We hear a lot about the autonomous car from Apple, known as the Apple Car. But the last one was about former Apple engineer Xiaolang Zhang. Zhang’s confession is the kind that will change the balance within Apple.
HERE ARE THE CLAIMS AGAINST APPLE ENGINEER!
Xiaolang Zhang was an engineer on Apple’s “autonomous vehicle” project from 2015 to 2018. Former Apple employee Zhang was accused of stealing trade secrets from Apple about its classified auto division. Xiaolang Zhang pleaded guilty in federal court in San Jose.
Zhang was accused of downloading files related to the company’s automobile project, specifically a 25-page document containing engineering schematics of a circuit board for an autonomous vehicle, obtaining reference guides and PDFs describing Apple’s prototypes and prototype requirements. It is also said to be trying to transfer classified materials to the Chinese company XPeng.
When Zhang left his job at Apple, he told his supervisor that he would work for Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Technology, a Chinese electric vehicle startup also known as XPeng.
According to Apple’s investigation, it was also found that Zhang downloaded documents and information from company databases. It is stated that Apple’s cameras even recorded Zhang breaking into the labs and then removing circuit boards and a Linux server.
Zhang could face 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for his crime.
COME OUT WITH THE accusations: IT SHOULD BE TRUE
The accusations also kind of exposed something Apple still often doesn’t acknowledge; Apple is indeed developing autonomous electric vehicles within itself.