It was reported on October 22 that Tesla’s Director of Autopilot Software Christopher ‘CJ’ Moore left Tesla. Moore had been with Tesla for almost 7.5 years. Today we’re learning that Apple has hired Moore, though his LinkedIn profile has yet to confirm that.
Moore will obviously be a part of the Project Titan team at Apple and will be reporting to Stuart Bowers, another former Tesla executive who joined Apple at the end of last year. Bowers had led Tesla’s Autopilot team before departing in mid-2019. So the hire is a great fit for Apple.
The move suggests Apple is plowing ahead with attempts to develop self-driving technology, a high-stakes race with automakers such as Tesla. Moore is joining a division known for its secrecy — Apple has never publicly laid out its car plans — though has over a hundred patents on record supporting next-gen vehicle technology.
Recently, a lawsuit brought by the estate of a Florida man who died in a 2019 crash while using Autopilot is seeking to call Moore as a witness. Legal documents related to the case revealed in October that Moore had left Tesla.
To learn about the reported politics behind Moore’s departure from Tesla, read the full Bloomberg report.
Apple has made a series of high profile hires for Project Titan in 2021. As early as January we learned that a string of key hires came from Tesla. A few other key hires include Dr. Manfred Harrer former VP of the Product Line Cayenne Bei Porsche AG.
In June, Apple hired Ulrich Kranz, a former senior executive at BMW AG’s electric car division.
And in September, Dr. Anton Uselmann came to Apple via Mercedes where he spent close to four years as a “Development Engineer, Steering System.” Previous to that, Uselmann worked at Porsche for close to 6 years as a “Function Developer, Steering Systems.” His background adds more intrigue to Apple’s secretive project.
It has to be said that there isn’t a company in the world that would amass such a large team of top talent for a “theoretical vehicle.”
Originally published at https://www.patentlyapple.com.
