Tim Cook Speaks on Apple Car: “It’s Going to Be Christmas Eve for a While”

Speaking at Apple’s annual shareholder meeting today, at its headquarters in Cupertino, California, CEO Tim Cook may have all but confirmed a car is in the works at Apple, when asked about their rumoured vehicle ambitions.

According to the Associated Press, Cook said:

Do you remember when you were a kid, and Christmas Eve, it was so exciting, you weren’t sure what was going to be downstairs? Well, it’s going to be Christmas Eve for a while.

Cook jokingly said “maybe I should have called on someone else,” before he answered the question.

Electric automobile maker Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk—whose company has been in a constant engineer poaching war with the iPhone maker—noted last month Apple’s vehicle plans are “obvious” in Silicon Valley, saying “It’s pretty hard to hide something if you hire over a thousand engineers to do it.”

Last month, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche, admitted a recent trip to Silicon Valley revealed companies like Apple and Google had progressed much further on car ambitions than the automobile maker had assumed.

There may be a Canadian connection to Apple’s car plans, as last month the company reportedly leased a 22,000 square foot space in Kanata, just outside of Ottawa, in what people suspect may be for R&D purposes. The space is conveniently located next door to QNX, the automotive arm of BlackBerry.

Sources previously told Bloomberg an electric car from Apple may emerge as soon as 2020, while other sources tell the WSJ the target date has been reportedly bumped up to 2019.

Start saving up for the Retina Apple Car Pro in Rose Gold, folks.