Apple, best known for its smartphones and computers, has abandoned its venture into the automotive world.
According to Bloomberg, news came Feb. 27 as Apple made an internal disclosure. The car was rumored to feature autonomous driving capabilities and was said to be a rival to Elon Musk’s Tesla.
Elon Musk seems to be taking the news well, taking to X to post a saluting emoji and a cigarette in response to the news, The New York Times reported.
Apple’s shareholders also seem to find relief in the news, as Apple’s stock climbed up about 1% to $182.63 by the close in New York after Bloomberg reported the news. The multi-billion-dollar project, codenamed Project Titan, was an idea set into motion in 2014 and was rumored to feature fully autonomous driving, a limousine-like interior and voice-guided navigation.
So, what killed the Apple car? While the project has been rather shaky from the start, it’s hard to pinpoint one distinct reason as to why Apple would cut the project. According to Bloomberg, Apple was facing a cooling market for EVs.
Though high prices and lack of charging infrastructure discourage EV buyers, the EV market is highly competitive. While Tesla is continuously pumping out cars with eye-watering numbers in both range and performance, along with their new Roadster speculated to do a sub 1-second 0-60, Porsche’s Taycan handles the more luxurious end of EVs, it’s hard for Apple to compete with more experienced players in a field unfamiliar to them.
Bloomberg reported General Motors Co. and Ford are pivoting to producing more hybrid vehicles after confronting lackluster EV demand and manufacturing bottlenecks. Car and Driver reported that Sony is pairing up with Honda on their new Afeela EV. Apple would need significantly innovative technology to compete with these big players.
Apple’s several hundred employees assigned to the project on the other hand, have a rather lackluster fate.
Layoffs are expected, however, the number is unclear. A lot of employees will be transitioned over to focus on artificial intelligence projects, since AI is a relatively new yet rapidly expanding space. Others will be left to apply for other jobs on Apple’s team.
