Project Titan

Front view of a glossy white luxury car with an Apple logo
Apple’s now-canceled car project was one of Silicon Valley’s worst-kept secrets.

Project Titan was the code name for Apple’s secret effort to build a self-driving electric car. The project reportedly started in 2014, and went through many changes during a decade of clandestine development.

During that time, Apple filed for many automotive patents, poached key executives from automakers, and struggled with Project Titan’s direction.

Apple pulled the plug on the long-rumored Apple car project on February 27, 2024. The company reportedly plans to lay off some workers and reassign many to work on its generative AI efforts.

How indecision and hubris killed the Apple car

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A Canoo Lifestyle Vehicle
One Apple car prototype reportedly looked something like one of Canoo's microbus-style vehicles.
Photo: Canoo

The history of the Apple car is littered with wild prototypes, astonishing hubris and a deadly dose of crippling indecision, according to a damning report that offers the best picture yet of the secretive Project Titan.

It sounds like many Apple employees — and even key execs — viewed the self-driving car project as a doomed effort nearly from the start.

“The big arc was poor leadership that let the program linger, while everyone else in Apple was cringing,” said an anonymous Apple executive who worked on Project Titan.

If you want to know how a massive research and development project can crash and burn, this new behind-the-scenes account of Project Titan will show you how. It’s filled with gory details of unachievable goals, chaotic management, bad decisions (and sometimes no decisions at all).

Killing the Apple car is depressing and sad

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Front view of a glossy white luxury car with an Apple logo
Apple's now-canceled car project was one of Silicon Valley's worst-kept secrets.
AI image: Midjourney/Cult of Mac

Apple’s reported cancellation of its electric car project strikes me as one of the most demoralizing decisions the company has ever made. And I’m not sure which is worse, the Apple car cancellation, or the revelation of how Cupertino plans to reroute most of Project Titan’s brainpower.

The long-rumored Apple car was never a done deal, obviously. But it stood out as a moonshot project capable of transforming transportation and improving our everyday lives.

Now we find out that Apple won’t be going to the moon. Instead, Cupertino might be taking a me-too detour to Gibberish City.

Apple car crashes to a halt

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Apple car canceled
Apple pulls the plug on one of Silicon Valley's worst-kept secrets: its self-driving electric car project.
Photo: Precious Madubuike/Unsplash License/Modified by Cult of Mac

In a somewhat shocking development, Apple reportedly completely canceled all development on its self-driving car program on Tuesday.

The company is shifting its emphasis to artificial intelligence, instead.

Another Apple employee allegedly caught stealing self-driving car tech for China

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Until the Apple Car is officially announced, all we have are concepts like this one.
The Apple car is still on the drawing board, but that doesn't stop Chinese companies from wanting to steal details of it.
Concept: Midjourney/Cult of Mac

An Apple employee was recently indicted for allegedly transferring trade secrets about self-driving car technology to a Chinese company. This marks the third such incident.

The cases seem quite similar: Chinese companies hire the workers, who then get caught attempting to bring Apple’s proprietary information with them when they leave the United States.

Former Lamborghini exec will help steer Apple car design team

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Apple's new hire worked on this model, a Lamborghini Huracan.
Apple's new hire worked on this model, a Lamborghini Huracan.
Photo: Lamborghini

A former Lamborghini executive recently joined Apple to lead design of the company’s long-rumored self-driving car, according to a new report Wednesday.

As Apple works toward releasing an electric vehicle before the end of this decade, the addition of Luigi Taraborrelli, who worked for the fabled Italian automaker for 20 years, could accelerate the project.

Apple Watch software chief tapped to drive Apple Car project

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Apple executive Kevin Lynch
Apple has tapped Apple Watch software chief Kevin Lynch to run the Apple Car project.
Photo: Apple

On the heels of Apple VP Doug Field’s departure as chief of the Apple Car project for a role at Ford, Cupertino has named longtime Apple Watch software head Kevin Lynch its new exec in charge of Project Titan. That’s the code name for the company’s self-driving electric car effort.

