Hyundai tries to cover its tracks by removing mentioning of Apple in earlier Apple Car statement

Hyundai Motor Group confirmed a rumor from Korea Economic Daily in a statement to CNBC on Thursday that it was in early stage discussions with Apple to produce the upcoming electric self-driving Apple Car, internally known as “Project Titan.”

The admission came as a surprise, given that the Apple Car project is strictly top secret and hasn’t been officially confirmed by Apple. However, the car maker said discussion over the production of the vehicle was still in their early stages, and that Apple was approaching a variety of global automakers, including Hyundai Motor.

Now, Bloomberg report that Hyundai have revised their statement, removing all mentioning of Apple. The updated statement reads:

We’ve been receiving requests for potential cooperation from various companies regarding development of autonomous EVs. No decisions have been made as discussions are in early stage.

This is compared to the original CNBC statement that said:

We understand that Apple is in discussion with a variety of global automakers, including Hyundai Motor. As the discussion is at its early stage, nothing has been decided.

Apple will have no doubt come down hard on Hyundai for speaking about an unannounced project and forced the South Korean  company to issue an update. The loose lips of Hyundai may have now stopped any future partnership between the two companies.

Hyundai Motor confirms discussions with #Apple over potential Apple Car production. https://t.co/HCcaL0uFN1 pic.twitter.com/lIbtEC2ExO

— theapplepost.com (@TheApplePost) January 8, 2021