False starts and wrong turns. This is how you can describe the 10-year work of the American IT giant Apple on an electric car. The result of many years of efforts was the decision to abandon the project. The reason is the constant disagreements within the company.
For a decade, the company has maintained the intrigue around its automotive project. It was considered secret and therefore referred to by the code name Titan. However, now it would be appropriate to tag it “Titanic” because of its similarity to the catastrophic finale that befell the ship of the same name. In this article, a columnist from Finam Financial Group looks at how this happened.
As the years pass, we can talk about the inevitability of failure. During the existence of the project, the production of cars was curtailed several times and restarted anew. Hundreds of employees were laid off. Top managers could not agree on the design of the car, which was originally conceived as an electric car and a competitor to Tesla, and later as a self-driving car and an alternative to Google's Waymo robomobile.
Full technical inspection
Apple announced the “demise" of the project, on which it spent more than $ 10 billion, on Tuesday, February 27. Many team members (almost 2,000 people) now they are being transferred to work on artificial intelligence. Other employees of the company will have to be parted with. Maybe forever.
Apple struggled to develop new products for many years after Steve Jobs' death in 2011. The automotive project had four different managers. New employees were fired and hired many times. As a result, the project was delayed. The company could not decide what kind of car it should be. So, Steve Zadeski, who initially led the project, wanted to create an electric car competing with Tesla. And Johnny Ive, Apple's chief designer, wanted to create a self-driving car that looked like a minivan like the Fiat Multipla 600, with half a dozen windows and a curved roof. Of course, it didn't have a steering wheel, and it could be controlled using Apple's virtual assistant Siri.
The members of the software development team supported Ivy. But in the end, they realized that creating software and algorithms for a car with autonomous driving functions is too difficult a task. As a result, Zadeski's successor Bob Mansfield announced to the team that instead of a car, it would develop software for drones.
And in the following years, two more leaders took over the development of the car. Doug Field, a former Tesla executive, laid off more than 200 employees involved in the project as he focused on building an autonomous driving system. Apple then appointed Kevin Lynch, the executive director of the popular Apple Watch, in charge of the car. He returned to the original idea of creating an electric car.
When Apple first launched its car project in 2014, a whole crowd of investors, executives, engineers and companies gave attention to it. Everyone was inspired by the idea of creating an “apple” self-driving car. After Google began testing similar robots on California roads, the voices of those who predicted a grandiose future for autonomous vehicles became increasingly audible in Silicon Valley. Of course, Apple didn't want to fall behind.
At that time, the company had just finished developing the Apple Watch, and many engineers were eager to start working on something new. Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, approved the project in part to prevent a massive outflow of employees to Tesla. In addition, Apple needed to find new ways to expand its business. iPhone sales were expected to slow down in the coming years. And the release of cars could just help support Apple's business.
The company spared no expense on the new project. The company has spent generously to hire hundreds of people with expertise in machine learning, artificial intelligence technology and other capabilities crucial to building a self-driving car. In particular, the project team included engineers who worked at NASA and developed racing cars for Porsche. The influx of people made this project one of the first that Apple developed with so many “outsiders” unfamiliar with the company's culture. The group has created many new technologies, including a windshield that could display turn directions, and a sunroof that would be coated with a special polymer to reduce heat from sunlight.
But the reality turned out to be harsh. The “autopsy“ of the Titan project after its demise showed that initially it had no ”meaning of life." After all, even if Apple's brainchild had ever been born, it would probably have cost at least $100,000 and would have brought meager profits compared to smartphones and headphones. And with a high degree of probability, Apple would not be able to displace Tesla, which dominates the market.
Driving lessons
For companies just thinking about prototyping Tesla cars, this will be a good lesson that Apple has yet to learn. Designing and manufacturing a car is a difficult task. To deal with this, global automakers tend to maintain relationships with thousands of suppliers responsible for their own widgets. A good example is the cooperation between Sony and Honda, who have created a joint venture to produce an electric car called Afeela, which is scheduled to launch in 2026.
Chinese companies are choosing the same path for themselves. Local smartphone manufacturers, like Apple at the time, are now looking to sell cars in the hope of supporting falling phone sales. And many of them unite with the aborigines or the "gods of the automobile Olympus". So, Xiaomi introduced its first electric car at the end of last year and announced its intention to become the world's leading automobile manufacturer with the assistance of the state-owned BAIC Group. Another example is Baidu, which is working with Geely Holding Group on its electric car. And finally, a giant like Huawei also introduced its electric car under the new Luxeed brand last year. He created it with the assistance of Chery Automobile.
In fact, all these companies have relied on combining their achievements in software development and the long-term experience of traditional automakers in order to create a technically sophisticated car.
But for some reason, Apple decided that it would cope on its own. Despite the fact that rumors were spreading everywhere about the company's potential partnership with various automakers from around the world, in particular, with Canadian Magna International, American Canoo and Korean Hyundai.
Yes, Apple has many victories on its account. The company is known for its success in the design world - it knows how to give its products an expensive look. And all this, it would seem, plays in favor of creating a luxury car. But it turned out that these skills do not play a big role in the automotive world.
In addition, Apple was constantly behind schedule, and during this time the entire car-making business underwent major changes, turning from a favorite in the technology sector into a laggard that constantly faces regulatory obstacles. By 2024, Apple's ambitions only allowed it to create an electric car with driver assistance features that automakers including Tesla, General Motors and Ford have long used on the roads. At the same time, high prices and an insufficient number of charging stations have already discouraged major buyers from switching to fully electric vehicles.
Nevertheless, Apple still holds a significant place in the automotive industry thanks to its CarPlay infotainment system. It allows you to use your iPhone in the car without being distracted from the road. This year, the next generation of CarPlay is expected to be released in the United States, which significantly expands the functions of Apple's automotive interface, including multi-screen control, camera integration, car monitoring, climate control and a variety of driving-related data, including speed and energy efficiency.
Most of the major market players have already confirmed that CarPlay will appear in their cars. These are BMW, Audi, Cadillac, Buick, Chery, Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Jeep, Fiat, Land Rover, Lucid, Mercedes, Toyota and many others.
In other words, a “new chapter of life” is now opening for Apple. Its electric car project will be preserved thanks to the underlying technologies. The company plans to use what it has learned about artificial intelligence and automation and apply it to other technologies, including AirPods, robotic assistants and augmented reality glasses.
As for investors, they took Apple's rejection of the automotive project with relief. On the day of the announcement of this news, the company's shares rose by almost 1%. Tesla CEO Elon Musk also greeted this news with delight. He posted a post on his social network X with a smiley face symbolizing reverence and a cigarette.
