On February 27th local time, multiple foreign media reported that Apple had disclosed internally that it would stop its electric vehicle project. This decision surprised nearly 2000 employees of the car manufacturing project, with some automotive hardware employees being laid off and some employees being transferred to Apple's artificial intelligence (AI) department.
Apple did not comment on the above news. According to reports, Apple has abandoned a decade long effort to build cars and the most ambitious project in its history, which was once seen as a potential change in the automotive industry.
It is worth mentioning that Tesla CEO Musk shared the news on social media that Apple has stopped making cars, accompanied by two expressions of salute and smoking.
On the 28th, Li Xiang, CEO of Ideal Automobile, posted on Weibo that Apple's decision to abandon car manufacturing and focus on artificial intelligence is an absolutely correct strategic choice, and the timing is also appropriate.
Li Xiang stated that with the development of TOC artificial intelligence, Apple will become a $10 trillion enterprise; If artificial intelligence loses, Apple will become a $1 trillion enterprise. Artificial intelligence will become the top entry point for all devices, services, applications, and transactions, and Apple's battleground. Making a car and achieving great success, Apple will increase its market value by $2 trillion, but the necessary condition for car success is still artificial intelligence. The electrification of cars is the first half, and artificial intelligence is the final.
Li Xiang also stated that the artificial intelligence extended by mobile phones is bits, the artificial intelligence of cars is atoms, and artificial intelligence spans both the digital and physical worlds. The three necessary conditions for the success of artificial intelligence are talent, data, and computing power.
Li Xiang stated that at the strategic level, if a new business can focus on one, it will never do two. Additionally, choosing the one that is the largest and closest to one's core advantage is unlikely to be a good strategy.
Lei Jun also posted on Weibo, saying: I was very shocked to see this news! Xiaomi's strategy is "the whole ecology of people and cars". We are well aware of the difficulty of building cars. Three years ago, we still made an extremely firm strategic choice to build a good car for Rice noodles!
Xiaopeng Automobile Chairman He Xiaopeng stated that last year there was a discussion that all new entrants to the automotive industry would be listed within 2024, except for Apple. The decade after 2024 will enter the knockout stage and the All Star Game. But I didn't expect Apple to play such a card in 2024.
As early as 2014, Apple began exploring electric vehicle projects, known as the Titan Project. At its peak, Apple had over 5000 R&D personnel.