The Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant has long been rumored to be working on its own autonomous car as part of an initiative called Project Titan, but has never officially confirmed its plans.

Apple was so mum about the project that some thought it may have been shuttered, said Michelle Krebs, executive analyst for Autotrader.

However, on Friday the company appeared on the state's Department of Motor Vehicle's list of approved applicants to test autonomous vehicles. That list had already included companies such as Tesla, Google and Uber, along with car makers including BMW, Ford, Honda and Volkswagen.

“For a company that has yet to publicly acknowledge its efforts in this area, this is as close to a tacit admission" as is likely to be given, said Michael Ramsey, a self-driving car analyst with Gartner. "It will be interesting to see what form the test vehicles take and what can be gleaned about Apple's strategy.”

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