Apple Learns That Building A Car Is Tougher Than It Looks

Apple Store Palo Alto (Credit: Apple)

Apple might be able to make phones people fawn over, but it’s having a tough time making a car. Project Titan, which is the worst-kept secret in the Silicon Valley, involves Apple making an all-electric car that would compete with Tesla.

After a management switch in July, reports are now coming in from The Wall Street Journal, Fortune and others that some “elements” of Titan have been shuttered. Apparently, dozens of Apple employees were also let go. Does this mean an Apple car isn’t happening?

Since it’s never officially even acknowledged the existence of Project Titan, Apple isn’t commenting on the layoffs. Some reports claim that Apple is shifting its focus to making an autonomous drive system, not an actual car. That’s a hot area, with Tesla, Uber, Google, Volvo and plenty others pushing for dominance.

When people in other industries start criticizing automakers, it’s often apparent they have zero idea what it takes to develop, engineer and manufacture cars. Tesla has been in existence for some time, and has not yet made vehicles in high volumes. Simply put, making cars that work well and appeal to the masses isn’t easy on any level. It seems Apple has learned this lesson the hard way.