Apple gets permit in California to test selfdriving cars: report

Apple Inc has secured a permit to test autonomous vehicles in California, Reuters reported over the weekend.

The permit allows it to conduct test drives in three vehicles with six drivers, the state Department of Motor Vehicles ( DMV) said on Friday. The vehicles are all 2015 Lexus RX450h cars, according to the DMV.

Although it has never openly acknowledged it is looking into building an electric car, Apple has recruited dozens of auto experts in recent years.

“This does confirm what's long been rumored: that Apple is at least toying with the idea of getting into the autonomous game in some capacity,” said Chris Theodore, president of consultancy Theodore & Associates, and a former vice president at Ford Motor Co and Chrysler.

The permit does not mean Apple is definitely building a car. “This is not necessarily automobiles as initially rumored, but software or possibly hardware associated with autonomous technology,” Theodore said.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment directly on the filing, pointing to a statement the company made in November when it wrote to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on the subject of regulating self- driving vehicles.

“The company is investing heavily in the study of machine learning and automation, and is excited about the potential of automated systems in many areas, including transportation,” Apple's director of product integrity, Steve Kenner, wrote.

Apple joins a growing list of traditional carmakers, technology companies, and small start- ups to test drive cars in California. All seek to be the first to have commercially viable vehicles on the roads.