Two of Apple Inc.’s self-driving cars were involved in minor collisions in August, according to a report by MacRumors that cited data from the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
What Happened: The first accident took place in San Diego on Aug. 19 when an Apple Lexus RX 450h vehicle was stopped in traffic and was hit by a Hyundai, as per the report.
A second collision reportedly occurred on Aug. 23 in Cupertino. A vehicle with Apple's self-driving equipment was also stopped in traffic when it was rear-ended by a Subaru Outback.
Both the Apple self-driving vehicles were in manual mode during the accidents and neither collision was due to the fault of the Apple vehicle or the person operating the vehicle, the report noted.
Why It Matters:The two collisions in August mark the first time that Apple self-driving vehicles were involved in an accident since September 2019.
The higher number of accidents also comes after it was reported in August that Apple has expanded its self-driving car fleet in California. The data gathered from the self-driving fleet could help the tech giant’s Apple Car project.
Companies working on self-driving technology see increased spotlight related to accidents, and major controversies have erupted over accidents involving Tesla Inc. and Nio Inc. vehicles.
Price Action: Apple shares closed 0.5% higher in Wednesday’s trading at $152.51.