Apple
CEO
Tim
Cook
waves
a
checkered
flag
to
the
race
winner
at
the
Formula
One
United
States
Grand
Prix
Circuit
of
the
Americas
in
Austin,
Texas,
on
Oct.
23,
2022.
Mike
Segar
|
Reuters
Apple
will
wind
down
its
team
working
on
electric
cars,
called
Special
Projects
Group,
according
to
Bloomberg.
The
news
signals
an
end
to
Apple’s
secretive
effort
to
build
a
car
to
rival
Tesla.
The
program
employed
thousands
of
employees
but
never
fit
with
Apple’s
core
business
of
electronics
and
online
services,
and
raised
questions
about
where
Apple
would
turn
for
the
manufacturing
of
a
vehicle.
Reports
of
Apple’s
ambition
to
build
a
car
first
surfaced
in
2014
after
the
company
recruited
automotive
engineers
and
other
talent
from
auto
companies.
While
there
was
little
public
information
about
Apple’s
plans,
the
company
operated
a
program
with
autonomous
Apple-owned
cars
equipped
with
sensors
and
safety
drivers
cruising
around
the
San
Francisco
Bay
Area.
Apple’s
Special
Projects
Group
had
several
reorganizations
over
the
years,
including
layoffs
in
2019,
when
employees
were
moved
to
different
parts
of
the
company.
Some
Apple
employees
in
the
car
division
may
move
to
a
generative
artificial
intelligence
team,
according
to
Bloomberg.
The
company
has
other
automotive-related
projects,
including
its
infotainment
CarPlay
software,
which
Apple
says
is
installed
on
80%
of
new
vehicles.
Apple’s
car
project
was
part
of
an
internal
effort
to
look
for
technologies
the
company
could
develop
with
huge
potential
markets.
Apple
continues
to
develop
health
technologies,
especially
for
the
Apple
Watch.
And
last
month,
the
company
released
its
first
virtual
reality
headset,
the
Vision
Pro.
Some
of
Apple’s
Asian
rivals
in
smartphones
have
invested
heavily
in
designing
and
potentially
manufacturing
cars.
Xiaomi,
a
maker
of
Android
smartphones,
announced
a
new
electric
vehicle
this
week.
Foxconn,
Apple’s
main
manufacturing
partner,
said
last
year
it
will
build
electric
vehicles.
Apple
and
CEO
Tim
Cook
never
acknowledged
the
car
project
publicly,
instead
referring
to
it
as
work
on
“autonomous
systems.”
In
2016,
Cook
was
asked
by
a
shareholder
about
the
project,
and
teased
that
“it’s
going
to
be
Christmas
Eve
for
a
long
time.”
As
part
of
its
silence,
Apple’s
hasn’t
outlined
its
expenditures
in
the
auto
space.
Overall,
the
company
spent
about
$30
billion
on
research
and
development
in
2023,
a
14%
increase
over
the
prior
year.
Apple’s
R&D
budget
includes
investments
in
new
software
and
features
for
its
existing
products
such
as
the
iPhone.
Apple
shares
rose
less
than
1%
on
the
news
on
Tuesday.
Apple
declined
to
comment.
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