Cruise has resumed operations in California, bringing back human-driven vehicles to the streets of Mountain View and Sunnyvale for mapping. This marks the company’s return to the Bay Area nearly a year after a serious incident in October 2023, when a Cruise robotaxi struck a pedestrian who had already been hit by a human driver and dragged her for about 20 feet. This incident led Cruise to pause its operations and attracted regulatory attention.
In a post on X, Cruise stated that resuming testing in the Bay Area is an important step as it collaborates with California regulators and local stakeholders. The company plans to move to supervised testing with up to five autonomous vehicles later this fall. This decision follows a settlement with California’s Public Utilities Commission, which included a $112,500 fine for not providing complete information about the October crash.
After the incident, Cruise underwent significant leadership changes. CEO Kyle Vogt resigned in November 2023, and the company restructured its leadership with new appointments from its parent company, General Motors (GM). In June 2024, GM invested an additional $850 million into Cruise to support its operations. The company also settled with the pedestrian involved in the crash.
Since June, Cruise has slowly resumed operations in other locations, such as Phoenix and Dallas. During this period, it decided to discontinue its purpose-built robotaxi, known as the Origin. To address safety concerns, Cruise issued software updates to resolve a recall of its robotaxis, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closed a probe related to braking issues.
In August 2024, Cruise announced a multi-year partnership with Uber, planning to integrate its robotaxis into the ride-hailing platform by 2025. This follows the example of rival Waymo, which has already made its robotaxis available on Uber’s platform since 2023.
As Cruise returns to California, it faces the challenge of proving its safety and regaining public trust after the events of the past year.
Featured Image courtesy of Bloomberg via Getty Images
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