For nearly a decade, Apple has been working on an electric car that was supposed to compete directly with Elon Musk’s Tesla. The project started in 2014, and a lot has happened in the intervening years. However, the enormous Cupertino, California-based tech giant has decided to abandon the project in an unexpected move. According to a Bloomberg report, almost 2,000 people were working on the project; many of them will be moving to Apple’s AI division, which will concentrate on generative AI projects.
Apple cancels electric car project
Apple’s ten-year endeavour to develop an electric vehicle has come to an end, marking the end of one of the company’s most ambitious projects ever. Those with knowledge of the situation said that two thousand project workers were shocked when the decision was made internally on Tuesday. Aston Martin, Lamborghini, BMW, and Porsche were among the prominent automakers that provided personnel for the project.
The group was informed that the project was going to end by the Special Projects Group (SPG), which is headed by Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and Vice President Kevin Lynch. Rather than reporting to Jeff Williams as he did previously, Lynch will now report to John Giannandrea.
According to the report, executive John Giannandrea will be leading Apple’s artificial intelligence division, which will receive a large number of the car team’s staff members.Their focus will shift to generative AI projects in accordance with Apple’s growing AI emphasis.
Around 2014, Apple started working on a car project under the codename Titan. The goal was to create a fully autonomous electric car with cutting-edge features like voice-guided navigation and an interior reminiscent of a limousine.
But from the start, Project Titan had to overcome many obstacles, including shifts in strategy and leadership. Apple has been testing its driverless technology on public roads since 2017, but it is still years away from creating a car. The company experimented with different car designs and wrestled with the challenges of self-driving technology.
Tim Cook on Apple’s generative AI projects
Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, stated during a call with investors a few months ago that the company was working on generative AI and that it wanted to use it responsibly.
According to a 9 to 5 Mac report, the Apple CEO stated that “work going on” in the area of generative AI.
Naturally, there is work being done in the area of generative AI. I won’t go into specifics about what it is because, as you are aware, we don’t actually do that. However, we are definitely investing. We’re making large investments. It will happen if we act responsibly. Over time, you’ll witness product innovations with those technologies at their core, according to Tim Cook.
In the past few months, Apple has published a number of job postings in the field of generative AI and has also been hiring for these positions. Additionally, rumors had surfaced indicating the company intends to invest more than $1 billion annually in the development of generative AI features and products.