[imagesource:macobserver]

According to various online sources, Apple is scrapping its ambitions to build an electric car, bringing an end to a secretive project that has absorbed enormous resources over the last decade.

According to sources, the company’s executives made the surprising revelation during an internal team meeting on Tuesday, anticipating layoffs and informing staff that many of them would transition to work on generative AI.

Apple is believed to have spent billions of dollars attempting to develop an electric, semi-autonomous vehicle under the codename Project Titan, and its decision to kill the programme is a major retreat from its previous strategy.

The Apple chief executive, Tim Cook, had hinted at the company’s plans for a car in recent years, though he never fully committed to delivering a product.

NEW: In abandoning a car, Apple is giving up on billions in potential revenue and the dream of selling the what the guy who killed the project once called the “ultimate mobile device.” Now, the spotlight turns to AI and mixed-reality, for better or worse. https://t.co/onwWXUY4qW

— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) February 28, 2024

Although Apple did not formally announce its plans to offer a car, the project was a source of intense speculation among the automotive and tech industries. The company hired executives from marquee car companies such as Lamborghini and Tesla to oversee its development and acquired the autonomous vehicle startup Drive.ai in 2019.

Apple laid off dozens of employees connected to the project in a 2016 restructuring, and the key executive in charge of the project defected to Ford in 2021.

In response to Apple’s decision to kill its electric car, Elon Musk posted emojis of a salute and a cigarette on X.

Apple will reportedly allocate more resources to generative AI initiatives, including transferring researchers and engineers from the automotive endeavour to its special projects department.

[source:guardian]