Apple recently announced internally that the company has decided to cancel the development of its electric car project, known as Project Titan, in order to shift focus towards AI development, as reported by The New York Times. Additional information from interviews with several Apple employees involved in the project has revealed some intriguing details.
The project to develop an electric car began in 2014, as a result of Apple seeking out “new products” following the passing of Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple. At that time, Apple had already developed the Apple Watch and launched the product. The approval for the car project came from a high-level executive meeting, with Apple aiming to move forward with the project to prevent a mass exodus of engineers to work at Tesla. Interestingly, Apple also had the idea of acquiring Tesla back then.
However, the development of Apple’s car project has been riddled with challenges from the start. The key question was, “What should Apple’s car be like?” Steve Zadesky, who previously oversaw iPhone development, was the first engineer brought in to lead the project. He believed the car should compete with Tesla, while Jony Ive, the head of Apple’s design team, wanted the focus to be on selling autonomous driving cars. The software team saw potential in both approaches.
Due to the complexity of the new car project, it differed significantly from other Apple projects and required a large influx of outside talent. Former NASA engineers and Porsche car designers were brought in, adding a unique dimension to the project. The initial prototype of the car that Ive presented to CEO Tim Cook resembled a small van similar to the Fiat Multipla 600, without a steering wheel and operated through voice commands using Siri.
In 2016, Zadesky left Apple and was succeeded by Bob Mansfield, who shifted the project’s focus to solely developing autonomous driving software. Apple also sought permission to test autonomous vehicles in California using Lexus cars. Negotiations with various car manufacturers like BMW, Nissan, and Mercedes-Benz eventually led to a failed deal with Volkswagen to develop an in-house shuttle service within Apple for testing.
Despite the challenging progress of the car project, Doug Field took over as the new head engineer, focusing solely on software development before eventually resigning. The final person to oversee the project before Apple decided to end it was Kevin Lynch, who was responsible for the Apple Watch project. He returned to the original direction of developing a fully electric car.
Unofficial figures suggest that Apple invested over $10 billion in Project Titan over the span of 10 years. Upon the announcement of the project cancellation, most Apple employees reportedly welcomed the decision, especially when the company mentioned redirecting resources towards AI development. It’s worth noting that Apple had been conducting extensive research in AI during the car project development, with potential applications in core products like camera-equipped AirPods, assistant robots, and AR technologies for various uses, such as displaying navigational information on car windshields.
Source: The New York Times
TLDR: Apple cancels Project Titan to focus on AI development after years of challenges in developing an electric car, leading to a shift in resources and a reemphasis on AI research for core products.
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