It was America’s highly anticipated electric car but the decision to stop plans to make it came with mixed reactions for a company like Tesla. This Apple car was regarded as Tesla’s downfall. However, the self-driving will not be built.
Why this Apple car was a downfall for Tesla?
Global news outlets report that Apple will not forge ahead with its plans to make this electric car. This move comes 10 years after the company’s effort.
The technology company’s executives made the announcement and informed teams focusing on this idea, that the project would not take off. The mobile phone and computer maker, Apple’s project internally referred to as Project Titan is not going ahead.
At the same time, The Moment understands that the workers will also be moved to other departments as they will be working on artificial intelligence, according to multiple reports.
While the company has parted ways with staggering amounts of dollars on this project, it is reported about 2000 staffers worked on this plan.
“Even though some Apple employees are being moved to work on AI products, many others are expected to be laid off, though the exact number of workers affected remains unclear,” reports NPR Business.
Why Tesla’s Elon Musk welcomed the news?
While Apple bosses refused to comment on this matter, the news that Apple is scrapping its car project initially surfaced through reports by Bloomberg.
It was also made public through various publications that Apple employees failed to develop self-driving technology, just as the market for electric vehicles was on the decline.
Tesla CEO and American billionaire, Musk is seemingly relived by this news as he shared a social media post about the move with his commentary: a saluting emoji and a cigarette.
While Apple didn’t officially reveal the news of such an adventure, the news first developed in 2014 and it was seen as a rival to Tesla.
With credibility as one of the richest companies in the world, introducing an Apple-branded car had the potential to transform the auto industry and was being closely watched by auto executives and Apple diehards alike.
A chance for Apple’s rivals?
Furthermore, the technology publication posted that some of Apple’s Asian rivals in the smartphone category have invested heavily in designing and potentially manufacturing cars.
“Xiaomi, a maker of Android smartphones, announced a new electric vehicle this week. Foxconn, Apple’s main manufacturing partner, said last year it will build electric vehicles,” reports the website.
Despite the decision to remain mum on the money spent on this project, reports suggest Apple could have lost about $30 billion on research and development in 2023, a 14% increase over the prior year.
Bloomberg also published that several Apple employees in the automotive sector may move to a generative artificial intelligence team.
“The company has other automotive-related projects, including its infotainment CarPlay software, which Apple says is installed on 80% of new vehicles,” added CNBC.
Apple’s car project was part of an internal effort to look for technologies the company could develop with huge potential markets.
Despite their failure to go ahead with the plans to build an electric car, Apple continues to develop health technologies, especially for the Apple Watch and just in November, the American tech company released its first virtual reality headset, the Vision Pro.
Moreover, Apple’s R&D budget includes investments in new software and features for its existing products such as the iPhone.
With such a massive development in the EV space, there is no doubt Tesla breathed a sigh of relief, but it remains to be seen if there will not be a new rival on the block.