<div id="readability-page-1">Tesla engineers deflected calls from Apple on a daily basis while the tech giant was developing its now-defunct electric vehicle program, which was known as “Project Titan.” Back in 2022 and 2023, Apple was developing an EV in a top-secret internal fashion, hoping to launch it by 2028 with a fully autonomous driving suite. However, Apple bailed on the project in early 2024, as Project Titan abandoned the project in an email to over 2,000 employees. The company had backtracked its expectations for the vehicle on several occasions, initially hoping to launch it with no human driving controls and only with an autonomous driving suite. <blockquote>Apple canceling its EV has drawn a wide array of reactions across tech</blockquote> It then planned for a 2028 launch with “limited autonomous driving.” But it seemed to be a bit of a concession at that point; Apple was not prepared to take on industry giants like Tesla. Wedbush’s Dan Ives noted in a communication to investors that, “The writing was on the wall for Apple with a much different EV landscape forming that would have made this an uphill battle. Most of these Project Titan engineers are now all focused on AI at Apple, which is the right move.” Apple did all it could to develop a competitive EV that would attract car buyers, including attempting to poach top talent from Tesla. In a new podcast interview with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, it was revealed that Apple had been calling Tesla engineers nonstop during its development of the now-defunct project. Musk said the engineers “just unplugged their phones.” Musk said in full: “They were carpet bombing Tesla with recruiting calls. Engineers just unplugged their phones. Their opening offer without any interview would be double the compensation at Tesla.” Interestingly, Apple had acquired some ex-Tesla employees for its project, like Senior Director of Engineering Dr. Michael Schwekutsch, who eventually left for Archer Aviation. Tesla took no legal action against Apple for attempting to poach its employees, as it has with other companies. It came after EV rival Rivian in mid-2020, after stating an “alarming pattern” of poaching employees was noticed. The post Tesla engineers deflected calls from this tech giant’s now-defunct EV project appeared first on TESLARATI.</div>

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Tesla engineers consistently deflected calls from Apple during the development of its now-canceled electric vehicle project, Project Titan. Apple aimed for a 2028 launch with autonomous driving capabilities but abandoned the project in early 2024. The company faced challenges in competing with industry leaders like Tesla, leading to a shift in focus for many Project Titan engineers towards AI. Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed that Apple attempted to recruit Tesla engineers aggressively, offering significantly higher compensation, but Tesla did not pursue legal action against Apple for these recruitment efforts.

- Apple developed its electric vehicle program, Project Titan, in secrecy but ultimately canceled it in early 2024, disappointing expectations for a fully autonomous launch.  
- During the development, Apple aggressively sought Tesla engineers, with Elon Musk stating they received countless recruitment calls, prompting his engineers to unplug their phones.  
- Despite the cancellation, many Project Titan engineers have since shifted their focus to AI at Apple, as the company looks to realign its strategy amid intense competition in the EV market.