Apple has pulled the plug on its decade-long effort to build an electric car, according to Bloomberg.
The decision was announced internally on Tuesday by Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch, the VP in charge of the effort. It reportedly came as a surprise to the nearly 2000 employees working on the project.
The two executives told staffers that the project will begin winding down and that many employees on the team working on the car — known as the Special Projects Group, or SPG — will be shifted to the artificial intelligence division under executive John Giannandrea. Those employees will focus on generative AI projects, an increasingly key priority for the company.
Several hundred hardware engineers and car designers were also working on the project. It's likely there will be layoffs; however, some employees may be able to apply for jobs on other Apple teams.
Apple's decision is a major bombshell. It has spent billions on the effort that was expected to launch the company into a whole new industry. However, Apple had recently reached a make or break point with the endeavour, needing to decide if it should scale down ambitions from a Level 4 to a Level 2+ vehicle. It purportedly discussed a 2028 launch date and $100,000 price tag; however, concerns over profit potential and millions of dollars a year in R&D appear to have resulted in today's decision.
Are you sad to see this project abandoned? Would Apple have made a great electric car? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
[Concept]
The decision was announced internally on Tuesday by Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch, the VP in charge of the effort. It reportedly came as a surprise to the nearly 2000 employees working on the project.
The two executives told staffers that the project will begin winding down and that many employees on the team working on the car — known as the Special Projects Group, or SPG — will be shifted to the artificial intelligence division under executive John Giannandrea. Those employees will focus on generative AI projects, an increasingly key priority for the company.
Several hundred hardware engineers and car designers were also working on the project. It's likely there will be layoffs; however, some employees may be able to apply for jobs on other Apple teams.
Apple's decision is a major bombshell. It has spent billions on the effort that was expected to launch the company into a whole new industry. However, Apple had recently reached a make or break point with the endeavour, needing to decide if it should scale down ambitions from a Level 4 to a Level 2+ vehicle. It purportedly discussed a 2028 launch date and $100,000 price tag; however, concerns over profit potential and millions of dollars a year in R&D appear to have resulted in today's decision.
Are you sad to see this project abandoned? Would Apple have made a great electric car? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
[Concept]