Apple insider Mark Gurman has just revealed that after a decade-long rivalry with Tesla, involving billions of dollars, Apple has scrapped its car project. Some of the staff are being shifted to the GenerativeAI team.
Sources say that Apple disclosed this news internally on Tuesday, catching nearly 2,000 employees involved in the car project off guard and by surprise.
Additionally, COO Jeff Williams and Vice President Kevin Lynch, who are overseeing this initiative, have made this decision together.
These executives informed the staff that the project would gradually wind down, with many employees working on automotive research and development being reassigned to the artificial intelligence department. These employees will now focus on generative AI projects, which are becoming an increasingly important priority for the company.
Abandoning car manufacturing to bet on AI. This strategic shift by Apple could have profound implications for itself and the global tech industry. Many leaders in the automotive and tech industries have also commented on this significant change.
"I was shocked to hear the news that Apple is giving up on car manufacturing," Lei Jun, founder of Xiaomi, said on Weibo immediately.
Having competed in the tech industry for decades, Xiaomi is considered one of the leading tech giants in China. At this moment, Xiaomi is also about to launch its first car, making Apple's decision to cancel its car project even more relatable for Xiaomi and Lei Jun.
Lei Jun also mentioned, "Xiaomi's strategy encompasses 'a complete ecosystem for individuals, vehicles, and homes.' Despite being fully aware of the challenges in car manufacturing, we made an unwavering strategic decision three years ago."
Abroad, as a direct competitor to Apple in car manufacturing, Tesla's founder, Elon Musk, responded to Apple's decision with a post containing only a salute emoji and a cigarette.
Similarly, Li Xiang, a representative of China's new electric vehicle makers at Li Auto, also expressed on Weibo that Apple's decision to abandon car manufacturing in favor of focusing on Artificial Intelligence (AI) is absolutely the right strategic choice, and the timing is appropriate. AI will become the top entry point for all devices, services, applications, and transactions. It's a battle Apple must fight.
Going all-in on AI will be Apple's important mission moving forward. In 2023, ChatGPT caused a stir, sparking a global AI technology revolution that swept through everything from industrial manufacturing to various electronic end devices, including smartphones and smart cars, resulting in revolutionary changes.
At the start of this year, the top 5 domestic smartphone manufacturers all regarded AI as their core competitive strength, with more than two of them actively proposing a shift towards AI-driven smartphone development.
In the global market, Microsoft and Google, who were the first to launch large models and AIGC products, saw their stock prices soar, with Microsoft's stock price at one point surpassing Apple's. In contrast, Apple's deployment in AI has been relatively slow and has yet to bring any surprises to the public.
The most typical example remains in the smartphone sector, where leading Chinese manufacturers like OPPO, vivo, Huawei, and Xiaomi have quickly deployed edge AI large models in their latest flagship models, introducing core features such as image generation, automatic erasure, and global search, while the Apple iPhone has yet to introduce any large model applications.
In the past, Apple pioneered and led the "golden age" of smartphones, but it has fallen behind in the upcoming AI trend. As the world's largest tech giant, this has created a deep sense of crisis.
As Li Xiang said, "If Apple succeeded in making cars, it would add $2 trillion to its market value, but the essential condition for the success of cars is still artificial intelligence.
The electrification of cars is the first half, but AI is the final match." "The AI extension of smartphones is in bits, whereas the AI in cars is in atoms, spanning both the digital and physical worlds."
To put it simply, the future is all about AI. Compared to the pipe dream of creating a "fully autonomous car," ALLinAI is Apple's crucial strategic focus and a key opportunity they can't afford to miss.
