In the past Tim Cook has made some light comments on the rumors of an Apple Car, saying that the “Christmas morning feeling” would be here for quite some time. However, we now are closer to an official confirmation. The California DMV has granted Apple a permit for autonomous vehicle testing.
This was spotted on the DMV’s website which lists the 29 companies that have these permits, and it was first spotted by Business Insider. Other companies on that list include Tesla, Google, BMW, Honda, and several others. It is a mix between big name car manufacturers and newer technology companies.
While this is not a confirmation from Apple, that they are working on a vehicle, this is the closest we have come. Apple is not the type of company that will confirm rumors or reports on them until they take a stage at a launch event. However, this certainly shows that they are working on a car or at least some car-centric technology, specifically around self-driving vehicles. This is a step forward that CarPlay which serves as a way to use an iPhone in a car and it has grown in adoption.
The main takeaway here is that Apple has been granted a permit for autonomous vehicle tests from the California DMV and not much more than that. Hopefully the rumor mill might heat up in the future, but for now “Christmas morning feeling” is certainly heating up.
