Apple, the tech giant best known for its iPhone, has reportedly ended its efforts to enter the electric vehicle (EV) market, effectively shelving a project that has been in the works for nearly a decade.
The project, whicn was known internally as “Project Titan,” aimed to revolutionize the automotive industry by developing a fully autonomous vehicle. Initiated around 2014, the project had mobilized nearly 2,000 employees and absorbed billions of dollars in investment, as reported by Bloomberg and other US media outlets.
The decision to terminate the electric car project was communicated internally on Tuesday, with Bloomberg and The New York Times citing sources familiar with the matter. Despite the enormous resources allocated, Apple faced an uphill battle in an EV sector that has become increasingly crowded and competitive.
Throughout its development phase, Apple’s EV plans remained shrouded in secrecy, with only periodic leaks to the media hinting at the company’s automotive ambitions. For example, in 2022, a leaked Information shed light on some of the project’s challenges, including the loss of several key executives, attributed to insufficient support from Apple’s leadership.
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The broader EV market has seen its share of challenges, with several US automakers scaling back their EV initiatives amid waning demand. Similarly, companies specializing in autonomous vehicles, such as Cruise and Waymo (a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet), have found it difficult to extend their operations beyond pilot areas like San Francisco. Even Tesla, a front-runner in the EV market led by Elon Musk, has signaled expectations of slower growth in the coming year.
Reacting to the news of Apple’s project discontinuation, Musk took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), posting emojis indicative of a salute and a cigarette, seemingly acknowledging the end of Apple’s automotive venture.
In the wake of this project’s closure, it’s reported that Apple plans to reassign many of the team members previously working on the electric car to projects focused on generative artificial intelligence (AI).
This strategic diversion aligns with the industry’s growing fascination with AI technologies, especially in the wake of success stories like ChatGPT by OpenAI, and Google’s bard. Generative AI technology, capable of producing text, images, sound, and more from simple prompts, has become a significant focus for leading tech firms, including Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon.
Despite the cancellation of its EV project, Apple’s shift towards AI indicates a continued commitment to innovation, albeit in a different domain. While the company has yet to make a significant public declaration regarding its AI strategy, the integration of AI in areas such as photo editing suggests the groundwork is being laid for more extensive AI applications within the Apple ecosystem.
