Recently, it became known that Apple canceled its automotive project with the internal name Project Titan and transferred about 2000 employees from the self-driving car division to generative AI projects.
It is noted that the tech giant started Project Titan as a concept, shortly after the release of the first Apple Watch in 2014. At that time, the company had clear plans to «compete» with Tesla and capture a significant share of the electric car market.
At the same time The New York Times writes that some employees were even happy to see Project Titan close, as they had long dubbed it «Titanic disaster», given the constant changes in management and goals.
According to the publication’s estimates, Apple invested about $10 billion in the project, and work on it was allegedly stopped not because of engineering problems but because of financial unviability. It was rumored that charging $100,000 for a car was not enough for Apple to make a healthy profit, and given that the most affordable Tesla will cost $42,990, the company lost the battle before it even set foot on the electric car battlefield.
The news of Apple’s departure from this space surprised many Chinese electric car manufacturers, but analysts called it the right decision, believing that the company will finally be able to focus on the next big thing — AI.