Apple is going to build a car again? Apple SPG gathers a lot of former car companies

Recently, Doug Field, former senior vice president of Tesla, updated his identity information on LinkedIn. His job title is vice president of Apple's Special Projects Group (SPG).

Information on LinkedIn shows that Apple SPG has nearly 1,200 employees, including more than 300 from Tesla and more than 170 from Ford. As of 2018, Apple has hired at least 46 people who worked at Tesla. This year, Apple has also hired former Tesla Autopilot, powertrain, mechanical design and firmware engineers, as well as several global supply chain managers.

In addition, foreign media reported that Apple recently rented a warehouse with an area of ​​approximately 29,000 square meters in Silicon Valley. Considering the size of the warehouse and its single-story layout, this space is likely related to Apple’s car manufacturing business.

As early as 2014, media reported that Apple was building its own car product, internally called "Project Titan."

Apple had planned to cooperate with BMW and Mercedes-Benz, but the cooperation plan came to nothing because the two car companies refused to hand over control of data and design to Apple.

Due to cost pressure and fierce competition in areas such as autonomous driving, Apple has to focus on the development of autonomous driving technology as a priority.

Cook also acknowledged the existence of the "Titan Project" in an interview before, and said that the company has already focused its energy on areas such as AI and autonomous driving.

However, the outside world has always suspected that Apple has not completely given up on making its own cars.

If Apple does not build its own cars, it seems unnecessary for it to spend a lot of money to recruit a large number of executives in the field of automobile manufacturing.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.