Apple reportedly shuts down secretive self-driving car project

Apple has shut down a yearslong plan for an electric car with self-driving capability, multiple outlets report.

Bloomberg first reported that Apple had told close to 2,000 employees in an internal meeting Tuesday it would shut down the car project and reassign at least some staff to other areas within the company, including to its AI efforts.

At least one executive attached to the car project was reassigned to report to Apple’s head of AI strategy, the New York Times reported, citing anonymous insiders who were familiar with Apple’s moves.

Apple reportedly spent billions of dollars on its autonomous car initiative, which would have put it in competition with Tesla.

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Apple was known to test prototypes of the car on roads in Silicon Valley under the codename Project Titan.

The company has for years filed vehicle-related patents for design touches and interface elements such as steering wheels and control pedals.

CEO Tim Cook has also more than once publicly suggested Apple had its eyes on self-driving technology.

Cook made his first public comments about AI in a Feb. 1 earnings call this year.

He said the company plans to invest in AI, “where we continue to spend a tremendous amount of time and effort and we are excited to share the details of our ongoing work in that space later this year.”

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