Apple scraps Apple Car project, shifts focus to AI

Apple announced this decision internally, to the surprise of nearly 2,000 employees who had been involved in the Apple Car project. According to sources, the announcement was made by COO Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch.

Many employees of the Apple Car team, also known as the Special Projects Group, will be transferred to Apple’s artificial intelligence department, headed by John Giannandrea. These employees will focus on innovative AI projects, which are becoming increasingly important for Apple. Additionally, some employees may apply for positions in other Apple teams, but Bloomberg reports that there will be a reduction in personnel. However, the exact number of individuals affected is unclear at this time.

Bloomberg’s report also notes that Apple has recently planned for the Apple Car to have a price of around $100,000, positioning it in the luxury car segment. In the United States, the Standard Range variant of the Tesla Model S was announced last August with a starting price of $78,490.

However, Apple’s executives are reportedly concerned about the profitability of the vehicle, and their board of directors is concerned that “hundreds of millions” have been spent annually on a project that may not be completed.

Also known as Project Titan, the Apple Car project has been known since 2015, when several car designers were revealed to be involved, including Marc Newson, who designed the Ford 021C concept model, Julian Hönig, who penned the Audi RSQ concept model, and Aaron Von Minden, who created the BMW Gina concept model.

The initial goal of the Apple Car was a fully autonomous vehicle, SAE Level 5, without a steering wheel or pedals. However, that ambition was significantly scaled back a year later in 2016 to Level 4, or conditionally autonomous. In January 2024, the project was reportedly delayed again until 2028, and its autonomous capability further reduced to “Level 2+”.

Trang Nguyễn (Forum.autodaily.vn)