Apple Halts Electric Car Project Development
As per reports from Bloomberg, Apple has fully suspended and canceled the development of its autonomous electric car project. This project, which has been in progress for over a decade with millions of dollars invested, has ultimately been deemed unfeasible.
Jeff Williams, the Chief Operating Officer of Apple, sent an internal memo to around 2000 members of the car team, informing them of the project’s cancellation. While the development of the Apple car was nearing completion, many of the developers will now be transitioning to Apple’s artificial intelligence department to work on generative AI development under the leadership of John Giannandrea, the head of AI.
The Apple car team reportedly consists of numerous hardware engineers and car designers. Some employees will be shifted to other departments, while the rest may face potential layoffs. Reports as early as January this year indicated that the Apple car project was facing setbacks, readjusting its development goals and postponing them until 2028.
It is worth noting that news of the Apple car first emerged in 2014. The project has faced numerous challenges, with its focus shifting and evolving multiple times. Internal conflicts have led to several changes in leadership within Apple as well. Last year, Kevin Lynch, the CEO of Apple Watch, took over the project and worked on downsizing it while adjusting development goals to make them more achievable.
Senior executives at Apple reportedly made the decision to terminate the Apple car project in recent weeks, as reported by Bloomberg.