Apple has canceled its plans to build an electric vehicle as it shifts research funding to generative artificial intelligence. This is according to a source familiar with the situation.
Apple’s project for electric vehicles, also known as “Project Titan”, was an attempt to diversify its product line beyond the iPhone. The iPhone still accounts for about half of Apple’s global sales.
Apple has never officially confirmed the decade-long efforts to create a product to compete with Rivian and Tesla. A spokesman from the company also declined to comment. Bloomberg was the first to report on this news. It was revealed Tuesday amongst Apple’s employees.
The cancellation of the project comes at a time when the EV sector has slowed down in recent months. In January, Tesla informed of the slowdown in sales due to a sluggish demand, rising interest rates, and increased competition.
Ford and General Motors halted their plans to expand EV production capacity in the last few months. Rivian, meanwhile, announced that they would reduce 10 percent of their workforce and maintain flat deliveries this year.
Apple announced its decision to end its car project as it prepared to reveal more details about its work in the rapidly-growing generative AI industry. Investors are interested in when Apple will introduce new features on its smartphones to compete with rivals like Samsung and Google.
Apple has spent on new chips, employees and new devices as it prepares for AI features in its devices.
Apple has increased its spending on research and development by nearly $30bn in the last year. This is a five-fold increase over the past decade.
Apple shares closed the day with a gain of 0.8%. In the last 12 months, they’ve risen by almost 24 percent.