Apple hires Tesla's top self driving engineer for rival electric car project

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Apple has hired a senior engineer from Elon Musk's electric car maker Tesla, according to a LinkedIn posting, as part of Apple's effort to build a team of experts in automated driving.

A LinkedIn profile for Jamie Carlson shows that he has left Tesla and moved to Apple. 

At least six others with experience developing self-driving technology and systems have joined Apple, according to their LinkedIn profiles.

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One designer's vision is of a semi-autonomous electric car in the minimalist tradition of Apple design, features external LED screens at the front and back with a discreet hatch and doors that open laterally

Attempts to reach all seven people were unsuccessful and Apple declined to comment.

Sources have said that Apple is developing a car and studying self-driving technology, but it is unclear if the iPhone maker is designing a vehicle that could drive itself.

Since January, Apple has hired Megan McClain, a former Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) engineer with expertise in automated driving, and Vinay Palakkode, a graduate researcher at Carnegie Mellon University, a hub of automated driving research.

In August, Apple hired Xianqiao Tong, an engineer who developed computer vision software for driver assistance systems at microchip maker Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O).

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Apple hired Paul Furgale, former deputy director of the Autonomous Systems Lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, earlier this year.

So-called advanced driver assistance systems, or ADAS, handle tasks such as keeping a vehicle in a lane or driving by itself in stop-and-go traffic, and they are considered the building blocks for self-driving cars.

According to Carlson's LinkedIn profile, he joined Apple in August in an unnamed position in a special projects group.

Through July, Carlson was an engineer on Tesla's Autopilot self-driving car program, and before that he worked on automotive vision systems for Michigan-based supplier Gentex Corp.

Other Apple hires since September 2014 with similar experience have worked at automakers BMW , Volkswagen and Ford Motor Co, automotive suppliers Delphi Automotive, Robert Bosch GmbH and TRW, now a part of ZF Friedrichshafen, according to their LinkedIn profiles.

This designer created a futuristic car, dubbed the Titan electric car, on Cinema 4D and added in a salt flat scene in the background

Focusing on Apple love of incorporating a stylish design with functionality, this concept is sleek with very little protruding from the body

Among those hired last fall were Sanjai Massey, an engineer with experience in developing connected and automated vehicles at Ford and several suppliers; Stefan Weber, a former Bosch engineer with experience in video-based driver assistance systems, and Lech Szumilas, a former Delphi research scientist with expertise in computer vision and object detection.

Tesla and Apple have long been involved in what many have called a 'poaching war' when it comes to self-driving cars. Although, Tesla CEO Elon Musk

has poached 5 times as many employees from Apple as Apple has from Tesla. Musk also commented that he 'hopes' Apple will enter the car market.

Eye-catching, sleek, incorporating Apple's trademark sleek design, these are what the world's graphic designers believe an iCar could look like.

Refuelling rumours the tech giant's next big project is to bring a self-driving car to market, documents obtained by the Guardian say the company is searching for a location to test the autonomous vehicles to rival designs already manufactured by Google.

In May, engineers met with officials from GoMentum Station, a 2,100-acre former naval base near San Francisco, in a bid to set up a high-security site.

Typically secretive, the company - who recently launched the Apple Watch - have yet to confirm or deny the rumours - but that hasn't stopped Apple fans speculating and imagining what it could look like.

In a correspondence obtained by the newspaper through a public records request, Apple engineer Frank Fearon wrote: 'We would ... like to get an understanding of timing and availability for the space, and how we would need to coordinate around other parties who would be using [it].'

The company did not confirm whether this was the case while others involved in the deal would not shed further light on the details.

'We don't know. They haven't said what they want to test. It could be an iPhone,' joked Jack Hall, program manager for connected vehicles and autonomous vehicles at GoMentum Station, which is operated by the Contra Costa Transportation Authority.

The agency is promoting a portion of the former Concord Naval Weapons Station as an ideal testing facility for carmakers and tech companies working on automotive technology.

One designer's concept for Titan, which is what Apple's project is rumoured to be called, is 'futuristic, but still doable by 2010,' he said

This innovative designer says the driver can just slide their key over the Apple logo and the front glass panel of the three-seater car will open up for entry

'It's got all the infrastructure of a city,' Hall said of the facility. 'There are buildings, streets and intersections, but no people.'

The 5,000-acre site has 20 miles of paved roads, including overpasses, tunnels and railroad crossings, according to the agency's website, which calls it 'the largest secure test facility in the world.' Another 7,600 acres of the former navy base is now used as a shipping terminal by the U.S. Army.

GoMentum Station already has an agreement with Honda, which plans to test automated vehicle systems there.

Hall said his agency hopes to partner with other companies for testing self-driving cars and 'connected vehicles' — cars that use the Internet and local networks to exchange a variety of information with other devices and vehicles.

Apple has 'shown interest' in the facility but has not reached any agreement for testing there, Hall said. Company representatives have not actually visited yet, he said. 

This creative designer embellished his curved iCar concept with Apple logos on the front and on all the car seats

This graphic designer thinks the iCar could be a sports utility vehicle, which he designed in red using aluminium for the front  

The Guardian also quoted another official at the transportation authority who said Apple insisted on a non-disclosure agreement which barred him from saying any more.

A number of automakers and tech companies, including Google, are working on new designs for autonomous and electric-powered vehicles.

In February, The Wall Street Journal cited unnamed sources who said Apple is working on designs for an electric vehicle to be sold under the Apple brand. 

Analysts say Apple has the financial wherewithal and ambition to pursue such a project, although some believe it's more likely interested in developing software for use in cars made by other companies.

Other evidence of Apple's interest in cars has surfaced in recent months, including a lawsuit in which a Massachusetts startup working on electric car batteries accused Apple of poaching some of its engineers. The lawsuit has since been settled.