General Motors’ self-driving taxi unit Cruise has grounded its entire fleet just days after California revoked its license, a major setback for the company that has been laying the groundwork for expansion into several U.S. cities and Japan. Basics.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles on Tuesday suspended Cruise from operating self-driving cars in the state, accusing the company of withholding critical footage of an accident involving a pedestrian in San Francisco.
“The most important thing for us now is to take steps to rebuild public trust,” Cruz said in a post on the social media site X (formerly Twitter). “In that spirit, we have decided to proactively suspend driverless operations across all fleets.”
(1/3) The most important thing for us now is to take steps to rebuild public trust. Part of that involves taking a hard look at ourselves and the way we work at Cruise, even if that means doing something uncomfortable or difficult.
– Cruise (@Cruise) October 27, 2023
Federal regulator the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also launched an investigation into Cruise. Cruise has been expanding to other cities, including Austin and Phoenix.
In August, the California Public Utilities Commission voted 3-1 to allow Cruise and Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo to charge passengers for driverless rides in the densely populated city known for its mountainous terrain. But Cruise’s expanding business was soon marred by several high-profile incidents, including one in which a man landed in front of a Cruise taxi after being hit by another vehicle.
The robot taxi slammed on the brakes and ran over people. The DMV said the vehicle then attempted to pull over due to safety concerns, but continued traveling 20 feet at 7 mph with the pedestrian still under the vehicle. The agency said this may have caused further harm.
The DMV said Cruise failed to disclose footage of the attempted pull over when it shared video of the incident with agency officials on Oct. 3. The agency said it learned from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the vehicle’s subsequent movements and then asked Cruise for additional footage. The DMV said the company’s negligence hampered the agency’s ability to evaluate the safety of its self-driving vehicles.
Cruise disputed the DMV’s description and said the entire film was shown to the agency.
The company operates 400 vehicles in San Francisco and 200 vehicles in Austin, Houston and Phoenix. Cruise has stopped all self-driving operations but will continue to operate cars with safety drivers.
Additionally, a spokesperson said Cruise is working on development work in 11 other cities to eventually offer service and will continue this work.
Reilly Brennan, general partner at Trucks Venture Capital, which invests in transportation technology, said how Cruise handles the current crisis will have an impact on all self-driving operators. So far, California regulators have focused on Cruise, but the increased incidents could create problems for other companies such as Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo.
“This is a crazy time for Cruise and every AV entity,” Brennan said. “The paradox of self-driving cars right now is that all company successes are personal to them, but all failures are personal. It’s about being together as a team. Right or wrong.”
The California DMV did not respond to inquiries after regular business hours.
Cruise is also burning through cash, having burned through $1.4 billion this year. On GM’s earnings call on Tuesday, Chief Executive Mary Barra said the company believes in self-driving technology and plans to deploy it in 2026 with Tokyo Honda Motor Co.
A Honda spokesman said Cruise’s suspension in the U.S. currently has no impact on its plans.
“We know from the data that Cruise AVs are involved in significantly fewer crashes than human drivers,” Barra told analysts on a conference call.
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