Apple canceled the production and launch of its electric vehicle, scheduled to hit the market between this year and 2025, and will transfer the workers who were involved in the project to its artificial intelligence division. The objective is to promote this product and better compete against A.I. projects from other tech giants such as Alphabet (Google) and Microsoft.
The decision comes a decade after the proposal was announced. Project Titan, as Apple's electric vehicle was called, will not hit the market, at least for the moment, according to Bloomberg. The company's aspirations were high: after the idea emerged, Apple hired experts such as Tesla's former director of Autopilot software to launch its own E.V. product.
With the project, Apple sought to enter markets other than hardware-software and to expand its brand, with the goal of competing against other large companies that have their own E.V., such as Tesla Inc. Elon Musk had a message for the company led by Tim Cook's on its withdrawal from the project.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 27, 2024
Reassigning all the employees involved in Project Titan implies that Apple's management considered that it was not making enough progress with this project, while its main competitors were gaining a lot of ground with their own ventures.
Manufacturers drop electric vehicles
In recent days, several big manufacturers decided to abandon their electric vehicle goals set for the next five years. Many had the objective to move to an all-electric fleet during the period of 2025-2030. Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Ford, General Motors, Toyota and Stellantis, among others, are some of the manufacturers that have reduced their ambition with E.V. production.
