Apple may have burnt as much as $10 billion on its failed car project
- Project Titan from Apple was kept under strict wraps for over a decade and around 2,000 people were involved at last estimate.
Apple fans around the world were in for a shock earlier this week after several reports emerged in the US media about the tech giant halting work on its much touted Project Titan. Project Titan was an extremely secretive project that essentially worked on an electric car from the iPhone maker. But while Apple has neither confirmed or denied if Project Titan has been shelved, it is now being reported that the company has spent in excess of $10 billion on it.
Apple had been working on its electric car project for more than a decade but it was never going to be a smooth passage. As per New York Times, Apple initially wanted to challenge the dominance of Tesla in the world of electric vehicles (EVs). There were also murmurs that Apple wanted to acquire Tesla and was in talks with Elon Musk. It then changed course to potentially rival Waymo with a self-driving car before once again going back to focusing on developing an EV. And despite hiring personnel from organisations like Porsche and NASA, the obstacles remained.
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It is reported that around 2,000 persons were involved with Project Titan at the time Apple reportedly decided to ditch plans of a vehicle. Speculations are rife that one main reason for reportedly halting work could be the challenging economic situation across the world which has led to growth in demand for EVs falling. At a time when the likes of Tesla, Renault, Volkswagen and others are focusing on more affordable EVs, the cost factor may have been extremely crucial too because an Apple car was highly unlikely to cost less than $100,000 if and when launched.
Then there was the enormous burden of offering features in an Apple car that were vastly different from anything any rivals offered. A sunroof which reduces heat from sun's rays entering the cabin of the vehicle and a windshield that showed directions were some of the feature highlights that were being worked upon. And even as Apple continues to bet big time on CarPlay systems to make way into screens inside most vehicles, it is highly unlikely that some of the cutting-edge technology that were being worked upon would be shared further.
