Neither Apple nor Mansfield are commenting on the apparent leak.

If accurate, the move might inspire some confidence. You may only remember Mansfield as the man who dove into technical details in Apple promo videos, but he led the hardware engineering behind some of the company's biggest hits, such as early iPads, the iMac and the MacBook Air. He may not be an automotive expert, but he has a knack for making the company's hardware visions become reality. That's particularly important when Apple is entering an unfamiliar field and needs every bit of help it can get.