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Apple Car Inches Closer to Production as Apple Nears Deal With Hyundai-Kia: CNBC After Hours

CNBC.com's MacKenzie Sigalos brings you the day's top business news headlines. On today's show, CNBC's Phil LeBeau breaks down his reporting on deal talks between Apple and Hyundai-Kia to produce a self-driving electric Apple Car beginning in 2024. Plus, the "After Hours" team dives into Jeff Bezos's second act, and the challenges he's leaving behind for Andy Jassy.

Apple and Hyundai-Kia pushing toward deal on Apple Car

After years of speculation that it will eventually get into the auto business with its own vehicle, Apple is close to finalizing a deal with Hyundai-Kia to manufacture an Apple-branded autonomous electric vehicle at the Kia assembly plant in West Point, Georgia according to multiple sources who briefed CNBC on the plan.

The so-called "Apple Car," which is being developed by a team at Apple, is tentatively scheduled to go into production in 2024, though people familiar with the talks between Apple and Hyundai-Kia say the eventual rollout could be pushed back.

Sources tell CNBC no agreement has yet been reached between the two companies. In addition, they stress that Apple may ultimately decide to partner with another automaker separately or in addition to working with Hyundai.

Amazon's next CEO will inherit a company riddled with challenges Bezos leaves behind

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will step down from his role later this year, following his epic run growing the company from nothing into a $1.6 trillion technology behemoth.

His successor is Andy Jassy, the longtime executive who serves as the CEO of the company's wildly profitable cloud business, Amazon Web Services.

So, what kind of company is Jassy inheriting from Bezos? While no one thinks Amazon's best days are behind it and Bezos is getting out before things go downhill, the company's size and influence have led to increased scrutiny along with the rest of Big Tech.

Elon Musk, back on Twitter, sends Dogecoin soaring after tweeting his support

Cryptocurrency Dogecoin surged more than 50% on Thursday after billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk tweeted his support for it, two days after he said he was to take a break from Twitter "for a while."

Dogecoin jumped to $0.05798 according to data on blockchain and cryptocurrency website Coindesk. Musk first tweeted "Doge" and immediately followed it up with "Dogecoin is the people's crypto."

The Tesla chief's tweets about certain companies and cryptocurrencies have sent their prices soaring in recent weeks. Shares in GameStop, Etsy and CD Projekt have jumped following comments on his Twitter account about them.

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