Now that Apple has canceled its Apple Car project, the tech giant is canceling its autonomous vehicles program manufacturer’s testing permit, according to macReports.
While Apple’s permit for testing autonomous vehicles with a safety driver, AVT030, was active until April 30, 2025, the company officially contacted the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on September 25, 2024 by phone, to cancel its Autonomous Vehicles Program Manufacturer’s Testing Permit. The permit was formally canceled effective September 27, 2024, bringing a decisive end to the program.
In February Apple canned its Apple Car project and quit all work on an autonomous, electric vehicle. The approximately 2,000 employees working on the vehicle were reassigned to Apple’s generative AI team, laid off, or sent to other divisions within the company.
The Apple Car project began more than a decade ago, and analysts anticipated its release in 2028. Apple invested billions of dollars and hired hundreds of employees for the project.
The tech giant’s original goals for the car were too apparently too ambitious. At one point it was rumored that Apple wanted to make a self-driving car with no steering wheel or pedals, and use voice control with Siri for navigation. However, these eventually scaled back before the Apple Car project was canceled entirely.
