The self-driving car industry has hit a major speed bump as GM-owned Cruise enters damage control mode after ceasing robotaxi operations around the country. Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt reportedly told employees, “Trust is one of those things that takes a long time to build and just seconds to lose. We need to get to the bottom of this and start rebuilding that trust.”
The New York Times reports that the self driving car company Cruise suspended all of its driverless operations nationwide last week following an incident on October 2 in San Francisco. A Cruise autonomous vehicle struck and dragged a pedestrian, causing severe injuries that led to her death.
Cruise Robotaxis in a garage (Anadolu Agency / Contributor/Getty)
The shutdown came after California’s Department of Motor Vehicles accused Cruise of omitting footage showing the car dragging the woman from video it shared with regulators. The DMV ordered Cruise to cease driverless services in the state.
The problems for the company did not stop there. Cruise suspended all of its driverless operations across the country two days after the accident. This move resulted in taking around 400 driverless cars off the road. The company’s board has hired Quinn Emanuel, a law firm, to investigate Cruise’s response to the incident, which includes the company’s interactions with regulators, law enforcement, and media.
Cruise and its CEO, Kyle Vogt, are facing criticism for prioritizing growth over safety. “Kyle is a guy who is willing to take risks, and he is willing to move quickly. He is very Silicon Valley,” said Matthew Wansley, a law professor at Cardozo School of Law.
Under Vogt’s leadership, Cruise rapidly expanded its driverless robotaxi service despite collisions and traffic snarls involving its robot cars over the past year. But the recent fatality has led to internal investigations and growing doubts about Cruise’s safety culture.
During a companywide meeting on Monday regarding its suspended operations, Vogt informed employees that he was unsure when they could resume work and that there could be potential layoffs. This information was relayed by two employees who were present at the meeting.
According to employees, he recognized that Cruise had lost the confidence of the public and outlined a course of action to regain it by being more transparent and prioritizing safety. He appointed Louise Zhang, the company’s interim chief safety officer, and declared that she would report directly to him.
Vogt reportedly told employees: “Trust is one of those things that takes a long time to build and just seconds to lose. We need to get to the bottom of this and start rebuilding that trust.”
With its fleet of vehicles sitting idle, Cruise also risks becoming a financial liability for parent company General Motors. GM has spent billions on Cruise but the unit is now in danger of missing key revenue goals.
The fallout underscores the challenges ahead for realizing the dream of truly driverless cars. Rivals like Google’s Waymo see Cruise’s troubles as a warning sign about the dangers of rushing to deploy autonomous vehicles.
Read more at the New York Times here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.