Apple should buy one of the local EV companies like Lucid or Rivian, it would save them years of R&D on the hardware, give them valuable automotive guidance on the software and how things work in the car world. Lucid's software R&D is run by many ex-Apple people.
Also, I don't think self-driving is a must-have feature and I speak as the driver of a Tesla with full-self-driving. It's just not that useful. Traffic-aware safety features are more valuable and easier to achieve.
Also have FSD, driving it since 2021 as part of the first big wave pushed to general users. I see V12 as make or break for FSD. It's not worth $12k or $200 a month today.
My problem with FSD today is the robotic nature of the driving. It's still too jerky. If V12 with end-to-end use of neural nets is the way forward, and early reports seem to show a step change, FSD on city streets can something that's better and safer than driving manually while feeling human like. Then FSD is really useful. The NHTSA enforced stop sign rules are a killer however.
Also, I don't think self-driving is a must-have feature and I speak as the driver of a Tesla with full-self-driving. It's just not that useful. Traffic-aware safety features are more valuable and easier to achieve.