Apple hires Tesla VP to head secret car project (Update)
The committee, which has its first meeting on Jan. 16, is expected to focus on the development and deployment of automated technologies and how advancements may shape future research, policy and regulations under the DOT. The DOT noted that automation is expected to have wide-ranging effects across transportation, including cars, buses, trains, planes and drones.
A host of Silicon Valley executives are listed as being members of the 25-person group, including Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives; Gerry Murphy, Amazon's senior corporate counsel of aviation; Waymo CEO John Krafcik; Rachel Holt, Uber's regional general manager of the U.S. and Canada; and Lyft co-founder and president John Zimmer. Douglas Chey, senior vice president of systems development at Hyperloop One, which has ties to Tesla Motors and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, is also a part of the committee.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti will serve as co-chairs of the committee.
"This new automation committee will work to advance life-saving innovations while boosting our economy and making our transportation network more fair, reliable and efficient," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a statement.
The announcement comes eight days before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. Trump has selected Elaine Chao, who was labor secretary under President George W. Bush, to serve as transportation secretary. Annie Palmer/TheStreet
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| Chris Porritt |
04/19/16 Apple has hired Chris Porritt, Tesla's former vice president of vehicle engineering, according to Electrek. This comes four months after Steve Zadesky, the head of Apple's rumored electric car project, reportedly left the company.
Porritt was hired by Tesla (where he was apparently very close with Elon Musk) in May of 2013 after spending 16 years at Aston Martin, where he was chief engineer. There, he oversaw projects like Aston Martin's One-77 supercar, as well as the development of the VH platform of Aston Martin cars, which included the DB9 and V12 Vantage.
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| Racing cars at Aston Martin |
Porritt isn't the only former Tesla employee to wind up elsewhere this week — just yesterday, the self-driving tech startup Comma.ai hired Riccardo Biasinito to work on autonomous software integration. Of course, the electric and self-driving car industries have proven to be so insular in their infancy that these poachings happen often. Tesla has been known to hire Apple employees the same way that Apple is keen to taking Tesla's talent.
That said, Porritt apparently wasn't necessarily "poached." Tesla has confirmed to The Verge that Porritt left the company in September of 2015.
Apple declined to comment. The Verge