Apple is working on its self-driving car project, Project Titan, for several years. This week, apple confirmed that they dismissed more than 200 employees from Project Titan.
Apple still believe that there is a huge opportunity in self-driving car. However, their team focus their work on several key areas for 2019. Some people inside of Apple said this week’s dismissals were a restructuring under the new leadership since former chief tesla vehicle engineer Doug Field returned to Apple in August 2018.
However, it can also be a sign that Project Titan with lower priority now. In an interview [1] with “Mad Money” host, Apple CEO Tim Cook said he believes health will be Apple’s greatest contribution to mankind. He also addressed that Apple will announce new services this year.
It was also around August 2018 that Apple market capitalization exceeded $1 trillion, becoming the first company in the history of U.S. stocks. Its peek was in Oct, 2018. Apple stock price climbed to $233. And then, Apple stock price lost around 30%, is about $157 now. Apple just has too many troubles recently. New iPhone smartphone including iPhone XR and other new models are not selling well. Some suppliers have reported that Apple has significantly reduced its orders. The patent dispute with Qualcomm is still going on.
[1] Tim Cook teases new Apple services to come in 2019
[2] iPhone orders cut for the second time, claims supply-chain report