It's still unbelievable to think Apple spent $1 billion a year for 10 years developing a car that never came out
- Apple spent nearly $10 billion and 10 years trying to build a car
- The car was supposed to have self-driving capabilities
- However, the project was plagued with issues
Published on Jan 06, 2025 at 1:35 AM (UTC-5)
by Nalin Rawat
Last updated on Jan 06, 2025 at 8:23 AM (UTC-5)
Edited by
Kate Bain
Apple spent more than $10 billion on the Apple Car and even considered buying Tesla before canceling the project in early 2024.
The project, codenamed Titan, started in 2014 with the company spending more than $1 billion on research and development every year.
During development, the project faced many issues that ultimately led to its cancellation.
It was supposed to be an car with self-driving capabilities that would cost at least $100,000.
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Apple blew $10B on Apple Car and considered buying Tesla
At first, Apple considered simply acquiring Tesla in 2014 as the startup automaker was worth just under $28 billion.
However, they later decided to set up their own automotive R&D program for the Apple car.
The car was supposed to be a fully autonomous (level 5) vehicle and the plan was to bring it to market by 2020.
Designed to be a minivan, capable of driving anywhere without a human at the wheel.
However, Apple struggled with developing the software and algorithms for a car with autonomous driving.
This and many other problems led to the Apple car being delayed to 2025.
Internal issues
Internally, many Apple employees also suspected that the project was likely to fail from the beginning.
The project also had four different leads over the past 10 years.
Over these 10 years, the design of the car also changed to a curved pod with gullwing doors.
However, estimates put Apple’s cost of building the car at $120,000, which was too expensive.
Despite the Tesla deal not going through, Apple considered alternate options.
They also considered partnering with or buying other automakers, including BMW, Canoo, Ford, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen.
In the end, the company finally canceled the Apple car and decided to use what it had learned in other projects like home robots.
Some images in this article were created with AI
Nalin started his career by working with various national newspapers in India. He has also worked as a writer/editor for many popular websites, while still pursuing his journalism and mass communication degree. Working as a digital nomad has allowed him to inform and educate through his work. When he is not writing, you can find him playing video games or travelling the mountains on his bike.
