Apple is reportedly halting its decade-long effort to develop its electric car, as informed by sources familiar with the matter to Bloomberg.
According to Bloomberg’s report, nearly 2,000 employees assigned to the Electric Vehicle (EV) team, known as the Special Projects Group, were informed about this decision by Apple executives Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch.
The report further states that most of the employees from the Special Projects Group will be reassigned to Apple’s artificial intelligence division to focus on projects related to generative AI.
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Bloomberg notes that several hundred hardware engineers and car designers among them may have the opportunity to apply for other available positions within Apple. However, an undisclosed number of layoffs are also anticipated.
Recently, Apple announced a delay in the launch date of its car to 2028 due to production challenges. Last month, the company reportedly shifted its focus away from the original plan of developing a fully autonomous vehicle to a less ambitious design with limited self-driving capabilities.
Before discontinuing the project, Apple executives expressed concerns about the profitability of the electric car, as per Bloomberg’s report. Apple had initially intended to price the vehicle at around $100,000, despite investing hundreds of millions of dollars annually in the project.
