Apple Cancels Autonomous Electric Vehicle Project

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Apple has halted its long-rumored "Project Titan" work on developing an electric car, according to Bloomberg.

Posted by OCUser at 11:33 PM | 20 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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Silly IMO. Probably suffered from featureitis, trying to get ahead of Tesla etal.

Should have just followed the Tesla "model" of development, introduced an EV, with some autonomous functions like adaptive cruise control.

Collected data. Work on the AD as it went along, no one has it anyway, plus start working on autonomous flying vehicles.

Imagine all the new sources of revenue for Apple, lost because of this marketing failure.

#1 | Posted by oneironaut at 2024-02-27 08:51 PM | Reply

Apple is all about a great customer experience.

Apple seems to acknowledge that they are unable to deliver that great customer experience to its customers.

So, what does that say about the rest of the self-driving industry, when Apple appears to be unable to deliver on the promise?

#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-02-27 11:51 PM | Reply

@#1 ... Should have just followed the Tesla "model" of development, ...

Saying more than what was delivered?

#3 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-02-27 11:53 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

So, what does that say about the rest of the self-driving industry, when Apple appears to be unable to deliver on the promise?

#2 | POSTED BY LAMPLIGHTER

I always envisioned self-driving cars as they were depicted in Minority Report. More or less as autonomous train cars on set tracks where merges and changes were automated and communicated between vehicles in close proximity.

In any case, I'm glad this pipe dream is being dropped. It was being forced too hard when the tech clearly wasn't there and, honestly, I'm glad that at least one class of jobs other than C suite douchebag is safe for the moment from automation.

#4 | Posted by jpw at 2024-02-28 08:16 AM | Reply

plus start working on autonomous flying vehicles.

#1 | POSTED BY ONEIRONAUT AT 2024-02-27 08:51 PM | FLAG:

I remember when the tech companies got into drones because they were trying to fly around high persistence drones to beam internet access into remote parts of Africa.

I rapid prototyped wing structures for one of the projects.

The tech companies abandoning their projects drastically increased aviation safety. The engineering concepts were retarded.

#5 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2024-02-28 08:19 AM | Reply

Apple was never going to build a car.

The whole thing was somebody's pet project, it was never going to be a product.

#6 | Posted by DarkVader at 2024-02-28 08:27 AM | Reply

If it had become a product, I'm willing to bet there would have been a surge of use when it was new that rapidly fell off to low to no use because I'm betting every ride would be accompanied by audio and visual ads on screens in the car that you couldn't turn off or mute.

And most people would be too annoyed by that to keep using the service.

#7 | Posted by jpw at 2024-02-28 08:46 AM | Reply

Wear ear buds and enjoy your free, ad supported ride.

#8 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2024-02-28 08:53 AM | Reply

Well, full self driving was supposed to be here 3 years ago. I hear crickets on it.

#9 | Posted by GalaxiePete at 2024-02-28 09:09 AM | Reply

3 years? Pfft.

1,773 days since Elon Musk said there will be a million fully autonomous Tesla robotaxis in a year.
1,946 days since Elon Musk said Teslas should be able to read and understand parking signage by end of 2019.
2,688 days since Elon Musk started charging Tesla customers for 'self driving' that he said would be able to drive from Los Angeles to New York city with no human intervention by the end of 2017.
2,765 days since Elon Musk claimed Tesla would start production of an autonomous minibus in 2-3 years.
2,975 days since Elon Musk claimed summon would be able to autonomously drive a Tesla across country to pick up its owner in about two years.

but while we're at it...
1,994 days since Elon Musk said his tunnel would have elevators that transported cars into residential garages.
2,023 days since Elon Musk said pod-like electric skates going up to 150 miles an hour could soon take fans to Dodgers games.
3,080 days since Elon Musk said Teslas would have 1,000 kilometer (621 mile) range within a year or two.
3,905 days since Elon Musk demonstrated automated battery swapping and started selling tens of millions of dollars of CARB credits based on the assumption Tesla would deploy it.

#10 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2024-02-28 09:40 AM | Reply

Saying more than what was delivered?
#3 | POSTED BY LAMPLIGHTER

When Tesla first came out they were strictly EV.

No discussion of autonomous. Didn't even have sensors.

Again go ahead and lie and tell me your were a tech manager

#11 | Posted by oneironaut at 2024-02-28 02:37 PM | Reply

The engineering concepts were retarded.
-sitz

They only appear "retarded" in hindsight because they didn't survive.

This is time bias.

#12 | Posted by oneironaut at 2024-02-28 02:40 PM | Reply | Funny: 1

Apple likes to control a market and there are just way way way too many truly great EVs coming out. So the EV explosion is coming it's just that it will include so many players that Apple can't automatically be the top dog.

#13 | Posted by prius04 at 2024-02-28 02:42 PM | Reply

Sitz

As an engineer perhaps not software, you have to admit the ability to autonomously fly a plane is much more constrained problem than an autonomous land vehicle.

These will appear before automobile is autonomous.

Every engineer knows this.

#14 | Posted by oneironaut at 2024-02-28 02:44 PM | Reply

Apple likes to control a market and there are just way way way too many truly great EVs coming out
- Prius

This is why the phone has had such a problem in the car.

The vehicle manufacturers understand the ability to monetize the auto experience.

Apple entered the EV space because it couldn't get traction in vehicle manufacturers.

#15 | Posted by oneironaut at 2024-02-28 02:46 PM | Reply

#10 | POSTED BY SITZKRIEG

Why be so critical of marketing?

Tech has been and always will be over hype and under deliver.

Which again is why I believe AppleCar suffered from featuritis

#16 | Posted by oneironaut at 2024-02-28 02:51 PM | Reply

So, what does that say about the rest of the self-driving industry, when Apple appears to be unable to deliver on the promise?
- gaslighter

That Apple had no data to develop the car.

Seriously do you even understand the problem.

#17 | Posted by oneironaut at 2024-02-28 02:52 PM | Reply

So the EV explosion is coming it's just that it will include so many players that Apple can't automatically be the top dog.

#13 | POSTED BY PRIUS04

This is the purpose of Musk saying AV are just around the corner.

To keep this number as small as possible. No one will invest in new EV company long term if they believe Musk.

#18 | Posted by oneironaut at 2024-02-28 02:59 PM | Reply

Popular Science projected years ago that flying cars were "soon" coming and mainstream before year 2000.

#19 | Posted by Robson at 2024-02-28 11:03 PM | Reply

They only appear "retarded" in hindsight because they didn't survive.
This is time bias.

#12 | POSTED BY ONEIRONAUT AT 2024-02-28 02:40 PM | FLAG:

Why be so critical of marketing?

#16 | POSTED BY ONEIRONAUT AT 2024-02-28 02:51 PM | FLAG:

It would be time bias if I hadn't pointed out all the problems with it the entire time.

I despise hype men and fraud regardless of their industry.

Elon is back to stock pumping. A 1 second 0 to 60 roadster.

#20 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2024-02-29 09:30 AM | Reply