Ex-Tesla employee switches to Apple: iCar back in sight?
Doug Field was once Apple’s responsible for Mac hardware and then went to work at Tesla as vice president of engineering. Now, however, he turns back to Apple and it looks like (Apple does not want to confirm anything) that he is working on the secret Project Titan. What Project Titan is nobody knows yet, except that it is automotive-related. but you might think that with Field’s return you are working on an Apple car again.
Apple has said ‘on the record’ that they are not busy with a car but that they are working on autonomous car software. This seems to be supported by the hordes of employees who have left Apple for the last couple of years or who in any case no longer cooperate with the project. Recently it became known that there is an autonomous shuttle on the Apple Campus and it could well be that those self-propelled shuttle buses are currently the only result of Project Titan.
Doubtful
The return of Field would unite him with his old boss Bob Mansfield, who is leading the Titan project. The two used to work together on Mac hardware. It could be that recombining the two in combination with Field’s car experience that he has gained at Tesla could mean that Apple dares to think carefully about an iCar again, but then much more needs to be done.
If Apple intends to go much further with the autonomous plans than what we now know / suspect is that they are noticeable quickly enough to the people they are going to attract. The entire Project Titan story is closely watched by Apple bystanders, so when the time comes, the rumor mill is ready. For now, however, it still seems false alarm.