Apple Car project loses another executive six months after hire

An automotive engineer who worked on the Apple Car team has left the Cupertino tech giant just days over six months after the company hired him.

C.J. Moore has apparently left the iPhone maker to work at autonomous vehicle technology firm Luminar. Moore will be in charge of the company's global software development team, Luminar said in a press release.

Prior to leaving Apple, he served as the company's director of autonomous systems. Before joining the Cupertino firm in November 2021, he worked at Tesla.

Apple has long been rumored to be developing some type of autonomous vehicular technology, though rumors have changed between underlying software systems and an actual production car.

Turnover on the secretive endeavor, dubbed Project Titan, has been high. Apple's car team has reportedly seen shakeups, layoffs, changes in direction, and other issues since it started in 2014. Kevin Lynch, a veteran software executive of Apple, is the latest leader of the project.

Current rumors suggest that Apple is aiming to make a full electric vehicle, potentially slated for a launch sometime in the 2020s. The vehicle may not feature a steering wheel or traditional driving instruments, and could instead focus on fully autonomous driving.

11 Comments

JWSC 1203 comments · 7 Years

About 2 years ago

Eight long years of spinning it’s wheels. Seems someone could have done a moon program in that time. I suspect that it’s a simple lack of unifying vision. No single leader to take it by the balls. Jobs would have killed the project early on or driven it to completion.

Do or do not. There is no try.

waveparticle 1497 comments · 3 Years

JWSC said:

Eight long years of spinning it’s wheels. Seems someone could have done a moon program in that time. I suspect that it’s a simple lack of unifying vision. No single leader to take it by the balls. Jobs would have killed the project early on or driven it to completion.

Do or do not. There is no try.

Apple does not have a superior solution, just me too project. Jobs tried to find a solution to TV but was never able to.

mpantone 2254 comments · 18 Years

I don't think anyone can declare a research program dead just based on the purported departure of one middle manager from a Fortune 5 corporation.

Note that CJ Moore is taking a VP position at Luminar which likely means more authority and responsibility at a smaller company.

My guess is that he was unhappy with his role at Apple and started looking for new employment a few months after starting at Apple. He didn't even bother sticking with it for a year so it probably tossed away all of his RSUs before any of them vested.

larryjw 1036 comments · 9 Years

I'd be more concerned if the Apple Car engineers and scientists were leaving.

A manager? -- not so much.

fastasleep 6451 comments · 14 Years

JWSC said:

Eight long years of spinning it’s wheels. Seems someone could have done a moon program in that time. I suspect that it’s a simple lack of unifying vision. No single leader to take it by the balls. Jobs would have killed the project early on or driven it to completion.

Do or do not. There is no try.

Lynch is the leader of the project, not Moore. This guy was one of several directors, and for all we know he left for personal reasons that have nothing to do with the project itself.