Elon Musk On Apple Car: 'A Missed Opportunity,' But Will Be Here By 2020

Apple Inc. AAPL's so-called "iCar" is unlikely to be hit full-scale production or even be ready to be sent to customers before 2020, at least according to Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors Inc TSLA.

Speaking at the Code Conference on Wednesday, Musk told conference's hosts Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher that while it's "great" Apple is entering the electric car space, it's nevertheless a "missed opportunity" as the company is several years away from entering the market and it should have "embarked on [the car] project sooner."

Apple has never officially acknowledged they plan on manufacturing or selling its own car. However, some of Wall Street's top analysts are taking a different time approach than Musk and looking out at least a full decade into the future.

Related Link: Apple-Tesla: A Timeline

Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster told Benzinga earlier this year the "chemistry of cars is going to change dramatically over the next 10-15 years" and tech companies "have a real opportunity to box out traditional automotive guys."

"A car by Apple may look completely different than what we think of as a typical car today in terms of shape and size," the analyst also said in a research note.

Naturally, Musk also talked about his own company's outlook during the Code Conference. He reiterated that the new Model 3 sedan will hit the market as planned next year and the company hopes to fulfill more than 325,000 pre-orders for the car.

Musk also said the Model 3's design would be finalized in the next six weeks and he has "ideas for future cool things" that will be implemented in future versions of the car.

Posted In: Analyst ColorNewsEventsTechApple CarCode ConferenceElon MuskGene MunsteriCarKara SwisherPiper JaffrayTeslaWalt Mossberg
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