Apple has decided to abandon its much-anticipated electric car project, Project Titan, after over a decade of speculation. The tech giant made the announcement during an internal meeting on Tuesday, revealing plans to lay off some employees while reassigning others to focus on generative artificial intelligence (AI), as reported by various sources.
Apple CEO, Tim Cook, had hinted at the company’s interest in a car in the past, but had never officially confirmed ongoing work on such a project. Project Titan had been shrouded in secrecy and had garnered attention from both the technology and automotive sectors. Apple had attracted top talent from renowned car manufacturers like Lamborghini and Tesla, even acquiring the self-driving startup Drive.ai in 2019.
The decision to scrap the project reportedly caught many employees involved off guard, with potential job losses looming for some. Project Titan had faced numerous challenges and revisions since its inception in 2014. In 2016, Apple laid off several project team members, and in 2021, a key executive overseeing the initiative left to join Ford.
Earlier this year, Bloomberg had reported a delay in Apple’s expected car launch date to at least 2028. Furthermore, the company had scaled back its initial vision of a fully autonomous vehicle to one with self-driving features similar to Tesla’s cars. This marked a significant departure from Apple’s original concept of a completely driverless car featuring no steering wheel and a luxurious interior.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, responded to Apple’s decision by tweeting emojis of a salute and a cigarette on X. Meanwhile, Apple is said to be reallocating resources towards generative AI projects, shifting engineers and researchers who were initially dedicated to the car project to its special projects group.
