United States: Apple, the tech giant of the United States, has reportedly halted its electric car project, ‘Project Titan’ after a decade of investing in the technology.
It has been reported that the company will abandon its decades-old project and shift its staff to the AI division. The move has been positively received by the markets.
Apple launched Project Titan 10 years ago at a time when Silicon Valley was abuzz with the promise of self-driving vehicles. It was initially said that it hoped to launch a self-driving vehicle as early as 2024. As a result of a variety of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the progress of this project was hindered.
According to the reports, billions of dollars were invested in research and development to create a revolutionary autonomous vehicle that doesn’t require a steering wheel. However, the plans were scaled down to focus on developing a more conventional car equipped with advanced driver-assistance features. As a result, the firm had to lay off 190 employees from the group in 2019.
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Several leading automakers, including electric vehicle (EV) market leader Tesla, have decided to pull back on investments. Some are shifting plans to focus on hybrids instead of fully battery-powered cars, and Apple is not alone in this. Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk responded to news of Project Titan’s cancellation with a tweet featuring a salute and a cigarette emoji.
The electric vehicle sector is facing challenges in the current economic slowdown. With the rise in interest rates, the cost of borrowing has increased, leading to a lower demand for expensive electric vehicles. As a result, the industry has been forced to cut jobs and reduce production to cope with the situation.