Apple has sold its 5,500-acre self-driving test facility in Arizona to Waymo for $220 million, putting a price tag on one of tech's most expensive dead ends.
Waymo acquired the proving ground near Wittman, Arizona from Route 14 Investment Partners LLC, a Delaware shell company associated with Apple. The deal was recorded with Maricopa County on June 5 and confirmed by Waymo. Apple's car program ran for roughly a decade and reportedly consumed around $10 billion before it was cancelled more than two years ago. The Wittman site had been used throughout that period for self-driving vehicle testing.
For Waymo, 5,500 acres of purpose-built testing infrastructure in a state already dense with autonomous vehicle activity is a meaningful addition to its operations. For Apple, the sale removes any ambiguity about the program's status: this isn't a paused project or a quiet pivot, it's a liquidation.
$220 million sounds significant until you note it's about two cents back for every dollar Apple spent building a car that never shipped.