Cruise, the autonomous vehicle (AV) subsidiary of General Motors (GM), has reported a US$435 million loss for the third quarter of 2024. This is a significant loss considering Cruise has not been running its robotaxi after the service was suspended in late 2023 after a high-profile accident involving a pedestrian in San Francisco,
Cruise’s third-quarter losses however do mark an improvement from the US$791 million loss recorded during the same period in 2023. This progress comes amid cost-cutting measures, including layoffs of 25% of the workforce and the cancellation of the ambitious Origin project, a driverless shuttle concept.
However, Cruise’s operational hiatus, triggered by a serious safety incident, has created additional hurdles for the company. In October 2023, one of its driverless vehicles struck a pedestrian, dragging her over 20 feet. The incident, coupled with regulatory scrutiny, forced Cruise to halt its commercial operations.
Over the past year, the company has resumed limited testing with human safety drivers on board in select US cities, including Houston, Phoenix, and Dallas.
In an incremental step toward returning to fully driverless operations, Cruise also announced this week it has begun driverless testing with vehicles in Houston. However, the cars aren’t human-free, as the safety driver is now seated in the passenger seat, rather than behind the wheel.
