General Motors’ autonomous vehicle subsidiary, Cruise, is set to restart its operations in Houston, initially with human drivers controlling the vehicles. This decision marks a cautious step forward as the company seeks to rebuild its program following a significant incident last year.
Concurrently, Paul Jacobson, General Motors’ chief financial officer, announced at Deutsche Bank’s Global Auto Industry Conference in New York City that GM would invest an additional $850 million into Cruise. This funding is aimed at covering the operational costs of the robotaxi service.
Cruise’s Response to Last Year’s Setback
The renewal of testing activities comes after a troubled period for Cruise, highlighted by a severe accident in San Francisco involving one of its driverless taxis. The incident, which occurred last year, involved a pedestrian who was struck by another vehicle and then collided with the Cruise taxi, resulting in the pedestrian being dragged for about 20 feet and getting trapped under the vehicle. This led the California Department of Motor Vehicles to suspend Cruise’s operating permits shortly thereafter.
In response to the accident and its fallout, Cruise underwent significant restructuring, including the layoff of nearly a quarter of its workforce. The company also dismissed nine of its top executives, among them co-founder and CEO Kyle Vogy, following an investigation into the accident.
Despite these setbacks, Cruise has shown signs of resurgence. Earlier this year, the company resumed operations in Phoenix with vehicles operated by humans. Building on this, Cruise’s latest move to reintroduce its service in Houston follows a similar pattern, with plans for a gradual transition to supervised autonomous driving. The company stated that it would begin with safety drivers behind the wheel before eventually moving to a more autonomous mode of operation in the upcoming weeks.
Moreover, Cruise has expressed intentions to expand its services beyond Houston and Phoenix. According to a recent post on the company’s blog, Cruise is actively engaging with officials and community leaders to explore potential expansions to other cities, although no specific timeline has been provided for these plans.
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