Tesla

Senior Director of Design for Mac lineup leaves Apple for engineering role at Tesla

Apple was trying “very hard” (in Elon Musk’s own words) to recruit top talent from Tesla.

Now that its Project Titan has shifted gear from building an electric vehicle to developing an autonomous driving software, some of the engineers associated with the initiative have departed for Tesla.

Just as we’ve discovered that Swift creator Chris Lattner was leaving the iPhone maker to take a position as Vice President of Autopilot Software at Tesla, Electrek.co is reporting that the guy who designed many of Apple’s iconic Macs will now be building Tesla vehicles.

Swift creator leaves Apple to be Tesla’s VP of Autopilot Software

Swift creator Chris Lattner is leaving Apple to take a position as Vice President of Autopilot Software at Tesla. Lattner announced his departure Tuesday on a Swift.org forum, and Tesla published a blog post shortly after welcoming him to the company.

Lattner has been at Apple since 2005, and is credited with building early versions of the Swift programming language in 2010, before a team was formed to further the project. Most recently, he held the title of Senior Director of the Developer Tools team.

Elon Musk throws shade at Apple and its rumored car project

Tesla CEO Elon Musk threw some serious shade at Apple and its rumored car project in a recent interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt. Business Insider shares the comments, in which Musk calls Apple a “graveyard” for Tesla employees who can’t hack it.

When asked about reports that Apple has hired away important Tesla engineers, Musk replied: “Important engineers? They’ve hired people we’ve fired. We jokingly call Apple the “Tesla Graveyard.” If you don’t make it at Tesla, you go work at Apple. I’m not kidding.”

Apple adds Tesla engineer to growing Project Titan team

Apple has hired a senior engineer from electric car maker Tesla Motors, according to a new report from Reuters. The outlet points to the LinkedIn profile of former Tesla Autopilot Firmware Manager Jamie Carlson, who now works at Apple on “Special Projects.”

Carlson’s profile doesn’t go into details regarding his previous position, but the fact that he worked in the autonomous firmware division of one of the industry’s most technologically advanced companies, is fueling speculation that Apple is building an electric car.

Tesla’s Musk welcomes ‘Apple Car’, says Tesla is poaching 5:1 more employees than Apple

Elon Musk, CEO of electric car company Tesla, had kind words for Apple when asked by an analyst during the company’s quarterly earnings call on Tuesday if he feared an electric car from Apple, given its large customer base and giant cash pile for plenty of research and development spending.

“I actually hope Apple gets into the car business, that would be great,” the outspoken Musk said, showing no concern for the rumors that Apple has plans to launch an electric car in the coming years.

Developer builds Apple Watch app that can fully control his Tesla

Developer Allan Wong posted an interesting video on YouTube today, showcasing his new Apple Watch app Remote S. In the clip, he can be seen using the wearable to control his Tesla Model S, performing tasks such as opening the charging port and adjusting the temperature.

While Tesla’s are pricey and not very common in most circles, the video is extremely impressive and worth watching. This is by far the most in-depth app we’ve seen demonstrated on the Watch, as Wong is able to use it to control nearly every function and feature of his vehicle.

Investors suggest Apple buy Tesla at annual shareholder meeting

Would Apple consider acquiring electric car-maker Tesla? That was the question posed to Tim Cook by two Apple investors during the company’s annual shareholder meeting today. And as you’d imagine, the chief executive gracefully deflected the question.

Recode attended the meeting, and noted Cook responded to the query by talking about CarPlay and its 40+ model rollout this year. “Was that a good way to avoid the question?” When pressed he joked, “let me think if there’s another way to give a non-answer.”

Project Titan: Apple’s secret electric car

Apple has several hundred employees secretly working on creating an electric vehicle, reported the Wall Street Journal on Friday, citing people familiar with the company’s plans. Code-named Titan, the project currently sports the design of a minivan.

According to the Journal, Apple CEO Tim Cook approved the project about a year ago, putting product design Vice President Steve Zadesky in charge. A former Ford engineer, Zadesky has been a long time Apple employee who helped create the iPod and later the iPhone.

Zadesky is said to have created a team strong of 1,000 people, which tends to prove that Apple is serious about the project, rather than considering this electric car a hobby.