Project Titan Canceled: What Will Happen to Apple’s DMV Permit?
Reading Time: 2 minutes On February 27, 2024, Apple reportedly canceled its electric car project, putting an end to all the ongoing work on the much-anticipated Project Titan. This means there is no Apple car coming anytime soon. According to Bloomberg, the 2,000 employees working on the project have either been laid off or reassigned to the company’s AI department.
Apple filed for the DMV permit in April 2017 with respect to its plans for testing a self-driving software platform on the streets. Apple currently has 172 licensed test drivers and 67 licensed test vehicles. Since Apple has canceled its electric car project, what will happen to its DMV permit? We asked DMV officials about it, and their response was:
“The permit is still active. Apple’s permit to test with a safety driver, AVT030, is active until April 30, 2025. Shutting down their program does not automatically cancel their permit. Apple must notify the DMV if they want to withdraw from the testing program, or they can let the permit expire by not submitting a renewal before 4/30/25. Apple will still be responsible for submitting any mileage or disengagement reports for the periods the permit is active.”
The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) manages the Autonomous Vehicle Tester (AVT) Program, started in 2014. It allows autonomous vehicle manufacturers to test and deploy their cars on public roads in California. The program requires human drivers to control the vehicle at any time during the testing.
The DMV also mandates all participating companies to file Disengagement Reports annually showing how often their vehicles disengaged from autonomous mode.
According to the DMV website, Apple was granted a permit to test vehicles on California public roads on April 14, 2017. Apple was included in the DMV Permit Holders list alongside Ford, Tesla, Google, Ford, Honda, and many more.
Apple was supposed to launch its first autonomous car by 2028, but it’s not going to happen now. Regardless, its DMV permit is still active until 2025, so the doors are still open for Apple if it reverts to its original plan. Apple hasn’t released an official statement about the project’s cancellation yet, so we can expect anything in the coming days.
