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| Apple loses chief engineer on its car project |
Michael Schweikoch, engineering director of Apple's Special Projects Group, which will work on self-driving vehicles, has joined Archer Air Taxi as Senior Vice President of Engineering.
The move is the latest example of employee loss at Apple's secret car project. The former vice president of special projects, Doug Field, left in September to lead Ford's emerging technology business, which is the former automaker's priority as part of its new transformation plan.
This development also shows that tech startups can attract the most skilled engineers. Schweikoch was the vice president of engineering at Tesla and holds more than 100 patents related to vehicle design. He also studied the prototype of the Tesla plaid system. He has managed the production of electric drive systems for several Tesla, Porsche and BMW models.
Archer operates a vertical electric air taxi for take off and landing. Like its competitors Lilium and Joby Aviation, Archer's goal is to carry passengers over short distances while avoiding road transport and the noise and emissions of conventional gasoline-powered aircraft and cars.
The company has developed a model called Maker that can carry a passenger and pilot and is developing a model for four people. The company's goal is to start urban aviation services from Los Angeles after obtaining FAA approval for commercial use.
Archer Corporation was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. It went public in September after merging with private acquisition firm SPAC.
Apple threatens the electric car market
Apple never admitted it was developing a car. However, many media outlets have followed his progress since 2014. The company obtained approval to test self-driving cars in California. CEO Tim Cook referred to the company's interests.
Either way, the tech giant's threat to launch a driverless electric car seems clear to investors and the company.
In a new report, Morgan Stanley stock analysts talk about what Apple's cars will look like, its launch date, and how it will affect Tesla and the broader EV market.
"We believe the only thing driving Elon Musk and Tesla's mission is not the ability to make better electric cars than Volkswagen," the note reads. On the contrary, Tesla is motivated to gain all the competitive advantages before Apple dares to take such a step. And this fear of Apple turning Tesla into a BlackBerry is one reason we think Tesla and its mission will be inspired.