A self-driving car owned by Apple was involved in an accident, California’s road authority has confirmed.
The car, a modified Lexus RX450h with autonomous sensors, was rear-ended by a human driver in a Nissan Leaf.
Humans were unhurt, but the machines suffered moderate damage.
Apple’s car is understood to be part of an ambitious but secretive programme – Project Titan. Apple has not commented on the 24 August collision, understood to be the company’s first.
Speculation as to what the project seeks to achieve ranges from a fully-fledged Apple car – or just working with existing car makers to provide autonomous technology.
Apple’s self-driving programme had been public knowledge, It was revealed that the company now has 66 such cars on the roads, with 111 drivers registered to operate them.
Like every firm experimenting with autonomy in California, Apple must provide regular reports to the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), including when a crash occurs.
