Apple’s electric auto project just lost its top exec

Apple’s long-rumored but unofficial electric auto may be further along than people have thought, providing further evidence that work on the still-unannounced project is well underway.

Apple’s Jony Ive, the company’s chief design officer, recently “expressed his displeasure” with some form of the Apple Car recently – presumably the design or the direction the initiative, dubbed “Project Titan” inside Apple, was heading. Apple had also faced problems finding a manufacturing site and at the time had considered the possibility of partnering with an existing automotive manufacturer, according to a September AppleInsider report.

Those efforts seem to be continuing, based on Zetsche’s comments to Welt am Sonntag, as reported by Reuters.

“Our impression was that these companies can do more and know more than we had previously assumed”. All that reports have indicated is that Zadesky is leaving for “personal reasons”, without any elaboration.

The man at the helm of the Apple Car project has stated that he is leaving the company.

Apple’s vehicle project, codenamed Titan, has a ship date of 2019 although there are very, very few details available at this time. He began his career as an engineer for Ford, but had spent 16 years at Apple where he played an influential role in the development of the first iPhone and iPod.

The news that Steve Zadesky is leaving Apple has not been confirmed as yet, although according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, he is leaving the company for personal reasons.