in the road!  What about when a 100% autonomous car encounters potholes, sudden harsh sunlight reflections, fog, etc?  What happens when a paved road becomes a dirt road?  What happens when the car encounters something it was never programmed for (which would probably be all the time)?  I'd hope it would just stop, but then if it never moved, what happens next?  

I wish Apple well, but there are a lot of unanswered questions about 100% autonomy.  And then the question becomes, how will Apple's shift to cars affect its existing business?  They've always be laser focused on what they do well, and they do few things as a result.  Wouldn't the automotive business become a distraction?  And what of restless lawmakers who can't rest until the've enacted another silly law, always seeking to nail "big tech" to the wall merely because they classify it as "too big" and therefore naughty under anti-trust law?  As Apple grows its business (as it should in a free market), law-makers will increasingly find ways to shoot it down.  Quite sad, but it's the living reality we have today.