According to California DMV, two of Apple's self driving cars were in minor collisions during August.
On August 19, in San Diego, California's Hillcrest area, the first incident [PDF] took place. The Lexus RX 450h stopped in traffic after it was struck by a Hyundai. The accident was minor and did not cause any injuries.
The second accident [PDF] took place on August 23rd in Cupertino (California), right next to the Apple Park campus. Apple's self driving equipment was on manual mode. The car was stopped in traffic and was rear-ended by a Subaru Outback.
These incidents, which were not caused by the self-driving car or the driver of the vehicle, are not particularly noteworthy. It is notable that two Apple vehicles were involved with each other in collisions during the same month, after there had been no accidents since September 2019.
The California DMV released mileage and disengagement reports earlier this year indicating that Lexus SUVs equipped with self-driving technology traveled more than 18,000 miles in 2020. This is a significant increase over previous years. Apple may have increased its testing in 2021, which could lead to more incidents.
Apple has been testing its self driving software since early 2017 using the Lexus RX450h vehicles equipped with sensors and cameras. Apple has been working on autonomous driving since early 2017, and rumors indicate that Apple will release a vehicle in the middle to late 2020s.
