TECH By Abid Iqbal Shaik
February 28th, 2024
Apple has allegedly been developing a car (usually referred to as Apple Car) under Project Titan since 2014. Unfortunately, after a decade of pouring investment and hard work into the project, the company has finally canceled the development of the Apple Car, according to a new report from Mark Gurman on Bloomberg (via Engadget).
Reportedly, Apple broke the latest news to 2,000 people working on the project on Tuesday. Mark says that Apple will move some of those employees to the company’s artificial intelligence department where they will focus on generative AI projects, allow the remaining people to apply for a job in other divisions, and lay off the rest. At the moment, there’s no information about why Apple canceled the project.
Initially, Apple wanted to develop a fully self-driving car with no steering wheel or pedals. However, over the years, the company dialed down on the capabilities of the car (mostly because of technical challenges) with the most recent report suggesting that it would be an electric vehicle similar to the Tesla Model X. Plus, there were many delays/setbacks in the project. Maybe Apple canceled Apple Car because it wasn’t going to be what the company had envisioned initially and due to delays and setbacks.
February 28th, 2024
Apple has allegedly been developing a car (usually referred to as Apple Car) under Project Titan since 2014. Unfortunately, after a decade of pouring investment and hard work into the project, the company has finally canceled the development of the Apple Car, according to a new report from Mark Gurman on Bloomberg (via Engadget).
Reportedly, Apple broke the latest news to 2,000 people working on the project on Tuesday. Mark says that Apple will move some of those employees to the company’s artificial intelligence department where they will focus on generative AI projects, allow the remaining people to apply for a job in other divisions, and lay off the rest. At the moment, there’s no information about why Apple canceled the project.
Initially, Apple wanted to develop a fully self-driving car with no steering wheel or pedals. However, over the years, the company dialed down on the capabilities of the car (mostly because of technical challenges) with the most recent report suggesting that it would be an electric vehicle similar to the Tesla Model X. Plus, there were many delays/setbacks in the project. Maybe Apple canceled Apple Car because it wasn’t going to be what the company had envisioned initially and due to delays and setbacks.
Apple’s electric car project is dead
After a decade of work, the company is reportedly giving up on its ambitious effort to create an autonomous electric car.
By Emma Roth,
By Emma Roth,
Feb 27, 2024,
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Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
Apple has halted its long-rumored “Project Titan” work on developing an electric car, according to Bloomberg. The company reportedly announced the news internally on Tuesday and said many people in the 2,000-person team behind the car will shift to generative AI efforts instead.
Apple’s chief operating officer Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch, a vice president in charge of the project, informed employees of the project’s discontinuation, Bloomberg reports. The outlet adds that there will also be layoffs, but it’s not clear how many workers it will affect.
Apple’s efforts to build its own electric car have been rumored for years, and recent reports suggested Apple was still working on the project. Earlier this month, Wired reported that Apple had driven over 45,000 miles in 2023 using the autonomous driving tech it’s developed, while Bloomberg said in January Apple pushed back the car’s expected launch to 2028. The Verge reached out to Apple with a request for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.
Rumors about Apple’s secretive car project, nicknamed Project Titan, first emerged in 2015. Apple hired a number of key leaders to work on the project, including Tesla’s former Autopilot software director and the former CEO of the embattled EV startup Canoo. However, the project seems to have hit a number of roadblocks over the years, including the 2021 departure of Apple car chief Doug Field. In 2022, a report from The Information outlined how Apple had struggled with high turnover among staff, constantly changing plans, and internal skepticism.
Meanwhile, other reports suggested that the car, which was rumored to remain under the $100,000 threshold, wouldn’t come with the advanced self-driving capabilities the company initially hoped. Shifting its resources to AI might make sense for Apple, as it’s reportedly spending millions of dollars a day on training an AI model of its own, called Ajax. Apple CEO Tim Cook also recently confirmed that Apple is launching generative AI features “later this year,” while rumors indicate the company is testing AI updates for Spotlight and Xcode.
Even though Apple may have abandoned the self-driving electric vehicle dream, Sony and Honda are still working to open preorders for their Afeela electric cars with autonomous features in North America next year ahead of a rollout in 2026.
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
Apple has halted its long-rumored “Project Titan” work on developing an electric car, according to Bloomberg. The company reportedly announced the news internally on Tuesday and said many people in the 2,000-person team behind the car will shift to generative AI efforts instead.
Apple’s chief operating officer Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch, a vice president in charge of the project, informed employees of the project’s discontinuation, Bloomberg reports. The outlet adds that there will also be layoffs, but it’s not clear how many workers it will affect.
Apple’s efforts to build its own electric car have been rumored for years, and recent reports suggested Apple was still working on the project. Earlier this month, Wired reported that Apple had driven over 45,000 miles in 2023 using the autonomous driving tech it’s developed, while Bloomberg said in January Apple pushed back the car’s expected launch to 2028. The Verge reached out to Apple with a request for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.
Rumors about Apple’s secretive car project, nicknamed Project Titan, first emerged in 2015. Apple hired a number of key leaders to work on the project, including Tesla’s former Autopilot software director and the former CEO of the embattled EV startup Canoo. However, the project seems to have hit a number of roadblocks over the years, including the 2021 departure of Apple car chief Doug Field. In 2022, a report from The Information outlined how Apple had struggled with high turnover among staff, constantly changing plans, and internal skepticism.
Meanwhile, other reports suggested that the car, which was rumored to remain under the $100,000 threshold, wouldn’t come with the advanced self-driving capabilities the company initially hoped. Shifting its resources to AI might make sense for Apple, as it’s reportedly spending millions of dollars a day on training an AI model of its own, called Ajax. Apple CEO Tim Cook also recently confirmed that Apple is launching generative AI features “later this year,” while rumors indicate the company is testing AI updates for Spotlight and Xcode.
Even though Apple may have abandoned the self-driving electric vehicle dream, Sony and Honda are still working to open preorders for their Afeela electric cars with autonomous features in North America next year ahead of a rollout in 2026.
By Emma Roth, a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.
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