General Motors has fired “nine key people” at robotaxi company Cruise amid the fallout from an accident involving a pedestrian in San Francisco. The incident – and the uncovered details that have dealt a massive blow to an industry that relies on trust from the public and regulators – has already forced the company’s founder and CEO Kyle Vogt to resign.
The news has been epically bad for Cruise robotaxis these past few weeks. GM’s driverless car subsidiary has announced a round of layoffs this week, with the CEO Kyle Vogt reportedly telling employees in an all-hands meeting. Plus, investigations have dredged up some incriminating news that the software’s algorithm had trouble detecting children.
GM’s Cruise autonomous taxi service is pausing driverless operations everywhere after having it’s license suspended in California on Tuesday.
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Cruise’s license to operate autonomous vehicles in the state of California has been suspended effective immediately, announced the California Department of Motor Vehicles today.
Update: Cruise has now voluntarily paused driverless operations everywhere.
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GM’s self-driving rideshare unit, Cruise, has applied for permission to expand testing of its robotaxi rides throughout all of California. The autonomous driving specialist has already been testing rides for over a year in different cities across three states including San Francisco, but hopes to expand further throughout The Golden State.
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A report filed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) this week has opened another investigation into GM’s robotaxi company Cruise. According to the filing, the NHTSA has received multiple reports of Cruise’s autonomous EVs blocking roadways and stopping abruptly, causing accidents with other drivers on roads.
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GM’s autonomous driving division, Cruise, has begun its paid driverless taxi service in San Francisco and officially took its first fares last night.
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Last week, a GM Cruise-converted Chevy Bolt without a driver was pulled over by San Francisco Police. In an unexpected turn, the car “bolted” …to a safe spot. Cruise responded below.
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Autonomous rideshare rivals Waymo and Cruise have both reportedly applied for permits to charge passengers for self-driving rides in the San Francisco Bay area. Some of the applications are still under review, but it could be a major step toward autonomous rideshare vehicles operating as commonplace soon.
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GM has started testing its Ultium battery system, which is going to power its next generation of electric vehicles, for the Cruise Origin autonomous electric vehicle.
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Cruise Automation, the General Motors company developing shared, autonomous EVs, laid off about 150 people on Thursday. It’s the latest sign that self-driving car companies face challenging economic circumstances due to the pandemic.
As we have been discussing for a while, we are seeing more consolidation within the auto industry when it comes to autonomous driving technology as automakers are trying to bet on the right horse.
In the latest example of that consolidation, Honda is betting on GM’s cruise to build autonomous vehicles.
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