The tech giant spent billions of dollars on developing a luxury electric car division.
In a shocking turn of events, tech leader Apple decided to pull the plug on its ambitious electric car dream. This extravagant project was partly under wraps for most of its decade-long existence. The special car team was part of Tim Cook’s Project Titan. Apple finally disclosed internally that around 2,000 people were working on this project. The decision to give up on the endeavours comes from the Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and Vice President Kevin Lynch.
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Apple Shuts Down Its Electric Car Project
As per multiple news reports, some of the 2,000 employees who were a part of this team (called the Special Projects Group) are now shifted to Apple’s Generative AI division. Clearly, the American tech giant recognizes the immense value this space holds in times to come. The Cupertino-based tech firm was planning to launch an EV with fully autonomous driving functionalities without the steering wheel and pedals.
However, this project faced delays numerous times. As per the latest news reports, the release date for the Apple electric car was slated for 2028. Also, these reports mentioned that instead of going for Level 4 autonomous driving capabilities, it will have Level 2+ tech. Intriguingly, the price point would have been around the $100,000-mark. That would’ve put it at par with what the Tesla Cybertruck (in its top Cyberbeast trim) costs. Clearly, it was aiming to cater to the opulent consumers.
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Other Apple Projects
Apple is focusing its energy and resources on multiple domains which are likely to be the core of future technology. This includes Generative AI and Vision Pro VR Headset. The Generative AI smartphone market is touted to be in the vicinity of 500 million units by as early as 2027. Hence, the premier tech giant aims to invest in that space to remain at the top of the technology race of the future.
Learn Electric Cars Says
This huge news just goes to prove how difficult it actually is to create a car company. Even a technologically advanced organization like Apple struggled to bring it to fruition. Apart from that, it further highlights the uncertainties associated with the development of EVs with future tech like autonomous driving capabilities and connectivity functions. This would be a lesson for various newcomers who are planning to enter this space in the near future.