While it has been said that it’s “common knowledge” Apple is working on building an electric car, there’s still much we don’t know about the company’s plans. According to a new report from Silicon Valley Business Journal, though, Apple has been quietly purchasing and leasing a variety of buildings in Sunnyvale, California. The company is naming most buildings after Greek mythological figures, as well.
One of the largest buildings is said to be codenamed “Rhea,” which lends credibility to earlier reports that have claimed the internal name for Apple’s electric car initiative is Project Titan. Rhea is one of the Titans in Greek mythology. This building is said to be the one that we’ve reported on earlier as having a heavy security presence and making a considerable amount of noise. Furthermore, documents filed with the city indicate areas like a “lube bay,” “tire changer,” and “wheel balancer,” which are clearly references to some sort of car.
Additionally, there’s a building codenamed “Medusa” that’s a for manufacturing facility in Sunnyvale. The plans for this building show areas dedicated to a “vision lab” and “eye tracking.” Next is a building called “Magnolia.” This facility was previously owned by FedEx and is said to include something called a “regenerative thermal oxidizer,” which is a machine used in manufacturing and can reduce pollution.
“Zeus” is a former research lab in San Jose that, according to building plans, will be used as an “interim lab” by Apple and house researchers. Security is said to be important specifically for this building, as it will be surrounded by a fence to prevent any outsiders from catching a glimpse. The building comes in at 290,000-square-feet. There’s also “Athena,” although a use case for this building is unclear at this point as it will undergo a “lengthy facilities closure process.”
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Finally, Apple has made slight modifications to its Sunnyvale campus project, as you can see below. The new revisions make the building appear slightly more sectioned off than the first drawings did.
Last month, it was revealed that Apple had leased a former Pepsi plant in Sunnyvale for its Project Titan electric car initiative. While specific details about Apple’s car plans remain unclear, the company is reportedly operating a shell company called Sixty Eight Research out of Sunnyvale. It was reported earlier that Apple has rented office space in the city to lead its electric car initiatives. Elon Musk has stated that it’s an “open secret” that Apple is developing an electric car, while the company has made a handful of hires to work on the project, and has been growing that team at a brisk pace over recent months.
Date: April 11, 2016
