Even with more experienced automakers taking a crack at the electric vehicle market, it is undeniable that Tesla is the carmaker to beat. With premium vehicles that perform no less than the best conventional cars in the market, Tesla has been able to keep itself at the peak of the EV mountain. With a very prominent tech firm emerging as a competitor, however, is Tesla's current stance on its business beginning to look like good, old-fashioned hubris?

In a recent interview, Tesla CEO Elon Musk addressed the possibility of Apple, a firm better known for its mobile devices such as the iPhone and the iPad, entering the electric vehicle market.

"(Apple will) probably make a good car, and be successful. They should have embarked on the project sooner," he said.

In a lot of ways, Tesla has never really considered Apple as a serious competitor in the electric car business. After all, vehicles are far more complicated machines than the devices that Apple is used to producing. Musk even joking stated before that Apple is the graveyard of Tesla employees who do not really make the cut.

However, Apple does have a tendency to surprise its competitors. When it entered the mobile market with the first iPhone in 2007, it seemed to consumers that the firm was introducing a niche device. Of course, the little gadget ended up changing the way people use mobile phones forever.

Plus, Apple has been alleged to be hiring car engineers left and right, with some of its recent hires specializing in the development of electric vehicles. Previous reports also stated that Apple is coordinating with more experienced automakers such as BMW in the development of its first car.

Apart from the possible threat of Apple's enigmatic Project Titan, Musk seems to be neglecting one very prominent factor, too. As much as Apple seems to be gearing up to meet Tesla head-on in the electric vehicle market, Tesla is also facing intense competition from the veterans of the automobile market.

Indeed, carmakers such as GM, BMW and Chevrolet have already released their own EVs, and though their current entries have so far failed to match up to the performance and power of Tesla's vehicles, they do get better by the year.

Thus, Tesla's current stance on its competitors, both present and future, seems to be a sign of hubris on Musk's part. While Tesla must be given credit for bursting into the EV market and practically dominating it with its vehicles, there might soon be a time when Tesla might end up finding itself on the defensive.

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Tesla, Apple