Maybe Apple should do that Let’s cancel multi-billion dollar projects more often. The iPhone maker’s stock rose nearly 1% on Tuesday after falling since the start of the year after Bloomberg scooped the news that Apple had canceled its 10-year-old self-driving car project, Project Titan. As Morgan Stanley analysts said in a research note, the Bloomberg report “would be a positive development if true.” The analyst said he didn’t place any value on the project, believing Apple was too far behind competitors to catch up in the automotive space. In other words, Wall Street seemed to be saying to CEO Tim Cook, “What took you so long?”
If technology companies want to continue to grow, they must make big, risky changes. That’s the nature of business. There is never a guarantee of success. For Apple, which currently generates nearly $400 billion in annual revenue, coming up with new growth businesses that are big enough to make a difference is not easy. So it makes perfect sense that Apple would venture into the huge market of cars. Still, it was clear years ago that Project Titan was a disaster. As The Information outlined in his 2022 in-depth investigation, the car project was fraught with challenges from the start. So while Cook deserves credit for having the discipline to cancel the project, there are questions about why he didn’t make the decision sooner.
