After over a decade of development, Apple‘s mysterious “Apple Car” project has reportedly taken yet another turn, according to inside sources speaking with Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman. What was once envisioned as a fully autonomous vehicle now looks to be scaled back to a more traditional electric car with limited self-driving capabilities aimed at rivaling Tesla.

This apparent pivot marks a “pivotal moment” for the secretive Project Titan initiative, which has already burned through hundreds of millions in development costs. Insiders see the toned-down car now planned for a 2028 launch as a make-or-break proposition for the entire endeavor.

It’s been a turbulent road for Project Titan. After kicking off sometime around 2014, Apple supposedly set its sights on creating a revolutionary Level 5 fully autonomous vehicle with no need for a driver. Leadership envisioned a car without a steering wheel or pedals, perhaps controlled remotely from a central command center if needed.

However, technical challenges and regulatory uncertainties have repeatedly derailed the project’s lofty goals over the years. The target launch date has been pushed back from 2026 to 2028. And now the autonomy level has reportedly been downgraded as well – first to Level 4 limited self-driving, and now to a Level 2+ system more akin to Tesla’s current Autopilot driver assistance software.

That means the Apple Car will now likely offer features like lane centering and adaptive cruise control, but still require the driver’s full attention at all times. A far cry from the hands-free mobility pod first dreamed up inside Apple’s labs.

According to sources, the decision to scale back ambitions came after “frenzied” high-level meetings in 2023 involving CEO Tim Cook, Apple’s board, and current Project Titan head Kevin Lynch. Lynch took over leadership duties in 2021 after previous captain Doug Field, an Apple alum and former Tesla engineering SVP, left to head up Ford’s electric vehicle program.

Apple’s board apparently put on the pressure regarding the unclear direction of the Apple Car initiative throughout 2023. And while the company still intends to offer Level 4 autonomy someday, it’s become clear that dream remains years away from reality.

The tech giant likely took note of the ongoing turbulence in the self-driving vehicle space. In December, GM subsidiary Cruise – a leading autonomous vehicle startup – laid off nearly a quarter of its workforce after high-profile regulatory run-ins in California. Apple seems to have opted for a more measured approach focused on delivering a real product instead of chasing the cutting edge of possibility.

Of course, Project Titan’s constantly shifting gears means nothing is set in stone. With a potential 2028 debut still years out, insiders caution that leadership could still decide to pull the plug entirely if this pared-back Apple Car vision fails to materialize. After so many pivots and false starts, the company appears committed to finally turning Project Titan from an expensive research experiment into a shipped product, even if it falls short of its original promise.

For now, the Apple Car appears to remain more of a “when” than an “if.” But if the latest reports are true, we likely won’t know for years whether Apple’s long and winding road into autos is ultimately a dead end or just another challenging chapter in realizing its next “one more thing…”