Apple is developing an electric vehicle (EV) to compete with Tesla and its ilk, but according to anonymous sources quoted by Bloomberg citing “people familiar with the matter,” the Cupertino-based tech giant is now, uh, turn away from the project.
Apple’s car plans have been in development for a decade, but in a shocking announcement from Apple COO Jeff Williams and VP of Technology Kevin Lynch, the iPhone maker told nearly 2,000 employees that an electric car would The car project has now been cancelled.
Apple reportedly abandons electric car plans
Apple is reportedly prioritizing artificial intelligence (AI), and as a result, some employees from its electric vehicle team, codenamed “Special Projects Group,” will be transferred to the AI unit that is fine-tuning the company’s generative AI goals .
Others, however, won’t be so lucky. “There will be layoffs, but we don’t know how many layoffs yet,” Bloomberg said, suggesting that engineers on the Special Projects Group would face the greatest risk of layoffs.
as New York Times noted that while Apple’s electric car, dubbed Project Titan, is being kept secret from consumers, it’s the company’s “best-kept secret” as the Cupertino-based tech giant is testing the car publicly. Project Titan will have self-driving capabilities, a limousine-like interior and voice-based navigation.
5 reasons why Apple is giving up on electric cars
Project Titan is a project that Apple has been investing billions of dollars in since 2014. However, according to Bloomberg, Apple made the decision to terminate for five reasons.
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Apple’s electric car strategy is built on a house of cards. It is constantly changing and there is no consistent plan or approach.
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There was a revolving door of leadership. In other words, there is reportedly high turnover among Project Titan’s leadership.
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The electric car is still years away from being launched, which worries Apple. Bloomberg says the company spends “hundreds of millions of dollars a year” on a car that may never come to market.
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Self-driving technology is tricky and challenging.
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Apple’s optimism has been overshadowed by the fact that the electric vehicle market has been stagnant due to poor charging infrastructure.
However, if there’s one company that can reinvigorate an industry, it’s Apple. As a VR enthusiast, I’ve noticed a surge of interest in AR/VR with the release of the Apple Vision Pro, unlike anything I’ve seen before (although Meta Quest 3 has the ability to push the envelope).
According to reports, the price of Apple’s electric car is expected to be around US$100,000. Project Titan employees remaining after the layoffs will work under the leadership of John Giannandrea, Apple’s senior vice president of machine learning and artificial intelligence strategy.