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Apple discontinues its electric car project, "Project Titan," redirecting its 2,000-person team towards generative AI initiatives, following internal announcements by executives.
Apple's Electric Car Project is Dead
On Tuesday, the company reportedly announced internally that a significant portion of the 2,000-person team responsible for the vehicle would be reassigned to generative AI initiatives.
Bloomberg reports that Jeff Williams, Apple's chief operating officer, and Kevin Lynch, the vice president in command of the project, informed staff of the project's cancellation. It is not specified how many employees will be affected by the reductions, as stated in the source.
The development of an Apple electric vehicle has been the subject of speculation for years, and recent reports indicate that the company is still engaged in the endeavor. Wired reported earlier this month that Apple had driven more than 45,000 miles in 2023 using the autonomous driving technology it has developed, while Bloomberg reported in January that Apple had delayed the anticipated release of the vehicle until 2028.
Apple's Project Titan: Navigating Challenges and Shifting Focus in the Automotive Ambition
The first rumors regarding Apple's clandestine automobile project, dubbed Project Titan, surfaced in 2015. Apple recruited key executives, including the former CEO of the troubled EV startup Canoo and the former Autopilot software director at Tesla, to work on the project.
Nevertheless, the undertaking appears to have encountered several obstacles, most notably the departure of Apple automobile chief Doug Field in 2021. An Information report from 2022 detailed Apple's difficulties, including high employee turnover, continuously evolving plans, and internal skepticism.
Conversely, alternative reports speculated that the vehicle, purported to cost less than $100,000, would not include the sophisticated autonomous functionalities the manufacturer initially anticipated. It may be prudent for Apple to reallocate its resources towards artificial intelligence (AI), given that the company reportedly invests millions of dollars daily in training an Ajax AI model.
Moreover, Apple CEO Tim Cook recently verified that generative AI features will be released "later this year," rumors suggest the company is testing AI updates for Xcode and Spotlight.
Despite Apple's apparent abandonment of the autonomous electric vehicle ideal, Sony and Honda are diligently striving to commence preorders for their Afeela electric cars equipped with autonomous capabilities in North America by the end of the following year, with a scheduled release date of 2026.
Photo: Andy Wang/Unsplash
