The tech revolution in cars has stalled. Why?

Apple and Tesla have hit serious bumps in the road in their promise to change the way we drive, writes Andrew Griffin. So how long will we have to wait for the car of the future?

The car of the future is not arriving quite as quickly as manufacturers might have hoped (Getty)

Roughly 10 years ago, Apple believed it could build the best car ever made; better even than the futuristic-at-the-time Tesla Model S. In recent weeks, that dream was seemingly over following reports that indicated Apple was shutting down its car project. Tesla’s future was in question, too, as sales and its share price slid.

Apple wanted to build a car that could drive itself. Owners could instead focus on the wide-ranging infotainment systems that would presumably be built in. Apple has already been working on those: its CarPlay system, like competitor Android Auto, is now integrated into most new cars and has led to a revolution in car infotainment.

Apple’s car was supposed to be a competitor to Tesla – but Apple might be happy not to be competing in that market. In the last three months, Tesla shares have plunged more than a third, and the company announced this week that it has sold far fewer cars than it had hoped to.