Apple car project

From 2014 until 2024, Apple undertook a research and development effort to develop an electric and self-driving car,[1] codenamed "Project Titan".[2][3] Apple never openly discussed any of its automotive research,[4] but around 5,000 employees were reported to be working on the project as of 2018.[5] In May 2018, Apple reportedly partnered with Volkswagen to produce an autonomous employee shuttle van based on the T6 Transporter commercial vehicle platform.[6] In August 2018, the BBC reported that Apple had 66 road-registered driverless cars, with 111 drivers registered to operate those cars.[7] In 2020, it was believed that Apple was still working on self-driving related hardware, software and service as a potential product, instead of actual Apple-branded cars.[8] In December 2020, Reuters reported that Apple was planning on a possible launch date of 2024,[9] but analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed it would not be launched before 2025 and might not be launched until 2028 or later.[10]

In February 2024, Apple executives canceled their plans to release the autonomous electric vehicle, instead shifting resources on the project to the company's generative artificial intelligence efforts.[11][12] The project had reportedly cost the company over $1 billion per year, with other parts of Apple collaborating and costing hundreds of millions of dollars in additional spend. Additionally, over 600 employees were laid off due to the cancellation of the project.[13]

  1. ^ Harris, Mark (August 14, 2015). "Documents confirm Apple is building self-driving car". The Guardian. London.
  2. ^ Hotten, Russell (March 4, 2015). "Carmakers face challenge from Google and Apple". BBC News. BBC.
  3. ^ Roth, Emma (February 27, 2024). "Apple's electric car project is dead". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference C was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference E was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Nicas, Jack (May 23, 2018). "Apple, Spurned by Others, Signs Deal With Volkswagen for Driverless Cars". The New York Times. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference H was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Tillman, Maggie (December 22, 2020). "Apple Car: What's happening with Apple's autonomous car tech?". Pocket-lint.
  9. ^ Nellis, Stephen; Shirouzu, Norihiko; Lienert, Paul (December 21, 2020). "Exclusive: Apple targets car production by 2024 and eyes 'next level' battery technology - sources". Reuters.
  10. ^ Haselton, Todd (December 28, 2020). "Top Apple analyst pours cold water on the latest Apple car reports". CNBC. NBCUniversal. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  11. ^ Gurman, Mark (February 27, 2024). "Apple Cancels Work on Electric Car, Shifts Team to Generative AI". Bloomberg News. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYTimesDoomed2024 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Malik, Aisha. "Apple lays off over 600 employees in California after abandoning electric car project". No. 4/5/2. Yahoo! Finance. TechCrunch. Retrieved April 6, 2024.