Apple Is Reportedly Seeking Testing Space for a Vehicle ⇥ theguardian.com

Pretty clever reporting from Mark Harris of the Guardian. Apple isn’t obligated to say anything about their plans, but government agencies are subject to the Freedom of Information Act:

In May, engineers from Apple’s secretive Special Project group met with officials from GoMentum Station, a 2,100-acre former naval base near San Francisco that is being turned into a high-security testing ground for autonomous vehicles.

In correspondence obtained by the Guardian under a public records act request, Apple engineer Frank Fearon wrote: “We would … like to get an understanding of timing and availability for the space, and how we would need to coordinate around other parties who would be using [it].”

According to LinkedIn, Frank Fearon worked at Lit Motors until January of this year.

I’m not yet sold on the idea that Apple is making an entire car, but every piece of it makes sense. Apple knows how to make great batteries, they’re experts in aluminum, and they love to control every part of the production. They’re going to loathe the automotive paparazzi, though.

See Also: Marc Newson’s interview with the Wall Street Journal from yesterday.