Apple stops electric car project: report

Apple has stopped work on 'Project Titan', the tech giant's electric car project, according to a source familiar with the matter. The decision comes a decade after the reputed tech company begun the project, despite no official announcement being made thus far.

Several employees working on the electric car project will be shifted to the firm's artificial intelligence (AI) division, according to Bloomberg News, which first reported the development.

"If it is true, Apple will put more focus on GenAI and that should give investors more optimism about the company's efforts and ability to compete at a platform level on AI," said Ben Bajarin, chief executive of consulting firm Creative Strategies.

Apple has so far held back from any big moves in AI, in stark contrast to other tech giants such as Alphabet and Microsoft, which have first-mover advantage in incorporating the breakthrough technology.

Apple declined to comment.

Apple kicked off Project Titan, as its car effort was known internally, a decade ago, as a wave of interest in self-driving vehicles swept through Silicon Valley.

Reuters reported in 2020 that Apple was considering releasing a vehicle as soon as 2024 or 2025. But progress had been uneven even before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the global automotive industry.

Apple had laid off 190 workers from the group in 2019 after revamping its software approach.

The design of the concept car also changed, from a radical, steering-wheel-free autonomous vehicle that would have been a departure from traditional automotive design to a more conventional car with advanced driver-assistance features.

Earlier this year, renowned Apple analyst Mark Gruman said that Project Titan shifted to a 2028 release.