Tesla VP Chris Porritt Recently Joined Apple's 'Special Projects' Group

Apple hired former Tesla Motors Vice President of Vehicle Engineering Chris Porritt last year to join its "special projects" group, possibly to spearhead its much-rumored electric vehicle project, according to Electrek.

Chris-porritt-aston-martin

Chris Porritt and the Aston Martin One-77 supercar

Porritt brings decades of experience in the European automotive industry with him to Apple, having worked on vehicle dynamics as a principal engineer at Land Rover between 1987 and 1997 before serving as chief engineer at Aston Martin until 2013.

During his tenure at Aston Martin, Porritt played a significant role in designing the One-77 supercar, while he also led teams that worked on the similarly luxurious DB9 and V12 Vantage. He left the automaker to join Tesla three years ago.

At Tesla, Porritt reportedly worked on the Model S and Model X, in addition to the chassis of the recently-announced Model 3.

Porritt's role at Apple is unsurprisingly secretive, having been assigned the vague title of "Special Projects Group PD Administrator," but his automotive expertise suggests that he could have a senior role within the "Project Titan" team that is widely rumored to be working on the so-called "Apple Car" project.

Following the recent news that alleged "Apple Car" project lead Steve Zadesky would be leaving Apple for personal reasons, Porritt's seniority would make him a strong candidate for a leadership role within the company's secretive automotive team. At least a few Apple engineers are already reporting to him internally, according to the report.

We can confirm that some senior Apple engineers will be reporting directly to Porritt, including Product Development Engineering Director, Albert Golko, who until last year was working for the iPhone group and now on unspecified products. Emery Sanford is also said to report directly to Porritt now. Sanford is a prolific engineer named in dozens of Apple’s patents and who often worked directly with Zadesky, the exec believed to have been in charge of Project Titan until earlier this year.

It is publicly known that Apple and Tesla have been fighting over top employees, and recruiting talent away from each other's respective companies. Tesla CEO Elon Musk once called Apple the "Tesla Graveyard" where fired Tesla employees go to work. Musk has also referred to the "Apple Car" as an "open secret."

GM Tesla
Apple's purported automotive team is believed to include hundreds of employees that previously worked at A123 Systems, Autoliv, Concept Systems, Ford, General Motors, General Dynamics, Land Rover, Tesla Motors, Texas Instruments, and elsewhere. Apple Car R&D could be finalized in time for a 2019 or 2020 launch.

Tag: Tesla

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Everything Apple Announced at WWDC 2025 in 10 Minutes

Monday June 9, 2025 5:21 pm PDT by
At today's WWDC 2025 keynote event, Apple unveiled a new design that will inform the next decade of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS development, so needless to say, it was a busy day. Apple also unveiled a ton of new features for the iPhone, an overhauled Spotlight interface for the Mac, and a ton of updates that make the iPad more like a Mac than ever before. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
iPadOS 26 Apple Newsroom

Apple Says iPadOS 26 is Compatible With These iPad Models

Monday June 9, 2025 11:22 am PDT by
Apple today announced that iPadOS 26 will be compatible with the iPad models listed below. iPadOS 26 features a new Liquid Glass design, a menu bar, improved app windowing, and more. iPadOS 26 supports the following iPad models:iPad Pro (M4) iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later) iPad Air (M2 and later) iPad Air (3rd generation and...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple 'Sherlocked' These Apps at WWDC 2025

Wednesday June 11, 2025 7:14 am PDT by
Apple at WWDC previewed a bunch of new features coming in its updated operating systems, but certain changes will have been met with dismay by third-party developers who already offer apps with equivalent or similar features. In other words, their product has been "sherlocked" by Apple. When Apple creates an app or a feature that has functionality found in a third-party app, it is referred...
iPhone Car Key WWDC 2025

Apple Says These 13 Vehicle Brands Will Soon Offer iPhone Car Keys

Monday June 9, 2025 2:38 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. During its WWDC 2025 keynote today, Apple said that 13...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 26 Includes These 100 New Features and Changes for Your iPhone

Tuesday June 10, 2025 11:59 am PDT by
Apple has announced iOS 26, and the upcoming software update includes a long list of new features and changes for iPhones. The first iOS 26 developer beta is now available, and a public beta will follow next month. The update will be released later this year. iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer. Below, we have provided a high-level overview of 100 new features and changes ...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look. Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
iOS 26 Screens

Here Are All the iOS 26 Features That Require iPhone 15 Pro or Newer

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence. The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...

Top Rated Comments

Dilster3k Avatar
119 months ago
After discussing with other experts in the field, I've concluded that he joined Apple
to work on new Apple Watch straps.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A MacBook lover Avatar
119 months ago
Looks like big score for Apple. All the cars he worked on look stellar.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LordQ Avatar
119 months ago
Aston Martin <3
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jayducharme Avatar
119 months ago
Contrary to what Musk has said, it doesn't sound like Porritt is someone who would have been fired from Tesla, nor does it sound like his presence at Apple constitutes a "graveyard".
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
119 months ago
I wonder if Apple plans on showing anything at all before people start configuring/committing to their Tesla Model 3's. If Apple is quick, people who have Model 3 deposits can still get them refunded and swap to Apple. That's what GM is banking on with the Bolt (but there's little evidence that anyone is actually doing that.) If the Model 3 remains on schedule, Tesla will start asking people to configure their cars and make the full payment in ~15 months.

It seems to me that a large amount of the people who would be interested in an Apple Car if they knew anything about it will instead be purchasing the Tesla Model 3 and so be set for 5-10 years on the car front if Apple fails to say anything before then.

Unless Apple is planning on doing some kind of car share program, where people don't need to make large commitments. But that would be very unique for Apple... up until Apple Music they always had the stance that people prefer to own things.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Keane16 Avatar
119 months ago
Looks like a man with mighty fine taste. Some beautiful cars he's worked on.

Project Titan is the most excited I've been for an Apple rumour since the "Apple Phone".

I hope I can look back in 25 years and view the original Teslas like I think of the early cell phones. Much better in theory than the landlines they replaced, but still lacking. I'd like to see Apple build on the work Tesla, GM, Toyota etc. have done and come up with something I really want to own. Much like the iPhone built on the work Palm, Blackberry, Synbian and the rest did.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)