Tim Cook Drops Plans for Electric and Autonomous Car Project

After many years of development away from the public eye, Apple finally released its mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro, in early February. This release was not guaranteed in advance: even long and expensive projects can be canceled after years of work.

This is apparently what has just happened for Apple's other major secret project: that of an electric car with advanced autonomous driving capabilities. The information comes from Bloombergwhose sources are particularly reliable regarding the Apple firm.

A project started in 2014

After ten years and several billion dollars of investments, Apple has decided to stop the fees. The decision was announced this Tuesday, February 27 to the teams working on the project, codenamed Titan. Around 2,000 employees would be affected. Part of them will be reassigned to the company's efforts in generative AI, an area in which Apple is eagerly awaited. Its CEO, Tim Cook, promised announcements this year during its latest financial results.

Some of the employees working on the hardware part are also expected to be offered other internal positions, according to Bloomberg, but it is likely that the others will be laid off. True to form, Apple had never communicated about the project. All known information comes from internal leaks.

Ambitions gradually revised downwards

Originally imagined as a fully autonomous vehicle, without pedals or steering wheel (at a time when enthusiasm for autonomous driving was at its height), the project was redesigned several times, seeing its ambitions reduced. It has also experienced several leadership changes. Its previous manager, Doug Field, notably left for Ford in 2021. Kevin Lynch, who replaced him in this position, was responsible for announcing the end of the project to the teams.

If this decision represents a failure for Apple given the work carried out, it is a lesser evil compared to the release of a product that the company would not have deemed satisfactory. It is also a reminder that the automotive market is very competitive and difficult to penetrate, even for a company of Apple's caliber.