Cruise, the autonomous driving unit of General Motors, is gearing up to resume its robotaxi operations in California after a period of suspension following a pedestrian accident late last year. The company announced on Thursday that it will begin deploying manual mapping vehicles in Sunnyvale and Mountain View, marking the first step towards resuming supervised robotaxi testing in the state. This testing is expected to commence later this fall, with up to five autonomous vehicles participating.
The company emphasized the significance of this move in a post on X, formerly Twitter, stating, “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.”
Cruise’s decision to resume operations in California comes after a challenging period. The company faced heightened regulatory scrutiny following the accident in San Francisco, which also resulted in the departure of its co-founder and then CEO, Kyle Vogt. In response to the incident, Cruise temporarily suspended all operations in the U.S.
However, Cruise has since been working to regain ground. Earlier this year, the company resumed manual driving in Phoenix to gather road information. In June, they expanded their efforts to Houston and Dallas, Texas.
Despite these steps, Cruise continues to face financial challenges. In the first half of 2024, the company reported an operating loss of $1.65 billion, representing a 28% increase from the $1.29 billion loss recorded in the same period last year. General Motors also contributed $583 million towards restructuring Cruise during this period.
Furthermore, Cruise issued a recall last month for its entire U.S. fleet due to concerns about unexpected braking. The company addressed this issue by updating the software in all its vehicles.
Cruise’s move to restart robotaxi testing in California is a significant step in the company’s efforts to navigate the evolving regulatory landscape and advance its autonomous driving technology. The company’s progress in this area will be closely watched by industry observers and the public alike.
