A report from AppleInsider claims Apple is using a shell company called SixtyEight Research and small office building in Sunnyvale, California to work on its secretive electric vehicle project. The report doesn’t definitively confirm that Apple is actually using the site for its car project, but it does discover some connections with Apple and points to recent automotive related renovations at the building:
The results of this extensive investigation led to Sunnyvale, Calif., and the home of a mysterious market research firm dubbed SixtyEight. Nestled amongst a number of verifiable Apple-run offices, it is believed that this location is a key component of the “Titan” project… It is unclear if this secondary campus is ground zero for “Titan.”
But AppleInsider can confirm that Apple does indeed have a large presence at the location, and that numerous automotive-related renovations, including an “auto work area” and a “repair garage,” have been constructed on the premises.
The report does show some connections between Apple and the property — the company leases several neighboring properties in the same complex, and permits for the various automotive retrofits to the building have been pulled despite there not being a tenant listed anywhere.
But most telling is a sign posted recently on the building’s door that the report notes “informs drivers that the company’s lobby has been moved to a new address: the same office complex’s flagship three-story building, leased entirely by Apple.”
Amid Apple’s continued work with adding iPhone integration to existing automobiles through CarPlay, reports started heavily pouring in last month detailing Apple’s plans to build an electric vehicle. We highlighted a number of recent Apple hires that suggest Apple has an interest in not just car software but actual automobile hardware.
