Apple has shifted its automotive ambitions away from building its own electric car in favor of developing an autonomous driving system, Bloomberg reports. People familiar with the project said hundreds of employees from Project Titan have been been “reassigned, let go, or left of their own volition” in the past few months.
Apple executives are displeased with the lack of progress and want the car team to prove the feasibility of the self-driving system. It’s been said the team must decide on a final direction by “late next year” — the deadline was imposed after months of “strategy disagreements”, leadership changes, and supply chain problems.
The shift in strategy is expected to help Apple keep open the option of partnering with existing carmakers, while not fully closing the door on the possibility of the company designing its own vehicle in the future. Apple declined to comment on the story.
