Apple said to cut drivers in California autonomous vehicle testing program
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Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has varying levels of interest in autonomous vehicles, but the company has reportedly reduced the number of drivers it has in California for its testing program.
Cupertino, California-based Apple (AAPL) had 145 drivers for its program as of April 28, down from 201 in March, according to MacReports, citing California DMV data.
The company's fleet of cars, however, only fell by one, to 66, the news outlet added.
Apple (AAPL) did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha.
In 2017, Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook confirmed the existence of the tech giant's interest in autonomous vehicles, calling it "the mother of all AI projects."
Earlier this year, Cook said artificial intelligence 'is a major focus" of the company, adding that the company sees "enormous potential" for AI to impact "virtually everything we do."
To date, however, Apple (AAPL) has not publicly said it is building an autonomous car, though many media outlets, including Seeking Alpha, have reported on the existence of the tech giant's initiatives, under an initiative known as Project Titan.
Last year, Morgan Stanley analysts pondered whether Apple (AAPL) could compete with Tesla (TSLA) in the space, given the vast head-start the Elon Musk-led company has over Apple.
At the time, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said Apple (AAPL) entering the electric vehicle market would be the "ultimate bear case" for a number of companies, including GM (GM), Fisker (FSR), Ferrari (RACE) and others.
No time frame has been given for such an announcement, though Citi analyst Jim Suva said in December that a 2025 launch of the company's move into the market, depending upon the route it takes, could boost the company's overall sales between 2% and 15%.
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