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It has always been a secret for Apple to develop cars, but it is an open secret for the industry. Last year, Apple poached Tesla's number three, Doug Field, which brought Apple's car-building business back to the spotlight. After the Doug Field, Apple hired Michael Schwekucci, Tesla's vice president of engineering, to lead the powertrain, and there has been speculation that Apple is continuing to develop a mature electric car, or at least a platform.

Recently, foreign media Electrek reported that Schwekucci left Tesla in March and is now a member of Apple's special project team, which is working on secret projects, including the driverless car project Project Titan. Project Titan's initial goal was to design cars, but at some stage it was reduced to platform development and testing. It is rumored that the project will only develop technology for use by existing carmakers or shared travel services.

Schwekucci has long experience in the development of automotive powertrain. He has worked for related engineering companies such as BorgWarner and GKN Driveline, including electric and hybrid systems for BMW i8, Fiat 500 eV, Volvo XC90 and Porsche 918 Spyer.

Schwekucci is responsible for the research and development of power systems at Apple and reports to Doug Field. Doug Field was originally the No. 3 person of Tesla, while Field had worked at Apple for more than 5 years before joining Tesla, leading the development of MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and iMac products. In 2013, Doug Field moved to Tesla, responsible for the development of Model 3.

It is said that Apple's auto project has 1200 employees, including more than 300 from Tesla and more than 170 from Ford.

Last year, Apple filed patents for sunroof systems, seat tactile feedback systems, headlight systems and vehicle vision control, and a "converter architecture" that converts the power of the high-voltage power supply that drives the battery into a low-voltage "converter architecture".

Last year Apple signed a 10-year lease for a nearly 30, 000-square-metre Milpitas warehouse in California, a single-story building on the banks of McCarthy Creek that Apple says is mainly used for "industrial, R & D and manufacturing".

From Doug Field to Michael Schwekucci, from a large number of technology patents to "industrial manufacturing space", there are signs that Apple's car project is in disarray.

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