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Apple Inc. has reportedly abandoned its electric car venture, bringing an end to Project Titan, a highly significant and ambitious project for the company. The decision, announced internally by Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and Vice President Kevin Lynch on February 27, came as a shock to the nearly 2,000 employees involved in the project. The Special Projects Group (SPG), consisting of car team employees, will now shift their focus to generative AI projects within the artificial intelligence division led by John Giannandrea. While some hardware engineers and vehicle designers may have the opportunity to join other Apple teams, the exact number of layoffs is uncertain. The news was met with investor optimism, resulting in a 1.2 percent increase in Apple's stock. Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk took to social media to express his delight, using a salute emoji and a cigarette. Project Titan, which began in 2014, aimed to create a fully autonomous electric vehicle (EV), but encountered various challenges in terms of leadership and strategy right from the start.

A few years back, Doug Field left and is now a top executive at Ford Motor Company. This move also fits in with the current EV market, which is not as hot as it used to be due to high prices and a lack of charging stations. Big car companies like General Motors and Ford are now focusing more on producing hybrid vehicles. Even Tesla, a leader in the US EV revolution, has warned that their expansion rate will be significantly lower this year. According to a forecast by UBS on February 26, domestic EV sales growth is expected to slow down to 11 percent next year, compared to an estimated 47 percent growth rate this year. Despite giving up on electric cars, Apple is still making big investments in other areas, putting $113 billion into research and development over the past five years. The company recently introduced the Vision Pro headset, their first new product category in almost ten years.