Should Apple Partner With Tesla, Ford Or GM On A Self-Driving EV?

Every week, Benzinga conducts a survey to collect sentiment on what traders are most excited about, interested in or thinking about as they manage and build their personal portfolios.

Now that rumored discussions with Hyundai Motor Company HYMTF and its subsidiary Kia Motors Corp. about building an electric vehicle with Apple Inc AAPL have been put on hold, we asked Benzinga readers which automaker the tech giant’s self-driving EV research and development team would be best served to partner with on the project.

Who should Apple partner with to make a self-driving electric vehicle?

• Ford Motor Company F
• Tesla Inc TSLA
• General Motors Company GM

About 37% of traders and investors believe a Tesla-Apple EV partnership makes the most sense. 

Many respondents noted Elon Musk's company is the most established EV automaker and would be the easiest for Apple to partner with, given its EV line up features the longest distance electric cars between charges, the company’s laid out plans for installing EV chargers throughout the U.S. and at-present has the largest EV market share.

See also: How To Buy Apple Stock

About 32% of respondents believe a Ford-Apple partnership would be the best fit for Apple, many citing Ford’s worldwide footprint as an automaker and praise for Ford's brand new EV offering, the Mustang Mach-E SUV. Ford has about 14% market of the automotive share in the U.S. and about 7% share in Europe.

Lastly, 31% percent of respondents said GM would be the best fit for Apple's EV project. Respondents cited GM's recently announced commitment that it plans eliminating all gas- and diesel-powered cars from its lineup by 2035, shifting to electric vehicles, and the fact that GM is the country's largest automaker, commanding a 17% market share as the reasons why Apple ought to carry out their EV vision with the Detroit automaker.

This survey was conducted by Benzinga in February 2021 and included the responses of a diverse population of adults 18 or older.

Opting into the survey was completely voluntary, with no incentives offered to potential respondents. The study reflects results from over 1,000 adults.