Gurman: Apple Car would exist today if it targeted Level 2
Mark Gurman · Inside Apple’s failed car program · Mar 28, 2024 · at 23:09
Bloomberg correspondent Mark Gurman discusses the cancellation of Apple's Project Titan electric vehicle initiative and the strategic mistakes made by Apple leadership.
0:00 / 0:47exact quote · 47.5s
720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“I think they could have gotten it right if they didn't get so far down the road on level five autonomy, building its operations around level five, building its autonomous system around level five, spending 10 years building different car designs and infrastructure and testing facilities around level five, and by the time they reached that tipping point, that, you know, teetering moment, it was kind of too late to turn back, and it was really either keep going forward Or pulling the plug on this thing, I think, personally which is a bad position to be in, so it was poor decision making and indecision that, that got us to this point. If Tim Cook had made the decision, you know, earlier on in the development process to move to a level two system, or start with a level two system and build up from there, you know, perhaps there would be an Apple car on the road today.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Mark Gurman
Gurman: Kevin Lynch recommended canceling Apple Car to reallocate engineers to AI
“And he made the decision ultimately to recommend that Apple winds down this car program. He thought it couldn't be done. He didn't know, ah, when they'd be able to pull off autonomy, and so him alongside Williams, you know, ultimately wound down the Titan proj…”
Gurman: Apple views Vision Pro as an eventual iPhone and Mac replacement
“You know, I think Apple sees the Vision Pro as potentially a long-term replacement for multiple different product categories. I think they see it as something, ah, that has potential to replace the iPad as a consumption device, potential to replace the, ah, th…”
Gurman: Apple delayed car to 2028 and downgraded to Level 2-plus
“And so the decision was made to delay their planned release date a couple years to the twenty-twenty-eight, twenty-twenty-nine time frame, so about five, six years from now, and re-architect the car around a level two, two-plus design.”
Gurman: Apple canceled car project to reallocate resources to generative AI
“And this was clear admission of failure and admission of a need to disperse some of the resources from that program to other projects at the company, such as the work going on in generative artificial intelligence.”
Gurman: Apple considered acquiring Tesla and met with Musk before passing
“Initially, the first part of the car project was examining what it would take to acquire Tesla, integrate Tesla, and take Tesla to a new level under Apple ownership. And so they spent a lot of time exploring the possibility of acquiring Tesla. Apple's head of …”
Gurman: Elon Musk would have quickly left if Apple acquired Tesla
“I quite frankly don't think Elon Musk would have lasted long at Apple, right, with Tesla. I think Elon Musk would have wanted control. I think Elon Musk would have wanted to run, you know, probably the whole company, obviously a very ambitious guy, and certain…”