After five years of working at Tesla, Apple’s former VP of Mac hardware engineering, Doug Field, has returned to Cupertino — but apparently to work on Apple’s autonomous car initiative Project Titan. 
 
 Apple has officially acknowledged rehiring Field, but his specific involvement with Titan was confirmed to Daring Fireball by unnamed sources within the company. According to the report, Field is working alongside Bob Mansfield, a senior hardware engineering VP who briefly “retired” from Apple in 2012 yet remained involved in unnamed special projects for the company, including Titan. 
 
 Titan has been an unusually open secret for years. Reports have claimed that Apple has flip-flopped between advancing and scaling back the project, at one point working to develop an entire next-generation vehicle before deciding to focus more narrowly on specific autonomous systems. Company executives have winked in the project’s general direction, at one point describing cars as the ultimate mobile device, as if they represented a clear next step after Apple‘s successes with smartphones and tablets. 
 
 Field’s return to Apple comes amidst significant vehicle-related employee turbulence at both Apple and Tesla. Both companies have hired and lost numerous automotive experts in recent years, with Apple reportedly laying off hundreds of people during its 2016-2017 scaling back of car development plans. Tesla has experienced numerous departures related to the troubled launch of its entry-level Model 3. 
 
 During his prior five years at Apple, Field led hardware development for the redesigned iMac, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro. He left Apple in October 2013 to lead the development of new vehicles for Tesla and headed up production for the Model 3 before departing to re-join Apple. In a statement announcing his hiring at Tesla, Field said he had started his career “with the goal of creating incredible cars” and had finally found an opportunity to build “the best cars in the world.” 
 
 It looks like he may continue on that path with his old employer. Without explanation, Apple has requested DMV permission to operate a collection of at least 66 self-driving vehicles, which is now amongst the three largest such fleets in California. At least some of the cars are Lexus RX 450h SUVs equipped with exterior sensor arrays. 
 
 But despite occasional vehicular patent filings, it’s unclear whether Apple’s ambitions continue to involve the creation of a full car. One year ago, the company unveiled a self-driving shuttle service called PAIL (Palo Alto to Infinite Loop), using the technology to transport employees between its campuses. PAIL and a rare 2017 comment from Apple CEO Tim Cook regarding the company’s interest in autonomous systems are the most public elements of the company’s continued automotive efforts. 
 
 Titan had an odd moment in the spotlight last month when a former Apple employee was arrested by the FBI as he attempted to leave the country. The employee allegedly copied Titan-related documents from secret Apple servers before starting work at a Chinese autonomous vehicle startup. According to court documents, around 5,000 people had access to the Titan database, a huge number for a secret project at a company that enforces “need to know” access restrictions on information. ||||| Tesla's senior vice president of engineering, Doug Field, is leaving the company for good after previously stepping away for what the company had characterized as a leave of absence. 
 
 Tesla confirmed his departure and said: 
 
 “After almost five years at Tesla, Doug Field is moving on. We’d like to thank Doug for his hard work over the years and for everything he has done for Tesla.” 
 
 The Wall Street Journal first reported his departure. ||||| Doug Field Returns to Apple After Leaving Tesla 
 
 Here’s some interesting hiring news I’ve heard through the little birdie grapevine:1 Doug Field — who left Tesla in May after overseeing Model 3 production — has returned to Apple, working in Bob Mansfield’s project Titan group. Apple spokesperson Tom Neumayr confirmed with me only that Field has returned to Apple, but no one should find it surprising that he’s working on Titan. 
 
 Field previously worked at Apple as a VP of Mac hardware engineering before leaving for Tesla in 2013. So he spent years working closely (and successfully) with Mansfield on Mac hardware, and spent the last few years as senior VP of engineering at the world’s premier electric carmaker. That makes Field a seemingly perfect fit for Titan. 
 
 I wouldn’t read too much into any single hire, and the employee exchange program between Apple and Tesla continues to flow in both directions. But I think it’s an interesting hire, primarily because it suggests to me that Apple still has an interest in making actual vehicles, despite reports that the company has scaled back the project to merely make autonomous systems for inclusion in vehicles made by other companies. That rumor never really made sense to me anyway — Apple’s modus operandi has always been to make the whole widget. Apple makes products, not components. Field returning to Apple also suggests to me that under Mansfield’s leadership, the Titan project has regained its footing after its infamously rocky start. 
 
 And you have to love the idea of any project being led by guys named Bob and Doug, eh. ||||| tsla-8k_20180702.htm 
 
 UNITED STATES 
 
 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 
 
 Washington, DC 20549 
 
 FORM 8-K 
 
 CURRENT REPORT 
 
 Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of 
 
 The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
 
 Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) 
 
 June 27, 2018 
 
 Tesla, Inc. 
 
 (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) 
 
 Delaware 001-34756 91-2197729 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer Identification No.) 
 
 3500 Deer Creek Road 
 
 Palo Alto, California 94304 
 
 (Address of principal executive offices, including zip code) 
 
 (650) 681-5000 
 
 (Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) 
 
 (Former name or former address, if changed since last report) 
 
 Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2): 
 
 ☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) 
 
 ☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) 
 
 ☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) 
 
 ☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) 
 
 Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2 of this chapter). Emerging growth company ☐ 
 
 If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐ 
 
 Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. 
 
 (b) 
 
 As of June 27, 2018, after almost five years at Tesla, Doug Field, Senior Vice President, Engineering, is moving on from the company. Tesla would like to thank Doug for his hard work over the years and for everything he has done for Tesla. 
 
 
 
 
 
 SIGNATURES 
 
 Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized. 
 
 TESLA, INC. By: /s/ Todd A. Maron Todd A. Maron General Counsel 
 
 Date: July 2, 2018 ||||| Doug Field, the former VP of Mac hardware who left Apple to become Tesla’s chief vehicle engineer, has returned to Cupertino. Apple confirmed the news to Daring Fireball’s John Gruber, who separately reports that Field is now working on the company’s secretive “Project Titan” self-driving car program. 
 
 Field ran Tesla’s vehicle production and engineering, but CEO Elon Musk took over responsibility for production this year after the company failed to meet its initial first-quarter goal for the Model 3. Field then took a leave of absence in May, and subsequently left the company altogether in June. 
 
 Project Titan has reportedly been scaled back considerably from its initial scope, with hundreds of people leaving the division as Apple is said to focus on seeking carmaker partners for its self-driving software. Gruber speculates that Field’s return to Titan suggests Apple could still have an interest in producing vehicles itself, while cautioning that employees do move between the two companies regularly.
– One Silicon Valley wheel just circled back to its starting point. A top Apple engineer who left in 2013 to join Tesla as its chief vehicle engineer is back with his former employer. The Verge reports that Doug Field, who'd been the VP of Mac hardware for the Cupertino giant, took a leave of absence from Tesla in May, followed by a full departure in June. Reuters and John Gruber at Daring Fireball got first confirmation on the development from Apple, along with whispers that Field is now working on Apple's hush-hush Project Titan self-driving car initiative (Apple didn't confirm that part). VentureBeat calls Project Titan Apple's "unusually open secret," with claims "that Apple has flip-flopped between advancing and scaling back the project." Gruber says he's not ready to make too much of Field's return—and he notes that Apple and Tesla regularly swap employees—but he says it's an "interesting" move, as it suggests Apple might still be planning to churn out autonomous vehicles itself rather than simply making systems to place in other companies' vehicles. "That rumor never really made sense to me anyway," Gruber writes. "Apple's modus operandi has always been to make the whole widget."