Doug Field, the head of Apple's electric vehicle project (Project Titan), abruptly left the company to become the chief executive officer of Ford's advanced technology group. Field's departure casts doubt on the progress of Apple's efforts to develop self-driving car technology and builds given he is the fourth executive to leave the project in its seven year history. Apple has struggled to make progress in its goal of developing an autonomous vehicle, with delays, layoffs of engineers, and lack of a clear vision for the project. Field's exit leaves uncertainty around who will replace him and Apple's ability to successfully bring an electric vehicle to market.

1. A key executive at Apple's
self-driving car project exits,
putting the company's next
big initiative at risk

2. The abrupt departure of Apple Inc.’s top
automobile government imperils its efforts
to broaden a self-driving car, a assignment
that’s been visible as one of the tech
large’s largest bets.
Doug Field, a Tesla Inc. Veteran who
joined Apple in 2018 to go up its car
project, left Tuesday to come to be Ford
Motor Co.’s chief superior era officer. The
assertion, which got here after Bloomberg
first stated the news, made handiest
passing reference to Field’s paintings at
Apple.
Field’s go out calls into query the
development Apple has made toward
growing the technology and experience
needed to compete inside the vehicle
industry. It’s simply the ultra-modern
upheaval for the division: Field is the fourth
government main the Apple vehicle task to
step away in its seven-year history.

3. Not that growing self-using motors has
been smooth for anybody else. Tesla, the
market leader in electric powered
automobiles, is still in all likelihood years
away from imparting absolutely
autonomous motors. Alphabet Inc.’s
Waymo has suffered a rash of departures
in its efforts to broaden the technology. And
Uber Technologies Inc. Agreed to sell off its
independent-using department remaining
yr.
Apple’s car efforts have always been a bit
of a paradox -- it’s a hotly anticipated
product that the agency says nearly not
anything about. Field’s authentic identify at
Apple changed into vice chairman of
special tasks, belying the significance of
his function. But he became entrusted with
growing one of the agency’s “next massive
things,” a product that might preserve sales

4. developing the way the iPhone, iPad and
Apple Watch did inside the past decade.
Apple first kicked off plans to expand a
self-riding electric vehicle around 2014,
coming into a race with the likes of Tesla.
By 2016, the challenge become suffering
with confusing messaging from
management, a lack of vision and
problems surrounding self sustaining-
driving generation. Apple additionally
observed it employed too many people and
laid off masses of engineers from the
project in 2016 and 2019.
Around the time of the first layoffs, former
leader Apple hardware engineer Bob
Mansfield began overseeing the effort --
referred to as Project Titan -- and sought to
refocus at the underlying abilities. Apple
seemed to zero in on the technology that

5. runs self-using cars, in preference to
seeking to construct an entire vehicle itself.
But then Field arrived in Cupertino in 2018.
He had formerly labored for Apple before
main Tesla’s engineering efforts for the
popular Model three, and his go back
become visible as a signal that the
corporation became lower back to
constructing an real vehicle. Field
reshaped the auto institution, bringing in
Tesla’s former executives in price of self-
using software program, automobile
indoors and outdoors designs, and
drivetrains.
After Mansfield retired closing year,
oversight of Field’s assignment shifted to
John Giannandrea, Apple’s pinnacle
government in rate of artificial intelligence.
By late 2020, Apple appeared to be making
progress and attempted to barter offers

6. with a bevy of carmakers for components,
production and other partnerships.
But through early 2021, it changed into still
hard to gauge the organisation’s
development. Despite reports that an
Apple car would pass into production in
three years, human beings familiar with the
situation stated improvement paintings
become nonetheless at an early stage.
Then the departures began anew.
Benjamin Lyon, Dave Scott and Jaime
Waydo -- three of the top Apple car
managers -- all left in the first half of this 12
months.
Filings with the California Department of
Motor Vehicles indicated that its checking
out on public roads in 2020 lagged the 12
months prior and that the reliability of its
generation is still not drawing close

7. competitors like General Motors Co.’s
Cruise and Waymo.
Kevin Lynch, who has run Apple’s
smartwatch and health software efforts,
took over a few software elements of the
auto project. That flow raised its very own
questions in the company for the reason
that Lynch didn’t come from the car
industry.
There have been other adjustments, with
senior engineers from merchandise just
like the iPhone becoming a member of the
enterprise. Apple also hired Ulrich Kranz,
who oversaw panned motors from BMW’s
electric powered car division and had failed
stints as a pinnacle chief of Faraday Future
and Canoo.
It’s unclear who will in the end update Field
and if current managers or Giannandrea

8. will take a bigger function. Apple stated it
needs Field well, however it wouldn’t touch
upon how he would get replaced. Field’s
departure can also suggest that he
believed he had a better shot delivery
electric powered cars at a legacy
corporation rather than Apple --
notwithstanding it being the maximum
treasured generation employer in the
international with nearly endless resources.
After launching the Apple Watch in 2015,
Apple has been in search of leap forward
new product classes to maintain enlarge its
territory and benefit new clients.
Its different forays, including its Apple TV+
streaming carrier, haven’t had lots of an
effect. Apple is running on a headset that
would mix digital and augmented truth, and
it can be announced as early as next 12
months. And it’s running on lightweight AR

9. glasses that might be released later this
decade. But that product class continues to
be nascent, and companies like Google
have didn't find a successful formula.
That’s why so many eyes have been on
Apple’s vehicle potential. If a success, it
can have introduced billions of dollars to
the business enterprise’s backside line.
With Field out, the road to that taking place
is much less immediately clear.