Apple Car's Decade of Development and 'Failure' Detailed in New Report

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett today published an in-depth report examining Apple's decade-long attempt at creating an electric vehicle. The project was reportedly canceled last week after many challenges and setbacks.

Apple car wheel icon Kevin Lynch feature blue revamp

Apple vice president Kevin Lynch, who oversaw the electric vehicle project in its later years

The report described a 2020 prototype of Apple's electric vehicle:

The prototype, a white minivan with rounded sides, an all-glass roof, sliding doors and whitewall tires, was designed to comfortably seat four people and inspired by the classic flower-power Volkswagen microbus. The design was referred to within Apple, not always affectionately, as the Bread Loaf. The plan was for the vehicle to hit the market some five years later with a giant TV screen, a powerful audio system and windows that adjusted their own tint. The cabin would have club seating like a private plane, and passengers would be able to turn some of the seats into recliners and footrests.

Apple once considered acquiring Tesla to bolster its efforts, the report said:

But before sketching out its own designs, Apple considered acquiring Tesla. At that point the electric-car maker's success was far from assured, and its value was less than $30 billion, or a 20th of what it is today. Adrian Perica, Apple's head of corporate development, held a series of meetings with Elon Musk. But Cook, who'd succeeded Jobs three years earlier, shut the deal down while negotiations were still at an early stage.

Apple also considered partnering with or acquiring Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Ford, Volkswagen, McLaren, and other automakers, according to the report:

Talks with Mercedes-Benz progressed further. For a few months, Apple and the German automaker actively worked on a partnership similar to the Tesla idea, but with a twist. Mercedes would manufacture Apple's vehicle, while it would also sell its own cars with Apple's self-driving platform and user interface. Apple eventually pulled out, in part because the early work gave its executives confidence they could build a car on their own, people involved in the failed deal say.

The project was ultimately a "failure" due to indecision, the report said:

But Apple never got close to realizing its original vision, or any of its subsequent ones. It didn't get as far as testing a full-scale prototype on public roads. That it didn't is partly thanks to the enormous technical difficulty of its self-driving goals, as well as the punishing economics of the automaking business. The project was also a failure, at the highest levels of the company, to settle on one thing and do it.

The report detailed how Apple's COO Jeff Williams and Apple Car chief Kevin Lynch broke the news of the project's cancellation to employees:

The meeting lasted about 12 minutes. Both men thanked the staffers for their work and got straight to the reorg and layoffs. Some employees would immediately get shifted to Apple's AI division, and some would move over to software engineering. A chunk of the team, though, was immediately without a job. Hardware engineers would have the opportunity to apply for roles in other groups, but there aren't spots for everyone. Other employees, such as the hundreds of car-specific engineers, test track technicians, self-driving car testers and automotive safety experts, received emails with their severance packages. As for the Arizona track, Apple is already working to sell it.

Other notable details mentioned in the report include that Steve Jobs was apparently first to raise the idea of Apple building a vehicle, and that some Apple employees received a tour of Jay Leno's garage and his car collection early on.

Bloomberg's full report is a worthwhile read for those interested in learning more about Apple's vehicle project, and we also shared our own recap last week.

Popular Stories

iphone 17 dummies sonny dickson

iPhone 17 Air Almost as Thin as Its Buttons, New Images Show

Thursday April 24, 2025 2:14 am PDT by
If you missed the video showing dummy models of Apple's all-new super thin iPhone 17 Air that's expected later this year, Sonny Dickson this morning shared some further images of the device in close alignment with the other dummy models in the iPhone 17 lineup, indicating just how thin it is likely to be in comparison. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be around 5.5mm thick – with a thicker ...
iphone 17 air dummy unbox therapy

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
ipad air windows 11 arm

M2 iPad Air Runs Windows 11 ARM via Emulation, Thanks to EU Rules

Tuesday April 22, 2025 5:01 am PDT by
A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect. As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Launching Later This Year With These 16 New Features

Thursday April 24, 2025 8:24 am PDT by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device. Overall, the iPhone 17 Air sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a...
Global Close Your Rings Day Pin

Apple Stores Giving Away a Limited-Edition Pin For Free Today

Thursday April 24, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Starting today, April 24, Apple Stores around the world are giving away a special pin for free to customers who request one, while supplies last. Photo Credit: Filip Chudzinski The enamel pin's design is inspired by the Global Close Your Rings Day award in the Activity app, which Apple Watch users can receive by closing all three Activity rings today. The limited-edition pin is the physical...
Apple Logo Spotlight Blue

White House Hits Back at Apple's Massive EU Fine

Thursday April 24, 2025 5:57 am PDT by
Apple's $570 million fine from the EU has triggered a sharp rebuke from the White House, which called the fine a form of economic extortion, Reuters reports. The fine was announced on Wednesday by the European Commission, following a formal investigation into Apple's compliance with the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA), a landmark piece of legislation aimed at curbing the market dominance of ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...

Top Rated Comments

TheLinkster Avatar
15 months ago
Gurman has zero credibility. I'd sooner read a "report" on the benefits of cocaine written by Pablo Escobar.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mac Fly (film) Avatar
15 months ago
In summary: when Steve died so did his balls.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sunny5 Avatar
15 months ago
1. Apple has no technology to build a car. I mean literally, the car technology is not simple but extremely complicated and requires different types of technology that Apple does not have.

2. Nobody wished to outsourcing for Apple. They all know how thinks work and they seriously hate how Apple treated them.

3. It's just a stupid move from the beginning and a lot of experts already expected their failure 10 years ago. Nothing new.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
erikkfi Avatar
15 months ago
Acquiring an existing automaker would be a smart move, especially one that you might be able to buy at fire-sale prices and then fix up (Rivian or Fisker?). Then they'd be committed and probably would've gotten more focus instead of zig-zagging between "a car is infrastructure and hardware" and "a car is just software" (plot twist: it's both ??‍???‍?).
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
madmin Avatar
15 months ago
Looking forward to a similar report about Vision Pro and then how Apple are doing a reset with a new executive team
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aj_niner Avatar
15 months ago

3. It's just a stupid move from the beginning and a lot of experts already expected their failure 10 years ago. Nothing new.
Reminds me of doomers speak of the

- iMac
- iPod
- iPhone

But to be fair the failed Apple Car may be to the wrong people being put in charge of it. They needed people in the automotive industry working for them rather than Mac, iPhone or iPod people.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)