While reports indicate that Apple is investing in hiring experts for the design of its first vehicle, a historic moment involving a former employee of the company has just gained a new chapter. We’re talking about engineer Xiaolang Zhang, who confessed to stealing trade secrets from Apple’s car project in 2018.
Zhang was arrested at the airport in San Jose, California, while trying to board a flight to China after being accused of stealing a 25-page document from Apple’s self-driving car project that was being developed in 2018. The file contained details of the vehicle’s circuit. that to this day has never seen the light of day.
This wasn’t the engineer’s first trip to China, as suspicions began during paternity leave taken in 2015. Upon returning to the US, Zhang resigned and claimed he needed to stay in China taking care of his mother, but Apple caught him downloading confidential documents on a Linux server, which is prohibited.
According to reports, Zhang intended to work at Xpeng Motors, which is a Chinese electric car maker, but Xpeng has publicly denied any involvement in the case.
Also, Zhang isn’t the only name in Apple’s crosshairs these days. Jizhong Chen was also accused of stealing documents from Apple’s self-driving car project in 2019, but did not confess to the crime. Chen was also linked to China, although he has nothing to do with Xpeng.
At the moment, details about their trial have not yet been released, but the sentence is expected to be issued in the coming months, with Zhang facing 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
