Apple has lost another member of the Project Titan team working on its ambitious plans to develop a fully self-driving electric car.
Christopher Moore left Apple after less than a year in the job, where he was on the company’s secret car project. Prior to his short stint at Apple, he was a software engineer as the manager of the robotics team at Tesla.
Moore has now moved to Luminar, a lidar company based in Orlando, Florida, as the new head of its programs.
Moore is one of a group of CEOs from other leading companies to join Luminar, which makes laser sensors that help autonomous vehicles see their surroundings. But his departure from Apple is another indication of the tech giant’s struggle to retain talent for its efforts to create a self-driving electric car – known as Project Titan.
Moore’s departure represents the latest change in Apple’s automotive division, which has undergone many changes over the past several years. Last year the project leader, Doug Field, left the company to join Ford, where he was later named in charge of digital systems for the automaker’s newly created Model E division for electric and self-driving cars.
Apple car project manager resigns
Kevin Lynch, who ran 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, reporting to Stuart Powers, another Tesla entrant who previously served as vice president of engineering. Although the project started in 2014. However, the development of the autonomous electric vehicle is still in its early stages.
Apple previously said it intended to develop only self-driving software. Other automakers could use these software, which in itself was a change of heart for trying to build a car. And in the past year, the company completed a lot of basic work on a new processor aimed at powering the electric car. The company has been accelerating its timetable for the autonomous vehicle it is developing, with a new target to launch within four years. The company believes Project Titan technology may be so reliable that its car will not have a conventional steering wheel and pedals.
