Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, has warned that the global automobile industry is on the brink of a technology-led upheaval, in his most direct public comments yet addressing reports that the iPhone maker is planning to start making its own cars. “It would seem that there will be massive change, massive, in that industry,” Mr Cook said during an interview at the Wall Street Journal’s annual tech conference in Southern California. “I do think that industry is at an inflection point for massive change, not just evolutionary change.” Apple has been assembling a team of automotive experts and studying what it would take to become a carmaker, according to people familiar with its thinking. Mr Cook did not respond to questions about whether Apple would make its own cars, but made it clear that a series of technology shifts were coming together to create a rare opportunity for outsiders to break into the business. “What I see is, software becomes an increasingly important component of the car in future,” he said. “Autonomous driving becomes very much more important in a huge way in future.”