Apple is really up to speed with their plans, for whatever purpose they may have, related to self-driving cars. Two months ago, we commented here that Ma already owned the second largest fleet of autonomous cars for testing in the entire state of California; now, this collection is even more grown.
O MacReports checked with the California Vehicle Department and confirmed: Apple now has 55 vehicles running through the streets of their home state, with 83 drivers registered to follow the tests (drivers stay in the driver’s seat only to take control in an emergency). There are already 10 more cars than in March, the last time we talked about it.
Among the companies that run with self-driving vehicles in California, only General Motors it has a larger fleet than Ma, with a good clearance of only 104 cars owned by Chevrolet. Other giants in the segment, such as Waymo (Alphabet subsidiary) and Tesla, are behind Cupertino on the subject, with 51 and 39 vehicles, respectively.
The Californian DMV, it should be noted, already has another license that allows companies to test their autonomous cars without drivers in the driver’s seat, but Apple has not yet applied to be part of the program, perhaps because its ambitions in the segment are different, say, that of an Uber, which wants to put the technology into practice as soon as possible to maximize its profits.
What we have no idea, yet, is what Apple intends with all of this. And, while Ma does not go up on a stage to officially reveal her intentions for the future of autonomous cars, all that remains for us to speculate on the subject. Opinions?
via CNET
