Apple is given the green light to test autonomous vehicles in California, according to a report from Reuters.

The permit allows it to conduct test drives in three vehicles with six drivers, the state Department of Motor Vehicles said on Friday. The vehicles are all 2015 Lexus RX450h, according to the DMV.

Although Apple never publicly confirmed their ventures into electric cars or autonomous vehicles, Apple is seen to have recruited dozens of auto experts in recent years; with the permit fuelling further speculation.

“This does confirm what’s long been rumored: that Apple is at least toying with the idea of getting into the autonomous game in some capacity,” Chris Theodore, president of consultancy Theodore & Associates, and a former vice president at Ford Motor and Chrysler, told Reuters. However, this doesn’t mean it’s concrete prove that Apple is manufacturing any cars. “This is not necessarily automobiles as initially rumored, but software or possibly hardware associated with autonomous technology,” Theodore said.

Apple did not release any comments or statements. Although, a statement by the company back in November notes, “The company is investing heavily in the study of machine learning and automation, and is excited about the potential of automated systems in many areas, including transportation,” Apple’s director of product integrity, Steve Kenner, wrote in that five-page letter.

Chief Executive Tim Cook has suggested that Apple wants to move beyond integration of Apple smartphones into vehicle infotainment systems.

California is a hotspot for many startups, tech companies and car makers vying to be the first to push out commercially viable autonomous vehicles on the road.

Other companies with permits include Alphabet’s Google/Waymo, Ford Motor, Volkswagen, Daimler, Tesla Motors and General Motors.

Industry experts and players alike are aiming for a 2020/2021 launch of the first commercially viable fully autonomous cars, although some are sceptical due to regulatory challenges.