Top Apple car exec hits off-ramp, heads for Detroit instead

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That's the signpost up ahead - your next stop, the Apple Car. The Apple Car is way down the highway. But Apple has the pedal to the metal.
The man reportedly running Apple car development has taken an exit.
Photo illustration: Cult of Mac/Wikipedia CC

Development of an Apple car just hit another speed bump. Doug Field, who’d reportedly been managing the project, just left to join the Ford Motor Company.

This is surely a blow to Apple’s secretive automotive efforts. And the company was already multiple years away from having anything to put in a showroom, according to the latest leaks.

Watt’s next for Apple car: Batteries built on home soil?

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Apple car batteries could be made in U.S.
Foxconn and Aleees could get the go-ahead from Apple.
Photo: Jaguar

Apple apparently wants to build car batteries on its home soil. The company is eyeing a number of manufacturers as it plans to set up factories in the United States, according to a new report.

Foxconn, already one of Apple’s largest manufacturing partners, or Advanced Lithium Electrochemistry (Aleees) could get battery orders from Cupertino in the future, sources say.

How Apple’s self-driving car fleet fared on California roads last year

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Here's how Apple Car might eliminate blind spots
Will an Apple Car ever be available to buy?
Photo: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

Only 23 of Apple’s registered self-driving cars were active between December 2018 and November 2019, according to data provided to California’s Department of Motor Vehicles. In total, Apple’s fleet of modified Lexus RX450h SUVs travelled 7,544 miles during the period.

That’s down from the 79,745 miles its vehicles travelled in the previous year.

Woz: I don’t think true self-driving cars will arrive in my lifetime

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Woz: I don’t think true self-driving cars will arrive in my lifetime
Woz isn't convinced the technology will arrive any time soon.
Photo: Nichollas Harrison/Wikimedia Commons CC

Apple is working hard on a self-driving car project, but company co-founder Steve “Woz” Wozniak seemingly isn’t convinced that autonomous vehicles will be ruling the roads anytime soon.

At a recent auto conference, Woz pulled back his predictions about when self-driving cars will take over; saying that there are too many challenges in Level 5 autonomous vehicles.

Apple increases its number of self-driving car test drivers

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Project Titan
Apple has the third-largest self-driving car fleet in California.
Photo: Idiggapple/Twitter

Apple has slightly increased the number of test drivers for its self-driving car project, although the total number of vehicles remains the same.

According to new figures from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Apple is currently testing 69 cars on public roads in California. That’s the same number it had in late April. However, Apple has increased its test drivers from 110 to 143 since then.

Apple’s working on something BIG… this week on The CultCast

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CultCast 399
Apple's recent earnings report was full of delicious surprises.
Photo: Apple

This week on The CultCast: Apple’s working on something BIG, and their massive increase in R&D spending proves it. Plus: we discuss all the surprises Apple unveiled in their recent earnings report, and it was another record breaker. And if you think your conversations with Siri are private, think again! Apple’s been caught reviewing your most personal sound bytes. And a new Moviepass competitor has emerged with a very interesting offer, but is it worth the price? All that and more!

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain..

Apple designed its very own car suspension system

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Here's how Apple Car might eliminate blind spots
Coming to a road near you. Eventually?
Image: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

The question of whether Apple is building a physical Apple Car or just a software platform hasn’t been confirmed either way.

But there are a few hints, such as the fact that Apple was just granted a patent for a special suspension system for a car. Whether that part of the project continues remains to be seen.

The Apple Car could have the best bumper ever

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apple car
A rendering of an Apple car with a different kind of bumper
Photo: Motor1

Dying to see what Apple’s idea of a car looks like? Here’s a bumper.

OK, so a patent, like the one for an extendable bumper awarded to Apple today, doesn’t exactly give us a detailed picture. But we at least see one more piece of evidence Apple remains a committed player in the future of cars – whether we drive them or not.

