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| Apple's secret car project is in trouble again |
Apple has lost another Project Titan team member working on ambitious plans to develop fully autonomous electric cars.
Christopher Moore left Apple after less than a year working on the company's secret car project. Prior to his short stint at Apple, he was a software engineer and head of the robotics team at Tesla.
Moore has now joined Luminar, a lidar company based in Orlando, Florida, as the new project leader.
Moore is one of the CEOs of other large companies that has joined forces with Luminar, which makes laser sensors that help self-driving cars sense their surroundings.
But his departure from Apple is another sign of the tech giant's efforts to retain the talent to develop a self-driving electric car called Project Titan.
Moore's departure marks the latest change in Apple's automotive division, which has undergone many changes over the past several years.
Project manager Doug Field, who left the company last year to join Ford, was later named head of digital systems for the company's new E-Model electric and autonomous vehicle division.
Apple's Automotive Project Manager Resigns
Kevin Lynch, who led the Apple Watch division after serving as the company's chief technology officer, has been chosen to replace Field.
Moore joined Apple in November 2021 to work on the autonomous driving program and report to fellow Tesla, Stuart Powers, who previously served as vice president of engineering.
The project began in 2014. However, the development of autonomous electric vehicles is still in its infancy.
Apple previously announced its intention to develop independent software only. Other automakers can use the software, which in itself is a change from the auto industry.
Over the past year, the company has done a lot of preliminary work on a new processor to power electric cars.
The company has accelerated the timeline for the self-driving cars it's developing, with a goal of launching a new market within four years.
The company believes Project Titan technology can be so reliable that its cars do not have conventional steering wheels and pedals