Apple Car permits got cancelled shortly before Tesla's autonomous Robotaxi unveiling

Apple is putting the kibosh on everything related with its car project, including the autonomous driving test permits it has held since 2017.

After dismantling the Apple Car team and redirecting its efforts towards other fields within the company, Apple has now phoned the DMV in California to cancel their Autonomous Vehicles Program Manufacturer’s Testing Permit.

Every automaker that wants to offer a higher level of driver-assist features, has to undergo rigorous testing procedures that are mapped out in the DMV program for autonomous vehicle permits.

Apple got one about seven years ago, when it started working on the so-called Project Titan electric vehicle program. It even had cars on the road testing self-driving features, as well as several legacy automakers like Hyundai plus its chief iPhone assembler, Foxconn, lined up as potential Apple Car manufacturers.

After spending about $10 billion on the project, however, it came to the realization that its efforts are nowhere near as competitive as it wanted them to be, and threw in the towel, disbanding the team, and dispersing its members throughout its robotics, AI, and other relevant departments.

Tesla, meanwhile, is now all in on EV autonomy. Regardless of whether the Robotaxi will see the light of day on the promised date in 2026, or much later as typically happens with Elon, it has already made strides in FSD development that are likely years ahead of where Apple would've been had it continued to pursue Project Titan.

Still, the fact that Apple cancelled its Autonomous Vehicles Program Manufacturer’s Testing Permit on the run-up to the truly self-driving Robotaxi's announcement, is pretty telling.

On September 25, 2024, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) received confirmation from Apple Inc. to cancel the Autonomous Vehicles Program Manufacturer’s Testing Permit (AVT030). This permit is hereby canceled, effective September 27, 2024.

Two weeks after the Apple Car permits cancellation, Elon Musk got on the stage and showed a fully autonomous electric car without pedals or a steering wheel, as well as a self-driving Robovan minibus of sorts.

One of the reported reasons Apple cancelled its car project, besides the fact that it might have had to price it below cost, is that the design wouldn't have been nearly as futuristic as envisioned in the beginning.

Now, if Elon Musk's promise history is any indication, the Robotaxi is not going to hit public roads any time soon, but he certainly got his wish of having a futuristic and instantly recognizable design with a whiff of the Cybertruck at the front.

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