Post by The Dark Knight on Nov 23, 2023 8:48:19 GMT
GM’s driverless ride heads into a ditch
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A self-driving GM Bolt EV is seen during a media event where Cruise, GM's autonomous car unit, showed off its self-driving cars in San Francisco, California, U.S. November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage Acquire Licensing Rights
NEW YORK, Nov 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - For a while, General Motors' (GM.N) bet on robo-taxi startup Cruise held the promise of creating a serious challenge to electric-car leader Tesla (TSLA.O). If there were any question about whether that’s still true, the departure of Cruise’s co-founders, and the suspension of its self-driving service, point to an answer in the negative.
Automotive giant GM acquired Cruise in 2016, subsequently bringing on investors including SoftBank’s (9984.T) Vision Fund, Honda Motor (7267.T) and Microsoft (MSFT.O). Even as autonomous-driving efforts at Uber Technologies (UBER.N) or Ford Motor (F.N) fizzled, Cruise progressed from offering limited rides in San Francisco to all-day, no-human-in-the-car service. That stopped in October, after a Cruise vehicle ran over a pedestrian who had been struck by another car. California pulled Cruise’s license, claiming the company withheld evidence. A business pushing risky, nascent technology lives and dies on its relationship with regulators.
www.reuters.com/breakingviews/gms-driverless-ride-heads-into-ditch-2023-11-21/
A self-driving GM Bolt EV is seen during a media event where Cruise, GM's autonomous car unit, showed off its self-driving cars in San Francisco, California, U.S. November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage Acquire Licensing Rights
NEW YORK, Nov 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - For a while, General Motors' (GM.N) bet on robo-taxi startup Cruise held the promise of creating a serious challenge to electric-car leader Tesla (TSLA.O). If there were any question about whether that’s still true, the departure of Cruise’s co-founders, and the suspension of its self-driving service, point to an answer in the negative.
Automotive giant GM acquired Cruise in 2016, subsequently bringing on investors including SoftBank’s (9984.T) Vision Fund, Honda Motor (7267.T) and Microsoft (MSFT.O). Even as autonomous-driving efforts at Uber Technologies (UBER.N) or Ford Motor (F.N) fizzled, Cruise progressed from offering limited rides in San Francisco to all-day, no-human-in-the-car service. That stopped in October, after a Cruise vehicle ran over a pedestrian who had been struck by another car. California pulled Cruise’s license, claiming the company withheld evidence. A business pushing risky, nascent technology lives and dies on its relationship with regulators.
www.reuters.com/breakingviews/gms-driverless-ride-heads-into-ditch-2023-11-21/