one year on
Apple cancels electric car project, moves staff to AI division
The surprise decision ends a decadelong effort and reassigns nearly 2,000 employees to work on AI.
Apple is ending its decadelong effort to build an electric car, surprising the nearly 2,000 employees working on the project. The decision was disclosed internally Tuesday by Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch, the vice president in charge of the effort, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Some employees from the car team will move to Apple’s AI division.
The cancellation marks the end of what was considered one of the most ambitious projects in Apple’s history.
Employees were surprised by the announcement, which was made internally by COO Jeff Williams and VP Kevin Lynch.
One year later — open only if you can handle spoilers
Apple's pivot to generative AI paid off: iOS 18 featured a suite of on-device AI features, and the company's AI strategy became a central narrative for its product line through 2025. The car, meanwhile, never resurfaced.