Apple hires top Drive.ai talent as self-driving startup shuts down

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Drive.ai self-driving car
Drive.ai is dead.
Photo: Drive.ai

Self-driving car startup Drive.ai is reportedly shutting down — and Apple is scooping up the talent.

Drive.ai, which made kits that turn regular cars into self-driving cars, notified the Employment Development Department of California that it was shutting down and laying off all 90 of its employees. Apple was reportedly looking into acquiring the company earlier this month. Instead, Cupertino decided to just hire some of its key employees.

Apple tech could improve visibility in bad driving conditions

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Street at night 2
This could be an important development for an Apple Car.
Photo: j3n53r/Flickr CC

As part of its Project Titan initiative, Apple has invented some smart tech for improving detection of road signs and other vehicles on the road in low visibility situations.

This could ramp up safety in situations such as an autonomous Apple Car driving in foggy, snowy, low light or otherwise hard-to-see situations.

Apple’s self-driving car fleet gets downsized

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Project Titan
Apple is invested heavily in self-driving tech.
Photo: Idiggapple/Twitter

Apple’s fleet of self-driving cars has gotten smaller for the first time since the project’s inception.

In a recent filing with the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Apple revealed that both its number of cars and drivers permitted to test them have decreased since that company’s last report at the end of 2018.

Apple seeks next-gen Lidar sensors for possible Apple Car

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Apple Car might be coming, but will it be special?
Coming soon to a road near you? Maybe.
Photo: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

Apple is reportedly in talks with Lidar makers regarding sensors that could be used for its Apple Car initiative.

A commonly used surveying tool, Lidar measures distances between objects. It works by firing a pulsed laser light, then measuring how long it takes to bounce back. While not exclusively used in self-driving cars, that’s the application the technology is most synonymous with.

Sketchy rumor claims Apple is making an electric minibus

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VW van
Apple reportedly wants to get into the minivan business.
Photo: VW

Apple’s long-rumored self-driving car project might not churn out a car at all. Instead, it might just be an electric minibus.

According to a sketchy new rumor, Apple engineers have supposedly created a new minibus, which should be able to drive autonomously, if it ever hits the road.

iPhone could be key to Apple Car (and that’s just the start)

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Project Titan
Apple is invested heavily in self-driving tech.
Photo: Idiggapple/Twitter

The iPhone could transform into a secure version of a key fob that not only unlocks your vehicle, but it could also summon a parked vehicle to come to you.

Apple drops a breadcrumb on the path to an autonomous vehicle future, offering a possible glimpse into its Project Titan with a patent application for a keyless entry system.

Chinese worker allegedly caught stealing Apple self-driving car secrets

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Project Titan
Apple is invested heavily in self-driving tech.
Photo: Idiggapple/Twitter

Another alleged Chinese spy has been caught apparently trying to steal secrets from Apple’s mysterious self-driving car project.

The FBI reportedly arrested a Chinese national working for Apple the day before he planned to fly back to China with thousands of files on his laptop, including Apple’s intellectual property. He was reportedly planning to take all the info to a Chinese electric car manufacturer.

Ex-Apple engineers pave the way for next-gen self-driving car sensors

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Aeva
It's like a Lidar crossed with an iPod.
Photo: Aeva

Apple still hasn’t publicly revealed whether it’s working on an autonomous car, but a company started by former Apple engineers certainly is.

Opening up about its plans, startup Aeva has revealed that it is building a smart sensor that will help self-driving cars make sense of the world. And, from its sleek design to its mix of hardware and software magic, it totally looks like the kind of product Apple would design and make!

Apple’s self-driving car fleet lags behind Waymo and GM

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Apple Car
Apple's first self-driving Lexus.
Photo: Bloomberg

Apple’s fleet of self-driving cars is expanding at an astonishing pace after starting with just three vehicles a year ago.

New records posted by the California Department of Motor Vehicles reveals that Apple currently has the third largest number of autonomous cars in the state, but it’s closing the gap on the Google’s self-driving car project that holds the number two spot.