Titan: Apple’s secret autonomous vehicle project is much bigger than people think

“Apple has cut over 200 people from Project Titan, its famous bid to create a self-driving car, CNBC reported on Thursday,” Kif Leswing writes for Business Insider. “While this sounds like a huge number of people, it doesn’t mean Apple’s car ambitions are over nor does it mean Apple is frantically cutting costs ahead of what’s expected to be Apple’s worst earnings report in years next week.”
“Project Titan was significantly larger than many outside the company expected,” Leswing writes. “Information that emerged through a case with a former Titan employee who was arrested by the FBI said that 2,700 Apple employees had access to Titan databases and that 5,000 were ‘disclosed’ on the project, which means they had official permission to know about it.”
“Cars aren’t Apple’s only special project. It’s working on health and augmented reality glasses in its labs at the same time — and there aren’t rumors of cuts there yet,” Leswing writes. “It’s logical to interpret this week’s news as less related to Apple’s recent financial woes and more the result of an emerging reality for self-driving cars: Full autonomy might be years away, and it’s unlikely to be here in 2020, as Apple was shooting for.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we said yesterday, we’d be more concerned if there weren’t any restructuring and refocusing under Project Titan’s new leadership.
SEE ALSO:
Apple dismisses more than 200 employees from Project Titan autonomous vehicle project – January 24, 2019
Apple hires designer Andrew Kim away from Tesla – December 17, 2018
Apple Car rumor roundup: Project Titan and what it means – September 1, 2018
Ming-Chi Kuo: Apple to launch revolutionary Apple Car within 5-7 years – August 15, 2018
Doug Field, former Tesla engineering chief, returns to Apple – August 10, 2018
Apple’s Project Titan is still a go, says analyst – June 28, 2018
Apple’s autonomous vehicle fleet grows to 62 vehicles in California – May 29, 2018
Apple’s autonomous vehicle project may be closer to fruition than it appears – May 25, 2018
Apple’s Bob Mansfield reboots Apple Car project, lays off several dozen employees – September 10, 2016
Apple hires founder of QNX with Apple Car project increasing focus on self-driving software – July 28, 2016
Apple taps Bob Mansfield to oversee Apple Car project – July 25, 2016