GM's Cruise Eyes Resuming Robotaxi Operations In California After Long Pause Due To Pedestrian Accident In 2023

General Motors' GM autonomous driving unit Cruise said on Thursday that it is eyeing resuming operations of its robotaxis in California which was paused after the involvement of one of its driverless vehicles in a pedestrian accident late last year.

What Happened: The company said that it will deploy several manual mapping vehicles in Sunnyvale and Mountain View starting Thursday. The company intends to start supervised robotaxi testing in the state later this fall with up to five autonomous vehicles, it added.

“Resuming testing in the Bay Area is an important step forward as we continue to work closely with California regulators and local stakeholders. This will allow our local employees to engage directly with our product as they refine and improve our tech through R&D,” the company said in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Why It Matters: Cruise suspended all of its operations in the U.S. late last year following the involvement of one of its robotaxis in an accident in San Francisco, leading to heightened regulatory scrutiny and the exit of its co-founder and then CEO Kyle Vogt.

The company resumed manual driving in the city of Phoenix to gather road information earlier this year in April and in Houston and Dallas, Texas in June.

For the first half of 2024, Cruise accrued an operating loss of $1.65 billion, 28% higher than the loss of $1.29 billion recorded in the corresponding period of last year. GM also spent $583 million on restructuring Cruise in the period.

Last month, Cruise issued a recall for the entirety of its U.S. fleet over concerns that they may brake unexpectedly. The company updated software in all of its vehicles on the road to fix the issue.

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