There have been a lot of rumors regarding self-driving cars being released in the next couple of years by large companies such as Apple and Google. However, we may have to wait a little bit longer to see these technological advancements as 16-year veteran Steve Zadesky has reportedly left Apple.
Zadesky has been at the helm of the Apple self-driving car project for the past two years and its development would definitely take a big hit now that he is gone. He is apparently leaving due to personal reasons, but no details about his departure have been released so far, says the Wall Street Journal.
Prior to working for Apple, Zadesky worked as an engineer at the Ford Motor Company. Upon his arrival at Apple in 1999, he worked on various high profile projects such as the first iPhone and iPod. With such experiences under his belt, it is not hard to see how it is a big shock that he left, much less how big of a loss it is considering his role at the project.
The Apple Car project was set into motion in 2014 and had an initial shipment date sometime in 2019, says PC Mag. (A ship date is the date when Apple's engineers have signed off on all of a product's primary features.) However, this ship date may be moved because of Zadesky's departure. Still, Apple is remaining very secretive and is yet to confirm that they are even working on a car in the first place.
Although Zadesky had an important role in the project, analysts are saying that a company of Apple's caliber will not find it hard to search for a replacement. "While the departure of Apple's head of automobile efforts may seem like a blow, the reality is Apple has enough money and potential to bring in almost anyone they desire," Akshay Anand tells The Verge.
