Recently, media reported that Apple has canceled its car-building project code-named "Project Titan" and reassigned its 2,000 employees who were originally responsible for the self-driving car department to the generative AI project team.
Some may be disappointed and feel that a lot of time and effort invested over a decade has been wasted. But a new report suggests that some Apple employees are actually happy that the self-driving car project is being discontinued, even as the tech giant spends an estimated $10 billion trying to compete with Tesla.
The Apple car project is sometimes called the "Titanic disaster."
Project Titan was originally launched as a concept project in 2014, shortly after Apple completed the first-generation Apple Watch. At the time, the California giant had a clear intention to compete with Tesla and capture a sizable share of the electric vehicle market. However, while it’s great to be ambitious, achieving it is another story.
As the New York Times reports, some employees were delighted that development of the car was halted, calling it the "Titanic disaster." After all, ongoing leadership changes, repeated changes in goals, conflicts of interest, and differing opinions on the future direction of the industry can disappoint any employee. Fortunately, not all is wasted, and Apple can still use its $10 billion investment to explore other areas.
It is said that the end of Project Titan was not due to engineering challenges, but because it was not financially feasible (profit margins were too low).
Rumor has it that selling cars for $100,000 apiece isn't enough for Apple to make a healthy profit margin, and the cheapest Tesla only costs $42,990, making Apple lose the battle before it even gets into the electric car battleground. According to reports, Apple has previously lowered its target from Level 4 autonomous driving to Level 2, which makes mass production entirely possible.