Apple Speeds up Self-Driving Car Project

Apple wants to ramp up the development of its electric car with a new focus on making a fully self-driving vehicle, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday (Nov. 18).

Sources close to the project told the news agency that the effort — led by new project leader Kevin Lynch, an Apple Watch executive — is focused on making a car with a self-driving system.

Learn more: Apple Taps Watch Head for Self-Driving Car Project

That’s a change from previous iterations of the project, which saw Apple working on two versions of the car: one with just some self-driving capabilities and a fully autonomous version that requires no human intervention.

This is a the latest in a series of twists in Apple’s effort to get a car on the road, something that has been underway since 2014.

The former head of the project, Doug Field, left Apple to take a job with Ford in September. In hiring Lynch, Apple chose an in-house executive with no car experience.

Earlier this month, the tech giant hired former Tesla software engineer Christopher “CJ” Moore to help develop a self-driving car. Moore is the second Tesla vet recruited by Apple after Stuart Bowers, who left Elon Musk’s company two years ago.

Read more: Apple Hires Former Tesla Engineer to Advance Self-Driving Car Efforts

The Bloomberg report says that by trying to master a self-driving car, Apple — which has said it wants to have the vehicle ready by 2024 — is going after its industry’s “holy grail.” Many tech and auto giants have spent years trying to get a self-driving car on the road, with little to show for their efforts.

Tesla, which leads the electric vehicle market, is likely years away from being able to sell fully autonomous cars. Uber sold its autonomous driving division in 2020. And Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo has seen several departures from its self-driving car project.