--- description: Officially, Apple has no unconfirmed plans to build an electric car. Unofficially, that project has a new leader. title: Meet the Executive Leading Apple's Secret Car Project image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4179ab2283617098/698879eacf40a84fe4c418f5/biztech-illos-apple-car2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Meet the Executive Leading Apple's Secret Car Project  by [Lisa Eadicicco](/author/lisa-eadicicco/)  ## Lisa Eadicicco Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 25, 2016 4:17 PM CUT  Martin Gee for TIME  by [Lisa Eadicicco](/author/lisa-eadicicco/)  ## Lisa Eadicicco Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 25, 2016 4:17 PM CUT Officially, Apple has no confirmed plans to build an electric car. Unofficially, that project has a new leader. Bob Mansfield, a former member of Apple’s executive team who played a role in developing key products like the iPad, is being tapped to lead the company’s car efforts, according to [_The Wall Street Journal._](http://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-taps-bob-mansfield-to-oversee-car-project-1469458580 "undefined") Before transitioning to the auto initiative, internally called Project Titan, Mansfield [worked on special projects](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-07-29/apple-s-bob-mansfield-shifts-work-to-special-projects "undefined") at Apple, a division that churns out products in new categories, like the Apple Watch. Mansfield [was](http://allthingsd.com/20130728/apple-removes-svp-bob-mansfield-from-executive-team/ "undefined") Apple’s senior vice president of technologies until 2013, when he stepped down to take on the special projects role. Prior to leading the technologies group, [Mansfield was](http://allthingsd.com/20120628/apple-hardware-svp-bob-mansfield-to-retire/ "undefined") Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering. Apple employees noticed earlier this month that senior managers on the car project had begun reporting to Mansfield, according to the _Journal_. Apple declined to comment on the situation when approached by TIME. The move comes months after Steve Zadesky, an Apple veteran who was said to be playing a large role in the car project, [departed](http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/edab21e0-c170-11e5-846f-79b0e3d20eaf.html?siteedition=intl#axzz4FR6IeeVX "undefined") the company. Apple is also said to have [hired other auto industry experts](http://time.com/4298992/apple-tesla-cars/ "undefined") for Titan. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4421925/apple-car-rumors-bob-mansfield/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4421925/apple-car-rumors-bob-mansfield/"},"headline":"Meet the Executive Leading Apple's Secret Car Project","datePublished":"2016-07-25T16:17:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:50:18.010Z","description":"Apple employees working on the company's hush-hush have started reporting to company veteran Bob Mansfield","url":"https://time.com/4421925/apple-car-rumors-bob-mansfield/","keywords":["Tech","Apple"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4179ab2283617098/698879eacf40a84fe4c418f5/biztech-illos-apple-car2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lisa Eadicicco","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lisa-eadicicco/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4179ab2283617098/698879eacf40a84fe4c418f5/biztech-illos-apple-car2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"BizTech Illos Apple Car","caption":"BizTech Illos Apple Car","creditText":"Martin Gee for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4421925/apple-car-rumors-bob-mansfield/","name":"Meet the Executive Leading Apple's Secret Car Project"}}]}] ```