Richard Branson: Virgin has a team working on electric cars
British billionaire Richard Branson has hinted that his Virgin empire may eventually expand into the world of electric cars, sparking speculation that it may not be just Apple and Google posing a threat to the standalone聽聽brands. Speaking to聽聽at the recent聽聽electric car race in Miami, a competition in which Virgin competes under the Virgin Racing banner, Branson confirmed that he had people working on electric cars.
"We have teams of people working on electric聽," Branson replied when quizzed about Virgin鈥檚 participation in the Formula E Championship. "So you never know鈥攜ou may find Virgin competing with the Tesla in the car business as we do in the space business."
Branson鈥檚 mention of the 鈥渟pace business鈥� is a reference to the聽, which is aiming to be the first to offer commercial sub-orbital space flights. Beyond Virgin Galactic, the Virgin empire also operates in the train and aviation industries, and soon it will start offering trips on cruise ships. There鈥檚 also the Virgin Green Fund, which was established to explore alternative fuel sources, so perhaps it wouldn't be so strange to see Virgin expand into cars next.
However, Branson concedes that even surpassing a small player such as Tesla聽[NSDQ:TSLA] won鈥檛 be easy, stating: 鈥淭esla is as sexy as any other car on the road today."
Google has made clear its intention to develop a fully autonomous car, which may not even feature any steering wheel or pedals.聽. Apple hasn鈥檛 announced any plans for a car but has been poaching numerous聽.
