A decade ago, there was a great deal of buzz in transportation. Technological innovation enabled Elon Musk and Tesla to pursue the dream of an electric vehicle, while at the same time, Google (and others) believed autonomous vehicles were viable. Nowadays, EVs are common, and self-driving cars are making progress toward mass rollout. But amidst the market leaders in both categories, there’s one name you won’t find: Apple. This is because Apple’s electric car project, called Project Titan, seemed to be doomed from the start, and was recently tabled for good. Rather than continuing to pour money into transportation, Apple now believes other pursuits are more worthwhile.
(The EV market is cooling–read all about it in this Bold story.)
In looking at Apple’s electric car project, it’s evident that several mistakes were made. Perhaps pursuing the Apple Project Titan to begin with might have been the most significant, given the existing competition. But despite this, the company invested a great deal of time, effort, talent, and money into the project with little to show for it. There’s little doubt that Apple was bold in its vision; however, being bold without proper guardrails can lead to serious setbacks and losses. This is precisely the situation Apple found itself 10 years later, and it is why Project Titan is no more.
“When [Project Titan] started, it was aligning the stars on something Apple alone could hit a home run on. A decade later, the stars have realigned to make this a lot of risk and not a lot of gain.” – Bryant Walker Smith, Associate Professor of Law and Engineering, University of South Carolina
Dreams for the Apple Project Titan
Let’s travel back in time to 2011 when the Apple project Titan was first launched. In the wake of Steve Jobs’ absence, the company was struggling to develop new projects. It anticipated iPhone sales would decline over the coming years, which proved to be true, and so Apple needed a heavy-hitter that could support its status within the tech sector. By 2014, there was a great deal of hype surrounding new developments in transportation. Specifically, both electric and autonomous travel was believed to be the future. Given that the transportation industry at the time was worth about $2 trillion, it seemed like a great opportunity. Thus, Apple’s electric car project was born, embarking on a decade-long journey into the unknown.
It’s worth noting that Apple’s electric car project was already behind from the beginning. Tesla had been pursuing electric cars for years at that point. Likewise, Google was already testing its self-driving vehicle Waymo on California roads. Being late to market posed some challenges as a result. Regardless, Apple didn’t want to be left behind, and therefore, fear of missing out (FOMO) played a role in its decision. Plus, with about $155 billion in cash on hand, the company thought it had the resources to succeed. From this perspective, the Apple Project Titan was a lofty pursuit from the start.
The Rocky Road to Follow
The initial conception of the Apple Project Titan was one of an electric vehicle. Leadership at the time believed an EV was more feasible compared to an autonomous vehicle. As such, over 2,000 employees were recruited or hired encompassing a diverse group of engineers. Some were experts regarding battery technologies while others were from higher performance automotive areas. The company purchased several startups in the process as part of Apple’s electric car project. And some reports suggest it even made Musk an offer for Tesla. This of course didn’t occur, and Apple’s Titan evolved on its own. But it was clear early that any success would provide extremely limited profits. Being late to market hadn’t done the Apple Project Titan any favors.
Struggles occurred as time passed, and one of the greater struggles involved changing visions of leadership. New leadership at Apple shifted the focus away from an electric car and toward a self-driving one. Then changes at the top a bit later changed the direction of the Apple project Titan back to electric again. As it turned out, developing and testing software and algorithms for an autonomous car was simply too difficult. But the schizophrenic directions for Apple’s electric car project undermined progress. Not only were many employees laid off or transferred but morale declined as well. Ultimately, it was obvious that Apple’s electric car project wasn’t viable. In fact, it had become a financial drain on the company.
Lessons Learned and Future Pursuits
In recent announcements concerning the closure of the Apple project Titan, the company has decided to pursue different directions. Specifically, it will be investing both talent and other resources into the development of its generative AI products. This only makes sense given the limited progress and unlikely success of any advanced transportation projects. This decision involving Apple’s electric car project is perhaps a few years too late. But nonetheless, it’s one that has to be made. The dream is simply not a reality, and there are now more pressing areas of competition for the company. Understanding that generative AI is the future, Apple is being forced to cut its losses on the Titan.
The amount that was invested in Apple’s electric car project was indeed significant. Roughly, a total of $10 billion was spent on the Apple Project Titan. But not all was lost, as the project did lead to novel Apple product developments. For example, Apple was able to develop a windshield that offered visual turn-by-turn directions. It also created a special polymer in its sunroofs that reduce solar heat inside. And technologies developed will also be used to create AI-powered Air Pods and its augmented reality offerings. While these offer a bit of a silver lining, Apple recognizes the Titan project should have been aborted much earlier. Expect next time for the company to be more discriminative in its endeavors. This is especially true in areas where the company fails to join the game early.
Some Very Innovative Apple Products Have Shaped the 21st Century–Read About Them in this Bold Story!
