In a surprising move, Apple has decided to cancel its long-rumored electric vehicle project after nearly a decade of development work. The shutdown was announced internally to the approximately 2,000 Apple employees working on the hush-hush automotive effort codenamed “Project Titan.”
Reports first surfaced around 2014 that Apple was making moves into the auto industry, hiring talent from Tesla and other carmakers. The project aimed high, with goals of designing a fully self-driving electric vehicle that could disrupt the market. However, after years of stalled progress, Apple has now deemed the project too challenging to move forward.
Apple COO Jeff Williams and VP Kevin Lynch broke the news to Titan employees this week in what was described as a shocking development. It brings to an end one of Apple’s most ambitious ventures ever.
Industry insiders speculate that challenges around battery technology, manufacturing, and licensing self-driving systems proved too difficult, even for a company with Apple’s vast resources, Elon Musk on X replying the news says: “Prototypes are easy, volume production is hard, positive cash flow is excruciating”. Though Apple has over $160 billion in cash reserves, entering the low-margin auto industry versus tech products posed higher risks.
For now, Apple seems to have conceded that bringing a car to production with adequate autonomy for full self-driving is still years away. Instead, it appears content to focus on its core iPhone and Services businesses. Still, after nearly 10 years of work on Project Titan, canceling the initiative altogether marks a major strategic shift. Apple’s dream of producing an iconic iCar to rival Tesla and others has evaporated, but it could someday revisit entering the auto space with a different approach.