General Motors Co‘s GM autonomous vehicle subsidiary Cruise is gearing up to reinitiate trials of its robotaxis on public roads in the state of Texas.
Restart of Texas Robotaxi Testing: Cruise is making preparations to recommence robotaxi testing in Texas, with safety drivers, in the upcoming weeks as per a recent report by Bloomberg. The potential areas for the trials are Houston and Dallas, the report cited.
Cruise is yet to respond to Benzinga‘s inquiry for comment.
Significance of the Move: After a pedestrian mishap involving one of its self-driving vehicles in San Francisco in early October led to Cruise suspending both autonomous and manual AV operations in the U.S., this planned revival in Texas carries significant material importance. Following the accident, numerous top executives, including co-founders Kyle Vogt and Dan Kan, stepped down from the company.
General Motors reported an operating loss of $3.48 billion at Cruise in 2023, compared to a loss of $3.24 billion in 2022. Despite these challenges, GM CEO Mary Barra underscored the company’s dedication to Cruise during the fourth-quarter earnings call last month and expressed confidence in relaunching it.
However, the parent company did not provide a detailed relaunch timeline during the call.
Barra indicated that while Cruise’s spending would be significantly curtailed this year, investments in the development of self-driving software, specialized hardware, and other AI capabilities would persist.
For more of Benzinga’s insightful commentary on the Future Of Mobility, simply click here.
Read More: Tesla’s Model 3 Long-Range Gets Price Hike For Third Time This Month, But It’s Teeny
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo via Shutterstock
