Apple Cancels Self-Driving Vehicle Testing Permit in California After Abandoning Car Project - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Cancels Self-Driving Vehicle Testing Permit in California After Abandoning Car Project

Just over six months after Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple abandoned its plans to release an electric vehicle, California's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) canceled Apple's autonomous vehicle testing permit, according to macReports.

carplay next gen hero
The report states that the DMV received confirmation from Apple to cancel the permit on September 25, and the permit became canceled as of September 27. While this decision is not surprising given Gurman's reporting earlier this year, this is effectively the final nail in the coffin for Apple's decade-long electric vehicle project.

The permit allowed Apple to test a self-driving vehicle with a safety driver on any public road within California. Apple received the permit in 2017, and macReports said that it would have been active until April 30, 2025 had it not been canceled.

Apple was using leased Lexus SUVs equipped with an array of sensors and cameras to test various autonomous driving technologies on California streets.

Read our Apple Car roundup for more details about the canceled project.

Popular Stories

All Screen iPhone 2030 Feature Sans Text

iPhone 18 Pro: Nine Reasons Not to Upgrade This Year

Monday September 7, 2026 5:01 am PDT by
Apple is set to unveil new iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models on Wednesday, September 9, and the devices are expected to feature a design that's largely similar to the iPhone 17 Pro models, with a peppering of enhancements inside. Major changes are not expected until next year, when Apple is expected to introduce a radically redesigned 20th-anniversary iPhone. If you're thinking of...
iPhone 18 Pro Dark Cherry Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Reportedly Starts With 256GB of Storage

Thursday September 3, 2026 9:22 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro has double the base storage compared to the iPhone 16 Pro, there will apparently be no further increase this year. Taiwanese research firm TrendForce today again reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models will start with 256GB of storage, like the iPhone 17 Pro models. Minimum storage capacities by model:iPhone 16 Pro: 128GB iPhone 17 Pro: 256GB iPhone 18 Pro...
apple watch series 12

Leak Hints at Four New Features for Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4

Monday September 7, 2026 8:57 am PDT by
Ahead of the announcement of the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 later this week, code in the watchOS 27 and iOS 27 betas points to a series of new features for the product line. The information comes from a new post from MacRumors forums member "pdfu." The findings include: New "Readiness" app: An all-new separate Watch app referred to in code as "Readiness," distinct from the...

Top Rated Comments

25 months ago

Just buy Tesla Apple. Elon is a jerk anyway.
You almost need a jerk leader to build revolutionary products - Elon alone has Tesla, spaceX and starlink. Then there’s Steve Jobs and Sam Altman for OpenAI as further examples. If you’re a “nice” leader that bows to public opinion you get today’s Google with Sundar Pichai, todays Apple with Tim Cook and the Chevy Blazer with Mary Barra. You must make your own decision if you want awesome products or pleasant CEOs
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
25 months ago
After seeing Tesla robocab they had a meeting and decided to focus on emojis
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
25 months ago

Just buy Tesla Apple. Elon is a jerk anyway.
Jerks get stuff done.


See: Steve Jobs
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vertsix Avatar
25 months ago
By the looks of it, Vision Pro is next. :(
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ProbablyDylan Avatar
25 months ago

Tim Cook's biggest failure. Shame on you Timmy.
I don't see this as a failure. Knowing when to hit the brakes is an important part of being a leader.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
25 months ago

Apple was NEVER going to build a car.

I've been saying that for what feels like a decade at this point. It was somebody's pet project that was NEVER going to be a product.
Yeah because they poached Doug Field (key head engineer guy for Model 3) from Tesla to never build a car, right?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)