According to Bloomberg, Apple’s senior executives decided to Cancel the electric car project in recent weeks. The Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Williams, and the Vice President, Kevin Lynch internally disclosed this decision on February 27, 2024.
The announcement surprised the over two thousand workers who were engaged in the project. Some staff members will be transferred to Apple’s Generative AI team, which is headed by John Giannandrea, as the corporation has opted to discontinue the project.
Not every employee who has been involved in the Apple Car project will receive this offer, though. According to Bloomberg, some workers may be invited to “apply for employment on other Apple teams,” and regrettably, there will also be some layoffs. It is unclear how many layoffs will occur at this time.
A number of speculations from earlier this year suggested that Apple had backed out of its long-term aspirations to introduce a fully autonomous automobile without a steering wheel or pedals. Subsequently, Apple shifted its attention to an electric car with fewer autonomous features. The car would have directly challenged Tesla’s technological advancements. The original plans were for Apple’s electric vehicle to launch in or around 2026. But such intentions have now been entirely abandoned.
Elon Musk responded to a post on Twitter with a saluting emoji,