Apple Cancels Electric Car Project, Redirects Resources to AI, Sources Say

(CTN News) – Apple has canceled its electric car project, according to Bloomberg. Apple COO Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch, who led the project since 2021, announced the decision internally.

“Apple’s top executives decided last week,” says the report. The project was at a “make-or-break point” inside Apple, and Tim Cook was also under pressure from shareholders.

As part of this decision to shutter the Apple Car – or Project Titan – team, some employees will move to Apple’s AI team led by John Giannandrea.

There will be layoffs, Bloomberg says. It’s not clear exactly how many layoffs are coming. Some Apple Car employees may be able to apply for jobs on other Apple teams.

It was a surprise to nearly 2,000 employees working on the project when Apple announced it internally Tuesday, said the people, who asked not to be identified. According to the people, Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch, a vice president overseeing the project, shared the decision.

Apple’s Electric Car Journey Since 2014

Apparently, Apple’s been working on a car since 2014. It’s been ebbing and flowing over the years. Recently, it was reported Apple would release an electric car around $100,000 in 2028. Their original plan was to ship a car that was fully autonomous, without steering wheels or pedals. In recent years, those plans have been scaled back a lot.

As far as leadership goes, Doug Field led the Apple Car project. Tesla hired Field away from Apple in 2013 to help ramp up Model 3. Field returned to Apple in 2018 to help lead the Apple Electric Car project, and left for Ford in September.

In a tweet, Elon Musk saluted the news. Musk had promised to ship a car without a steering wheel by 2021, but that obviously didn’t happen.