Multiple new reports have shared that Apple’s plan to revolutionize the auto industry has finally been scrapped, with the tech giant reportedly ending its electric car projects.
According to a report from Bloomberg, citing numerous people familiar with the matter, the project known internally as “Project Titan,” a plan to build an electric car, will see a large number of its workforce moved to the company’s artificial intelligence division.
The news comes as electric vehicle sales continue to disappoint the auto industry, resulting in many car manufacturers and rental car companies reducing their efforts, slashing prices, and pushing to sell their inventory.
However, one market that isn’t slowing but instead booming is AI, which Apple could be focusing on to compete with its tech rivals Microsoft and Google.
Still, plans to scrap its electric car comes after almost a decade of work developing the vehicle, even though Apple never confirmed that it was working on the project.
Since 2014, Apple has been hiring automotive executives, and in April 2017, the company received a permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles to test self-driving cars, CNN reported.
The company also secured several car-related patents, including one for a virtual reality system to address motion sickness and another for adjusting the tint on a window in real-time.
In 2020, Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared that Apple had a chance to join the car market as a partner, as he offered to sell his company to them during a rough patch, but he claimed Apple CEO Tim Cook refused to meet with him.
Apple has not commented to confirm the plans or that they have been scrapped.