Earlier this week, a former Apple hardware engineer admitted to stealing documents that included trade secrets regarding the mysterious automobile branch of the computer giant. While working on a self-driving vehicle project for Apple in 2018, the aforementioned employee was charged with stealing trade secrets.

According to reports, Xiaolang Zhang admitted guilt to felony theft of trade secrets allegations after being accused of obtaining confidential internal Apple files that contained vital data regarding the iPhone maker's autonomous car project. The files specifically contained information regarding a circuit board for the self-driving vehicle project. Circuit boards in automobiles enable a variety of operations, including the use of audio and visual equipment. Electrical components are linked to the circuit boards to guarantee the equipment's proper operation.

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The Compute Team, of which Zhang was a part, specialized in creating and testing circuit boards for autonomous vehicles. Zhang was also charged with stealing reference books that contained details on Apple's prototype and vehicle prototype specifications. Zhang worked at Apple from 2015 to 2018, according to charging filings from the U.S. attorney's office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Latest: Chinese-origin Apple employee accused of stealing trade secrets Xiaolang Zhang, a former Chinese-origin Apple employee is accused of stealing trade secrets about the tech giant's automotive car division, has pleaded guilty in a court in the US.

Xiaolang Zhang, a former Apple employee, who was accused of stealing computer files with trade secrets about Apple's secretive car division, pleaded guilty in San Jose CA today. He faces 10 years in prison & a 10k fine Meanwhile, Orange McFuckFace still walks free

Zhang was detained at the San Jose International Airport in July 2018 as he attempted to flee the country. In the federal lawsuit brought by Apple against Zhang in the Northern District of California, it was claimed that Zhang informed his boss at a meeting that he was quitting his job so that he could see his ailing mother back in China.

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Zhang notified his boss of his ambitions to work for the Chinese electric car company Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Technology, according to the lawsuit (Xpeng). Apple has not yet publicly denied that it is developing a rumored "Apple Car," but Apple Insider, a resource regarding the tech giant's newest endeavors, predicted that the self-driving car may be slated for a 2024 debut.