Apple has canceled plans to launch an electric car with self-driving capabilities, which it has been developing in secret for nearly a decade.
The company told employees in an internal meeting on Tuesday that the project would be canceled and members of the group would be moved to other roles, including in the artificial intelligence division, according to people briefed on the discussions. The announcement was not made public.
As part of the reorganization, Kevin Lynch, an executive involved in the auto project, will report to John Gianandrea, head of artificial intelligence strategy, people familiar with the matter said.
Apple declined to comment. The news that Apple is ending its car program was first reported by Bloomberg.
Although Apple didn't reveal its cars to consumers, the product had long been one of Silicon Valley's best-kept secrets, as it had been tested on public roads. The cancellation is an unusual move for Apple, which typically doesn't shelve such public, high-profile projects.
The company has struggled in recent years to find new avenues of growth as its flagship iPhone saturates the market and people upgrade their phones less frequently than they used to.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has publicly hinted that Apple is interested in entering the automotive space. The company has also been testing hundreds of vehicles equipped with self-driving technology in public for years. The car, which was internally codenamed Titan and Project 172, had a difficult time developing as parts of the department were shut down, plans were canceled and restarted, and dozens of employees were laid off along the way. It was a product.
The car, which Apple spent billions of dollars researching, was intended as a rival to Tesla's electric cars with self-driving capabilities.
This product was important to Cook's legacy because it counteracted the perception that Apple had lost its ability to innovate and come up with the next big thing. Under Cook's leadership, the company has introduced a handful of new hardware products, including the Apple Watch, which currently leads the smartwatch market. HomePod smart his speaker failed. and the Vision Pro, a $3,500 goggle the company launched this month to compete with Meta's virtual reality headset.
The company has invested heavily in developing new technologies. It has spent $113 billion on research and development over the past five years.
