General Motors (GM) is facing a new challenge in the form of a U.S. Justice Department investigation into a serious collision involving one of its self-driving cars. The incident occurred in October last year when a robotaxi operated by GM's subsidiary, Cruise, struck a pedestrian in San Francisco. The victim was dragged about 20 feet (6 meters) and suffered critical injuries.
As a result of the incident, regulators suspended Cruise's license to operate its driverless fleet in California. This setback, coupled with allegations of a coverup by Cruise, led to a major shakeup in the company's leadership team. In addition, GM had to lay off around 25% of the workforce in its self-driving division, scaling back its ambitious plans in autonomous vehicle technology.
The Justice Department's inquiry into the collision comes as the latest blow to GM's self-driving aspirations. The nature of the investigation has not been disclosed, and GM has not provided any further details. However, the company has assured that it is cooperating with the authorities.
The revelations about the ongoing troubles faced by both GM and Cruise were made public in a report commissioned to review how the incident was handled. This report, prepared by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, a law firm, criticized Cruise's management for 'poor leadership, mistakes in judgment, lack of coordination, an 'us versus them' mentality with regulators.' It also alleged that Cruise failed to provide the complete video footage of the incident to California regulators due to internet streaming issues.
While the report acknowledged Cruise's initial belief that it had shown regulators the footage of the robotaxi dragging the pedestrian, it highlighted the company's insufficient efforts to rectify the situation once they realized the video had not been seen in its entirety. The report called for Cruise to take decisive steps to restore trust and credibility.
GM has already taken action by appointing a new management team at Cruise and reevaluating its goals for the driverless division. Previously, GM had projected Cruise would generate $1 billion in revenue by 2025, but now the company is reassessing these projections. The incident raised doubts among skeptics about the reliability and safety of autonomous driving technology.
Last August, Cruise achieved a significant milestone when California regulators approved its request to operate a robotaxi service throughout San Francisco at all hours, despite objections from city officials. However, the suspension of the license in October brought these plans to a screeching halt.
GM's response to this investigation and its efforts to address the issues raised by the report will be crucial in determining the future of its self-driving ambitions. The company needs to rebuild trust and credibility while ensuring the highest standards of safety are met before resuming its autonomous vehicle operations.
