Prominent Tesla engineer leaves for Apple

Apple has hired Michael Schwekutsch as senior director of engineering at the company’s Special Project Group. Schwekutsch left Tesla at the beginning of March, where he headed the department that develops the car’s drive system.

At Tesla, Michael Schwekutsch served as vice president of engineering for the electric powertrains, the car’s propulsion system, since 2015. The Electrek website, which specializes in electric vehicles, called his departure from Tesla in early March a major loss for the company. His expertise in drive systems would be invaluable.

At Apple, Schwekutsch joins the so-called Special Project Group. This division also includes the Cupertino-based Project Titan division where Apple is said to be working on software for self-driving cars. In January, Apple pulled another 200 employees from this project. According to Electrek, the arrival of a prominent hardware engineer like Schwekutsch gives the impression that the company still has the ambition to develop its own self-driving car.

Schwekutsch spent twenty years working for powertrain developers such as BorgWarner and GKN Driveline. He then also headed the electric and hybrid powertrain programs for the BMW i8, Porsche 918 Spyder, Fiat 500eV and Volvo XC90, among others.

Screenshot: LinkedIn