The last several days have been brutal for tech giant, Apple.
Not only was it fined $2B in Europe for abusing its power against Spotify, dropped from a Goldman Sachs list of top stocks, and caught backtracking on the issue of web apps on its iPhones, but it also quietly dissolved its long-troubled project to build an electric car.
Oof. And you thought you were having a bad week.
Apple first started working on its car project, known internally as “Project Titan,” in 2014, just as a wave of interest in self-driving vehicles swept through Silicon Valley. At one point, it had around 5,000 workers dedicated to the effort.
Despite all the hype, the company tried to preserve the mystery of the endeavor and has rarely spoken about the project or its progress since its inception.
But, Project Titan has been obvious from the outside. From acquiring multiple start-ups to automotive industry poaching to public testing of self-driving cars, there was no way it could stay a secret.
News of the project initially raised hopes that Apple may replicate the success of the iPhone, whose fresh design and clean interface helped revolutionize the smartphone market.
The project saw the involvement of top talent from across the automotive and technology sectors, including hires from NASA, Porsche, Lamborghini, and Ford, and aimed to merge Apple's design ethos with automotive innovation.
From its inception, the project was troubled by differing views on what it should be. Steve Zadesky, who initially led the effort, wanted to build an electric vehicle that competed with Tesla. Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer, wanted to pursue a fully autonomous car more akin to what Waymo has created.
This indecision was often a source of contention for the department and led to a lack of uniform focus.
A number of high-profile auto executives cycled through Project Titan over the years in an effort to unify the vision. Most notably, the project was once run by former Tesla executive Doug Field. Down the line, they also poached executives from Lamborghini and Ford.
But, as it turns out, designing and manufacturing a car is tough.
To pull it off, global auto manufacturers generally maintain relationships with thousands of suppliers responsible for their own individual hardware or software widgets.
They need those partnerships. But despite several meetings with companies in various countries, no partnerships ever came to be.
Most recently, Apple execs expressed concerns about the affordability and profitability of their car – likely to be priced around $100,000 or more. The company’s board was also concerned about continuing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year on a project that may never see the light of day.
Couple all of that with the recent high-interest rates and sky-rocketing car prices that have led to a slow-down in demand for pricier EVs, and Apple had had enough. It was time to throw in the towel.
After a decade down and around $113 spent, Bloomberg reported that the Apple Car was being abandoned on February 27th, 2024.
So, What Now?
The car team, composed of more than 2,000 employees, will be shifted to the company's artificial intelligence division while others will face layoffs.
The change will impact Apple's financials almost immediately, leading to savings of roughly $1B per year.
In the wake of Project Titan's demise, Apple's legacy in the automotive sector will likely be its CarPlay system.
Apple's dream of building its own car may not be coming to reality anytime soon, but its influence on how we interface with our vehicles is here to stay.
