- For years, Apple fans have alleged a connection between the tech giant and Route 14 Investment Partners based on flimsy evidence.
- We visited the Arizona Route 14 test site and saw the company testing a car with a stack of sensors with a design similar to what Apple has been testing.
- We also found paperwork that appears to link at least one individual to both companies.
In late 2005, DaimlerChrysler sold its proving grounds in Wittmann, Arizona, to homebuilder Toll Brothers and its partners for $312 million. The new owners intend to use the 5500-acre property to develop a planned community of approximately 33,000 homes. It never materialized, and in 2010, the developer defaulted on their loan, leaving the land in possession of the project’s lender, iStar.
After more than a decade of ownership, the commercial real estate finance company finally unloaded the land, selling it to Route 14 Investment Partners LLC in July 2021 for $125 million. Route 14 Investment Partners is no stranger to the property. About five years earlier, New York-based iStar had begun leasing proving grounds to the little-known limited liability company.
Much about Route 14 Investment Partners is still shrouded in secrecy, as there is minimal public information available about the company that may be automotive-related. However, rumors persist that Route 14 Investment Partners is a shell company for Apple’s car project, once—and probably still—known as “Project Titan.”
Apple fans point to statements purportedly from unnamed sources confirming this, as well as the fact that Route 14 Investment Partners was formed shortly after the tech giant’s rumored car project was first revealed in early 2015. They also note that Route 14 Investment Partners and Apple use a CT Corporation Corporation Trust Company, which serves as the registered agent for companies incorporated in Delaware, allowing businesses to take advantage of First State tax benefits without establishing a dedicated office there.
The fact that hundreds of thousands of other businesses, including Ford, Toyota and Tesla, have used CT’s services only underscores the tenuous nature of the relationship between Apple and this Route 14 Investment Partner.
Autonomy in Arizona
Last month we flew to Arizona to visit the Route 14 Investment Partners test site in Wittmann. With little rain and plenty of sunshine, the sleepy unincorporated desert community, located about 35 miles northwest of Phoenix, is conducive to testing autonomous vehicles.
Based on what we witnessed while scouting the test site, we can confirm the presence of self-driving vehicle technology at the Route 14 Investment Partners facility. We captured images of a white fourth-generation Lexus RX, sensor array mounted on its roof, undergoing testing within a fenced perimeter at test area.
More interesting is the design of the sensor stack, which matches the design Apple has installed on multiple Lexus RXs photographed in California. Photos of these vehicles are available all over the web, and most include a clear display of each vehicle’s license tag—the information we used to pull the vehicle identification number (VIN) for the five California-registered Lexus SUVs.
We then cross-checked each VIN against those listed in the 2022 California Autonomous Mileage Report. (The Golden State requires any autonomous vehicle developer that tests its technology on public roads to file data on system firings.) The result? All five VINs correlate with reports submitted by Apple.
Admittedly, it’s possible that other companies are toying with similar sensor pack designs. Without any license plate or VIN information for the RX that we found in DaimlerChrysler’s evidence case, our evidence, although stronger than the shared registered agent in Delaware, still seems too weak by itself to convince the proverbial jury that this proves “beyond a reasonable doubt ” that Route 14 Investment Partners is an arm of Apple.
Environmental Connection
Where there is smoke, there is a possibility of fire. While we didn’t see anything else of interest while scouting the test site, we did come across a sign posted high up on the chain link fence surrounding the property:
In the months leading up to our Arizona trip, we searched public records databases for leads that might reveal additional details about Route 14 Investment Partners. During that time, we never checked the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) website. It really is a sign from above.
After leaving Wittmann and checking into our hotel in nearby Surprise, Arizona, we hunted down the records posted on the ADEQ website, one of which was for the water system at the test site. This document lists the names and contact information of administrative contacts and system owners. Both phone numbers have a Silicon Valley area code and the owner’s phone number is shared with a line at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino.
No individual answered our calls. However, our research gives us reason to believe that the listed owner, William Lynch, directly connects Route 14 Investment Partners to Apple.
As evidenced by Lynch’s Route 14 Investment Partners email address (kl@route14investment.com) and the voicemail address of the phone number listed in the ADEQ document, Lynch does not normally use the name William. Instead, he went with Ken. A quick LinkedIn search turns up the profile of an Apple employee named Ken Lynch who has spent nearly a decade working for the company in the areas of environment, health and safety. Maybe not conclusive, but certainly interesting.
Again, we looked to public records for help, and we soon found an EPA document that included contact information for Apple-related Ken Lynch.
We called the number listed next to Ken Lynch’s name on this Apple-related EPA submission and it went to voicemail. A speech almost indistinguishable from that associated with Lynch’s Route 14 Investment Partners phone number also reached us on this line. We recorded both greetings and listened to them over and over again.
We will not declare with certainty that these two phone numbers belong to the same Ken Lynch until Lynch answers our inquiry and puts this question to rest. Still, if we’re the gambling type, we’d bet big bucks that both companies rely on the work of a single Ken Lynch. For its part, Apple told us that the company has nothing to share regarding matters related to its employees’ relationship with Route 14 Investment Partners.
Is Apple All In?
For years, circumstantial evidence pushed the narrative linking Route 14 Investment Partners to Apple’s car project. Now we have stronger evidence linking the two companies directly.
If this is the case, then Route 14 Investment Partners’ purchase of the old DaimlerChrysler would seem to indicate Apple’s financial commitment to creating its own cars, perhaps one with profit in mind. After all, Apple didn’t become a trillion-dollar company by spending hundreds of millions haphazardly and unnecessarily developing products that were financially worthless.
Senior Editor
Despite their shared last name, Greg Fink is not related to the famous Ed “Big Daddy” Roth Rat Fink. Both Finks, however, are known for their love of cars, car culture, and—strangely—monogrammed one-piece bathing suits. Greg’s career in the media industry goes back over a decade. His previous experience includes serving as an editor at publications such as US News & World Report, The Huffington Post, Motor1.comand MotorTrend.