Apple nixes plan for self-driving car to compete with Tesla

Apple has reportedly canceled its plans to create a self-driving car that was supposed to compete against Tesla.

Apple has been at work trying to create a car for almost a decade. The tech giant hired engineers from Tesla and Toyota to work on creating batteries for what was assumed to be an electric car to rival the Elon Musk-led company.

The iPhone and Vision Pro maker has worked with automobile manufacturers before, offering systems compatible with iPods for BMW and Volkswagens. The company also introduced CarPlay in 2015, which allowed drivers to link their iPhones directly to their car’s radio and other electronic systems.

According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple is nixing its self-driving car project after years of development. The news comes just before the company’s March event which is where multiple new products are set to be announced.

Apple leaves the car business before it even joined

Apple’s car project was “one of Silicon Valley’s worst-kept secrets,” according to The New York Times as the company has been seen numerous times testing out models on roads in the area.

The car was apparently difficult to develop, costing the company billions for research on autonomous driving and battery capability. Apple also reportedly scrapped and reworked plans, as well as laid off people who worked on the project throughout its development.

Apple did not showcase the car at any point to the public and now fans of the brand will never see what a potential iCar could look like. CEO Tim Cook has historically refused to comment on the car project but has hinted repeatedly that he was interested in getting into the market.

“The autonomy itself is a core technology, in my view. If you sort of step back, the car, in a lot of ways, is a robot. An autonomous car is a robot. And so there are lots of things you can do with autonomy. And we’ll see what Apple does,” Cook said in an interview with Kara Swisher on the “Sway” podcast in 2021.

“We investigate so many things internally. Many of them never see the light of day. I’m not saying that one will not,” Cook also stated.

Whether Apple will publicly address the shelved project during its March event or elsewhere remains to be seen.