Steve Jobs' Lack of License Plate Explained

[Pavka007]

This lack of license plate has drawn a lot of speculation over the years, but no clear answer had been pinned down. ITWire spoke with Jon Callas, who had worked in security roles at Apple. He explained how Jobs got away with it:Steve (or someone close to him) spotted a loophole in the California vehicle laws. Anyone with a brand new car had a maximum of six months to affix the issued number plate to the vehicle.

So Jobs made an arrangement with the leasing company; he would always change cars during the sixth month of the lease, exchanging one silver Mercedes SL55 AMG for another identical one. At no time would he ever be in a car as old as six months; and thus there was no legal requirement to have the number plates

[padrino]

I might have found the applicable section at the bottom of this page:
V C Section 4456 Use and Display of Report of Sale Forms

Excerpt:
(c) A vehicle displaying a copy of the report of sale may be operated without license plates or registration card until either of the following, whichever occurs first:

(1) The license plates and registration card are received by the purchaser.

(2) A six-month period, commencing with the date of sale of the vehicle, has expired.

[LandYaghtLover]

Old news. But still pretty dang funny.

[Pavka007]

Originally Posted by LandYaghtLover

Old news. But still pretty dang funny.

Yes it is old news, he was doing it for years, however still as you pointed out funny news. Now every Tom, Dick and Harry will try this.

[JB3]

why? what was the point?

[LandYaghtLover]

Originally Posted by dropnosky

why? what was the point?

I am sure with Jobs there was no point. And that was the point.

I think its funny though that until this was all revealed years ago, people thought the bar-code was his plate. Tiny little thing. Its a VIN sticker as explained. And the other theories for no plate are just as funny.

[Local2ED]

Just another wealthy person who felt rules don't apply to him.

The more that comes out about Jobs the more you see he was just another JO.

[JB3]

Originally Posted by LandYaghtLover

I am sure with Jobs there was no point. And that was the point.

I think its funny though that until this was all revealed years ago, people thought the bar-code was his plate. Tiny little thing. Its a VIN sticker as explained. And the other theories for no plate are just as funny.

I think its an amusing loophole, but it seems like a large waste of time to me.

For a guy as busy as Jobs was, that would be a lot of energy and potential bother for him personally (as you get pulled over for no plate) for the stunt not to have a point.

it just seems silly, but of course, im not a technology icon, so he might just have enjoyed the endless questions about it as an avenue to F with people in a subtle way.

[LandYaghtLover]

Originally Posted by Local2ED

Just another wealthy person who felt rules don't apply to him.

The more that comes out about Jobs the more you see he was just another JO.

Um, he was following the rules. Or did you miss post #2?

[iwrock]

Plates, what are those?

[tjts1]

Unlike most wealthy people with a very recognizable public face, Steve Jobs didn't have any additional security at his home or anywhere in his private life.
I've had neighbors pull the same stunt for much longer in California. Like 4 years on the same car. They simply kept the dealer paper plate filler and the car was washed every week so it looked like it just rolled off the dealer lot. As long as the model was still in production police never bothered them. They kept the real plates in the glove box. They had a good reason to keep a low profile.

[tbomachines]

IIRC it was because apple fanboys kept stealing his plates, at least thats the rumor

[JB3]

Originally Posted by tjts1

Unlike most wealthy people with a very recognizable public face, Steve Jobs didn't have any additional security at his home or anywhere in his private life.
I've had neighbors pull the same stunt for much longer in California. Like 4 years on the same car. They simply kept the dealer paper plate filler and the car was washed every week so it looked like it just rolled off the dealer lot. As long as the model was still in production police never bothered them. They kept the real plates in the glove box. They had a good reason to keep a low profile.

But how does no plate do that? it seems to only attract attention from cops and people who say- "look, that car has no plate"

If they wanted to keep a low profile, they would drive a beige camry with a regular license plate

[tjts1]

Originally Posted by dropnosky

But how does no plate do that? it seems to only attract attention from cops and people who say- "look, that car has no plate"

If they wanted to keep a low profile, they would drive a beige camry with a regular license plate

They weren't worried about police and average joe public. That said, they never got pulled over for it. As soon as the car was out of production they bought a new one.

[sixto]

With Apple doing as well as it is and the general affluence in Cupertino, half the cars in that area aren't 6 months old.

Sixto
87 300D