California Department of Motor Vehicles canceled Apple’s permission to test autonomous vehicles, definitively closing the chapter on what the Apple Car could have been.
Apple definitively says goodbye to its electric car
Apple requested the cancellation of its permit to test self-driving cars in California on September 25, 2024, and the DMV officially revoked it two days later. This permit, obtained in 2017, allowed the company to test autonomous vehicles with safety drivers until 2025, but Apple decided cancel it voluntarily.
In this way, the end of its electric car project, which had been in development for more than a decade, is confirmed due to the multiple challenges encountered in the process.
During that time, Apple used Lexus-branded SUVs equipped with sensors and cameras to test its self-driving technologies on California roads. Although there was some expectation from the industry and users, testing did not seem to be progressing at the pace many expected, and signs that the project was in danger began to appear more frequently.
The cancellation of the permit to test autonomous cars in California marks the closing of a stage for Applewho has decided to focus on other projects. Although the company never publicly confirmed the details of its electric vehicle, expectations were high due to Apple’s fame for transforming industries with innovative products, as happened with the iPhone or the Apple Watch. The Apple Car, as it was informally known, seemed to be the next big thing for the company.
Apple focuses on Car Play
However, the cancellation of the project does not mean that Apple is completely abandoning the idea of entering the automotive world. In recent years, the company has concentrated efforts on improve CarPlayits vehicle connectivity system, which allows seamless integration between the iPhone and car infotainment systems. The recently announced next generation of CarPlay offers full control of car functions, suggesting that Apple could be headed toward a less ambitious but equally influential approach to the automotive industry.
With the cancellation of the permit and the confirmation that Apple will no longer continue testing autonomous vehicles, the dream of the Apple Car seems to have come to an end.
Although Apple has not made an official announcement about the future of its automotive efforts, it is clear that the company will continue to look for ways to integrate itself into users’ lives, whether through software like CarPlay or through other technological innovations. The Apple car, for now, will remain as one of the Cupertino company’s great failed projects.
