Former GM CEO doesn’t think Apple is into hardcore manufacturing, scoffs at rumored car plans

By Alexander Kalogianni February 20, 2015

Dan Akerson — Image used with permission by copyright holder

With a lawsuit over poached battery engineers amid countless rumors, it seems as though Apple is getting into the automotive business with an electric car of its own. We even have some thoughts as to how they’d go about it.

In light of this, Former CEO of General Motors Dan Akerson has stated that the technology company is better off sticking to iPads.

“They’d better think carefully if they want to get into the hard-core manufacturing,” Akerson told Bloomberg over a phone interview. He went on to say that he believes that the long-term benefits of such a venture is suspect, and that there would be much more potential for apple to team up with automakers and essentially be a supplier for the in-car entertainment systems.

“I’d have turned over the infotainment and interconnectivity of every GM car,” Akerson says.

Apple iMove concept car © Liviu Tudoran — © Liviu Tudoran

Apple has had its nay-sayers before, from a litany of people saying how its retail venture wouldn’t last through its first year, to those predicting the iPhone to be the computer maker’s biggest dud. Will Apple soon add Akerson to its long list of proven-wrong critics?

Only time will tell. We’re not even sure an Apple car is a real thing, just loads of the rumors and speculation that seem to follow the company on a daily basis. We should also keep in mind that all the Apple opponents made to eat crow had done so under Steve Jobs’ reign and current CEO Tim Cook may not be able to beat the odds the same way Jobs had done so many times.

“If I were an Apple shareholder, I wouldn’t be very happy,” Akerson states, sounding a heck of a lot like Michael Dell in 1997.

Oh, if only we could fast forward 18 years to see how this quote is remembered.

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Alexander Kalogianni

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Alex K is an automotive writer based in New York. When not at his keyboard or behind the wheel of a car, Alex spends a lot of…

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