If you had your heart set on owning an Apple Car in the future, you may be disappointed. The company is reportedly shutting down “Project Titan,” its initiative to put together self-driving vehicles.
Instead, it seems the company might focus its efforts on creating backend software for self driving vehicles. So instead of totally pivoting into a new industry, the company can sell its products and research to companies that already make vehicles.
It’s not necessarily a bad move for Apple, (NASDAQ:AAPL) or one that indicates defeat. Though some think that Apple could be well positioned to take on competitors like Tesla, the company has not gotten into the automotive game on any sort of large scale before. So doing so would likely require allocation of a lot of additional resources. And since there’s no proof that customers are even interested in owning self-driving vehicles on a large scale, jumping into this brand new industry could represent a substantial risk for the already successful tech company.
For small businesses, this situation demonstrates that there are other possibilities out there for creating new products and revenue streams besides trying to build something from the ground up. If you want to jump into a new industry, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to create new products and services all by yourself using only your resources and risking your capital to pull it off. There may be collaboration opportunities or other creative ways for you to use your resources to serve customers.
Always Be on the Lookout for Ways to Lower Business Risk
If the risks of a new industry seem too daunting or require more resources than you are prepared to commit, just think about Apple. Though the company hasn’t officially confirmed shut down of its self driving car program yet, it seems they might have the right idea. Taking a lower risk, less resource intensive approach to a new industry is probably a good idea for Apple — and for your business too.
Image: Newsy/Tesla
I think that Apple is a classic example of technological maturity. Its products have reached its peak. So now, they are trying to enter a new industry. But it is still under testing so I think the other brands will still fare better.