The Apple Car project is one that pops up in the news every once in a while and it's back again, but this time because one of Apple's software engineers is in quite a lot of trouble.
That engineer is called Weibao Wang and they apparently worked as an engineer from 2016 to 2018 before they had to flee to China amid an investigation into the raft of Apple data they allegedly stole from Apple.
The theft apparently involved large quantities of stolen, confidential, and proprietary data that was reportedly taken from Apple.
Six counts
CNBC reports that Wang "has been charged with six separate counts involving the theft or attempted theft of Apple’s 'entire autonomy source code,' tracking systems, behavior planning for autonomous systems, and descriptions of the hardware that was behind the systems."
Want was reportedly at Apple for a year before he took a job with an unnamed Chinese company that was working on its own autonomous driving technology. It's that company that was the recipient of the data stolen from Apple.
It isn't clear whether Wang will ever face the alleged crimes, though. After law enforcement raided his California home in June 2018 he apparently fled to China. If he returns, whether of his own free will or otherwise, he faces up to 10 years in prison for each count.
As for the Apple Car project, that's one that continues to go through a multitude of engineers and managers according to various reports over the years. Nobody seems to really know whether Apple will ever ship a car of its own or strike a partnership with a more traditional carmaker.
For now, Apple will turn its attention to another long-running project. The Reality Pro headset is expected to be announced during the WWDC23 event on June 5 along with the long-rumored 15-inch MacBook Air.
