Rumors about Apple’s entry into the automotive space may have died down since they hit peak fervor in 2021 — back when rumors about an Apple-Kia tie-up sent stock in the Korean automaker soaring. Since then, both Toyota and Porsche have been in the running, but other than a few meetings and whispers in passing, we’re still no closer to finding what an “iCar” would look like.
However, what we do know is that Apple is continuing ahead with its plans to bring a car to market. And, in a move that would surely see the company tackle Tesla head-on, it would appear that Apple is throwing its weight behind self-driving tech.
According to a report by MacReports, judging by the latest data from the Californian DMV’s Autonomous Vehicles Program, Apple has been steadily increasing its number of drivers for self-driving prototypes.
Related: Apple Delays Electric Car Launch To 2026, Won’t Have Level 5 Autonomy
The number of autonomous drivers now stands at 201, while its self-driving fleet features 67 cars. That’s significantly more than Tesla’s share, which only deploys 59 drivers across 14 cars. Apple’s Californian autonomous fleet is also larger than that of Mercedes-Benz, which employs 179 drivers for 55 cars.
Apple still trails Waymo (971 drivers and 326 cars), Cruise (414 drivers and 709 cars), and Zoox (1021 cars and 167 cars), while Nvidia records a higher driver count at 262 but operates far fewer cars, with just 13.
Other info garnered from the report is that Apple’s driverless cars have been involved in 16 collisions — the latest of which was a minor brush with a curb, which occurred (somewhat embarrassingly for “team human race”) while the car was being manually operated.
So, while Apple stays schtum on the prospect of its foray into the automotive world, we at least know that its team of testers is growing. While the iPhone maker may not have found a partner to produce a car with, a report late last year suggested that the project was targeting a launch of 2026. The same report stated that the Apple Car, if it were to make it to market, would be targeted in the $100,000 price range, making it a direct rival to the Tesla Model S and Mercedes-Benz EQS.
