Tim Cook, like the rest of the tech world, doesn’t understand the auto industry. When asked if cars could be built on a contract basis in an interview with Fortune, the Apple CEO said “I don’t think that there’s a fundamental reason why that couldn’t be done.”

Here’s the thing. Cars are already made by multiple suppliers each building separate components, a lot like the way Apple makes the iPhone. This is common knowledge among anybody familiar with the auto industry, but seems to escape everyone inside the Silicon Valley bubble, including reporters. They can’t fathom that industry as old and uncool as auto manufacturing could be nearly as complex as the tech world. (This is the same reason why Tesla’s innovations make it a media darling, and why it’s still working out some kinks in manufacturing.)

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