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Apple Car Development Abandoned As Company Focuses On Generative AI

The ambitious Apple car, a self-driving electric vehicle that had been under development for 10 years, is officially dead. Despite an earlier announcement indicating that the project would be delayed until 2026, the tech giant pulled the plug on its self-driving electric car project this week so it can focus on generative AI endeavors instead.

According to a recent report from Bloomberg, Apple broke the news internally on February 27th, 2024, pulling nearly 2,000 employees off the Apple car project. Many of these workers will be reassigned to Apple’s artificial intelligence division, focusing on developing and rolling out generative AI projects. It’s unclear what will happen to the vehicle designers and hardware engineers working on the Apple car, although layoffs will likely follow.

It’s no secret that breaking into the automotive sphere would have been a significant uphill battle for Apple. But the final nail in the coffin for the Apple car project may have been related to the recent decline in EV sales. High prices have discouraged consumers from adding an EV to their home fleets, and the lack of charging infrastructure certainly hasn’t helped. Considering that the Apple car was expected to start at $100,000, it would have been priced out of the range of many buyers. The world doesn’t need more EVs with six-digit price tags right now.

GM Cruise Autonomous Vehicle

Additionally, building a viable autonomous vehicle just isn’t that easy. Apple reportedly considered delaying its car until 2028 and even relaxed its self-driving specifications from Level 4 to Level 2+, but even that correction wasn’t enough to save the project. To top it off, public perception of self-driving cars hasn’t been exactly favorable lately. Polling data has consistently shown a lack of trust in self-driving cars from average Americans. Take GM’s Cruise arm, for example. An autonomous Cruise vehicle recently struck and dragged a pedestrian in an accident, damaging its reputation in a way that will take quite a while to recover from.

These factors created a perfect storm for the Apple car. Since Apple never settles for being an also-ran, canceling its autonomous EV was a prudent decision.

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Alexandra is a Colorado-based journalist with a passion for all things involving horsepower, be it automotive or equestrian.

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Comments

  1. Apple acknowledging EV is not the way forward for the short-mid term. And AV is also a black hole.of money.

    Imagine if GM has focused on good, affordable products along with hybrids and plug in hybrids instead of billions in EV over the past half decade. At least brand like Hyundai have been successful in the EV space… But also wildly successful with hybrids. GM has crapped the bed with EVs

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  2. Yes, Apple, maybe those stodgy old auto makers know what they’re doing after all.

    Apple swaggered in trying to do way too much (EV *plus* fully-autonomous), in an industry they had zero DNA, presence, or experience in. This will leave a mark but at least Apple has the cash to absorb it; “We’ll hire a bunch of really great people and throw money at it!” has ruined companies with less resources to burn.

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    1. “maybe those stodgy old auto makers know what they’re doing after all.”

      Not quite since they’re scaling back their expectations. GM is bringing back plug-in hybrids as a stop-gap measure after promising they wouldn’t do it, and even the government is stating it’s going to loosen requirements. Nationwide there is an EV freeze. Apple is smart enough to see the writing on the wall and pull back, at least for now.

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    2. Look at how many legacy automakers are turning back on their EV commitments which they were oh so confident about even just last year and poured billions and billions and billions of dollars into over the past 5 years. That doesn’t sound like someone who knows wtf they are doing. And GM was the work culprit.

      We just bought a midsize hybrid crossover for my wife. GM has zero presence in that space, and the midsize crossovers they do have aren’t all that great. It’s like they strive for middle of the pack with every product. I’ll be hard pressed to spend $70,000 on truck from GM as well unless they get a compelling hybrid to market or that new V8 they are working on is somehow a magical engine. GM needs a leadership shake up and no amount of stock buy backs can cover that up

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  3. The entire tech world is chasing after the low-hanging fruit of generative AI.

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  4. GM EV production will be drastically reduced. They just haven’t admitted it yet. Wait until dealers start refusing EV’s from all manufacturers. It won’t be long. Dealers want to see some return on their investment and it’s not happening.

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    1. That’s the rub. Dealers don’t make cars. They can refuse all they want, but they will have no products to sell. They’re welcome to go out of business. The automakers would prefer a smaller dealer footprint.

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  5. Why in the world would anyone ever want to compete with all the companies in the auto sector. Tesla is a unicorn for now, but there’s no way to win against the subsidized autos from Toyoda, VW, and Hyundia/Kia and now the Chinese companies. Their governments will make sure they will be successful and creating jobs for their nations. They understand people working creates a strong economy, culture, and society. Something that is foreign to America, no pun intended!

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  6. Apple’s best days are well behind it, there is no innovation, but they still have a pile of cash.

    Reply
  7. Smart move, Cook.

    Reply
    1. Well, maybe Apple is counting on the sales of their $3,500 Apple Vision Pro to fill their coffers.

      Reply

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