14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has never confirmed the Apple Car, but this doesn’t necessarily the project doesn’t exist. It does, and what’s more, it’s such a big thing for the Cupertino-based tech giant that the company is making big efforts to get everything right, even at this early point in the development phase.
On the other hand, people working on the Apple Car keep coming and going, and the most recent report from Bloomberg reveals that another key director has decided to depart the company.
More specifically, CJ Moore, who joined Apple the last August to become the company’s chief of global software development, has left the firm to work for Luminar. Previously, Moore was an engineer for Tesla and was specifically focused on the development of the autopilot software.
Apple Car coming in 2025
While Apple obviously hasn’t said a single thing about the departure, Luminar actually confirmed CJ Moore is the company’s latest high-profile signing.
“Luminar , the global leader in automotive lidar hardware and software technology, announced several new additions to its technical leadership. Taner Ozcelik, the founder of Nvidia’s automotive business, joins Luminar as executive vice president and general manager to oversee product development, R&D, program management, and Luminar’s semiconductor subsidiaries. CJ Moore, who served as director of Autopilot software at Tesla and most recently a director of autonomous systems at Apple, is joining Luminar to lead its software program and realize its vision for next-generation safety and autonomy,” the company said.
Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that his role isn’t already filled by another Apple engineer. However, no such information is available at this point, though what we do know is that the project is still on track to be announced in 2025 at the earliest, obviously if the development advances according to the schedule.