Recently, Apple had just announced their cancellation of “Project Titan” or best known as electric car developments with self-driving features. Their decision was to shift the prolonged EV resources into generative AI endeavors. What happened? In 2014, the giant tech enterprise took a shot in researching and developing electric cars. Each year, Apple partnered with investors and businesses in making the autonomous EV a reality. Until 2018, this billion dollars project remained a brilliant idea with former Senior Vice President of Engineering at Tesla, Doug Field, as their team leader. However, according to The Week, during the excitement of registering self-driving cars and road-testing, their prototype was reported to have crashed with a human driver inside. Following the incident, CNBC reported that Apple laid off more than 200 employees from their EV Project Team and positioned them to different parts of the establishment. After this news showed up, there is no clarity on how the EV’s artificial intelligence can be developed further into the prototype or software. Not long after entering 2021, as shared in The Verge, the departure of Doug Field and inconsistencies between plans put “Project Titan” into a halt before it was announced to be abandoned this early 2024. Despite Apple's efforts in entering the EV industry, it was heavily skepticized by the media and internet. Mainly, people were much more interested in Tesla’s electric car production and their innovative features, making it a rivalry with ”Project Titan”. Challenging Tesla’s dominance in the industry, Apple can’t seem to get the hang of it with investing more than $1 billion dollars annually. Tesla’s standard in electric cars and cutting prices to $25.000 only created havoc in Apple’s plan to sell its EV around $40.000-$170.000. Apple’s attempt to make a fully functioning driverless car with wireless charging initiatives was looked down upon compared to Tesla's success in launching affordable electric cars, charging station availability, and safer technologies. Apple's lack of success in EVs serves as a cautionary tale. Their focus on bleeding-edge technology led to unrealistic expectations for both the market and their own capabilities. Attempting to force a product into existence before the underlying technologies matured was a misstep. This highlights a crucial lesson: businesses must carefully consider their timing and capabilities when innovating. Rushing into development can be risky and expensive, potentially derailing entire business goals and priorities. Although it was understandable for the tech giant to have such ambitions in the fast-paced environment of sustainability and technology advancements, maybe the internet was right. So, back to making phones and laptops it is. Sources: - The Verge: Crash of the Titan: a short history of Apple’s doomed car project - CNBC: Apple just dismissed more than 200 employees from Project Titan, its autonomous vehicle group - LifeWire: Apple Car: News and Price, Release Date, Specs; and More Rumors - The Week: Human driver crashes into Apple self-driving car