Apple Killed Its Electric Car, Report Says: 5 Reasons Why

Apple was working on an electric vehicle (EV) to compete with Tesla and its ilk, but according to Bloombergwhich cited anonymous sources “with knowledge of the matter,” the Cupertino-based tech giant is now, uh, move away of the project.

Apple’s automotive plans had been in development for a decade, but in a shock announcement from Apple COO Jeff Williams and VP of technology Kevin Lynch, the iPhone maker told nearly 2,000 employees that the EV project was now abandoned.

Apple reportedly abandons electric vehicle plans

Apple is reportedly prioritizing artificial intelligence (AI) and as such, some employees from the EV team (codenamed “Special Projects Group”) will be transferred to the AI ​​division, which is fine-tuning the company’s ambitions. company in generative AI.

Others, however, will not be so lucky. “There will be layoffs, but it’s not clear how many,” Bloomberg said, insinuating that engineers in the special projects group will be most at risk of being laid off.

As the technology/apple-ends-electric-car-plan.html” target=”_blank” title=”(opens in a new window)”>New York Times pointed out that although Apple’s electric vehicle (called “Project Titan”) was kept a secret from consumers, it was the company’s “worst kept secret” as the tech giant based in Cupertino tested the car publicly. Project Titan was to have autonomous driving capabilities, a limousine-style interior, and voice navigation.

5 reasons why Apple abandoned its electric vehicle

Project Titan was a multibillion-dollar effort that Apple had been working on since 2014. However, Apple reportedly made the decision to pull the plug for five reasons, according to Bloomberg.

• Apple’s EV car strategy relies on a house of cards; it’s constantly changing, with no consistent plan or approach.

• There has been a revolving door in leadership. In other words, the turnover rate of people at the helm of Project Titan management would have been high.

• The electric vehicle is still far from being sold on store shelves, which worried Apple. He was spending “hundreds of millions of dollars a year” on a car that might never come to market, Bloomberg said.

• Self-driving technology is tricky and challenging.

• The electric vehicle market is stagnating due to poor charging infrastructure, which has dampened Apple’s optimism.

However, if any company can revive an industry, it would be Apple. As a virtual reality enthusiast, I’ve noticed a renewed interest in AR/VR with the release of Apple Vision Pro, unlike anything I’ve seen before (despite the boundary-pushing capabilities of Meta Quest 3).

The price of Apple’s electric vehicle would be around $100,000. The Project Titan staff members who remain after the layoffs will work under the leadership of John Giannandrea, Apple’s senior vice president of machine learning and AI strategy.