Speaking to the BBC, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk said that it is an “open secret” that Apple is working on an electric car. The CEO made these comments when the BBC questioned him on whether Apple is really developing an electric car or not.

The CEO further added that Apple is pretty serious about the project as it can be seen from the company hiring over a thousand engineers for it.

Musk welcomed the addition competition from Apple or just about any other company that is interested in making electric vehicles, but he cautioned that it is quite hard to make one. When questioned on whether Apple’s Car will be a threat to Tesla, Musk brushed the threat off by saying that it will “expand the industry” and that it was “obvious” that Apple will develop a compelling car of its own.

Rumors about Apple working on its first electric car surfaced on the internet last year. At first, the rumors were quickly dismissed, but as more details started to leak, it became clear that Apple was indeed working on an electric and likely a self-driving vehicle. Apple has even tried to hire engineers from Tesla and other car companies like BMW and Mercedes to work for it with limited success.

Last heard, the Apple Car project was promoted to a ‘committed project’ inside the company with a target ship date of 2019.