Apple, Again, Increases Its Number Of Self-Driving Test Drivers

This week, Apple has added three more safety drivers, according to records from the California Department of Motor Vehicles. The team in California has gone from having 143 members last week to 146 members now. Currently, Apple has 66 cars driving around the streets of California, this number has not changed since the last time we reported:

Current numbers (top 5):

1. GM Cruise: 259 Vehicles and 803 Drivers
2. Waymo: 150 Vehicles and 319 Drivers
3. Apple: 66 Vehicles and 146 Drivers
4. Zoox Inc: 45 Vehicles and 190 Drivers
5. Tesla: 32 Vehicles and 136 Drivers

Apple’s car program has been considered an open secret. Still there are lots of unknown about Apple’s self-driving car project. These numbers are one of the only ways to track what Apple is up to.

There are 63 Autonomous Vehicle Testing Permit holders. This permit requires a safety driver to be behind the wheel. There is also an Autonomous Vehicle Driverless Tester Program. Apple has not applied for a driverless testing permit. As of now, there is only one driverless permit holder: Waymo.