GM’s Autonomous Unit Cruise Returns to Dallas for Robotaxi Trials

Cruise, General Motors (GM) ‘s autonomous vehicle subsidiary, is resuming its robotaxi trials in Dallas, Texas, this week.

This development is part of Cruise’s ongoing efforts to validate its autonomous driving technology against performance and safety standards, it posted on X.

(1/2) Hello @CityOfDallas – it's nice to see you again! This week, we’re excited to start driving in Dallas as we continue to validate our self-driving technology against our rigorous safety and performance standards. pic.twitter.com/TZR8xEDz4a

— cruise (@Cruise) June 3, 2024

In Dallas, Cruise is deploying a limited fleet of three vehicles. Still, this time, they will not operate autonomously or carry passengers.

Instead, they will be manned by human operators to gather data about the city’s roads and mapping. The collected data will be used to evaluate against safety standards, the specifics of which Cruise has not disclosed.

Cruise’s Incident with Pedestrian

This marks the second city after Phoenix that Cruise is gradually coming back into, following a serious incident last year that led to the suspension of its entire U.S. fleet.

A pedestrian was struck by a Cruise robotaxi in San Francisco, which immediately suspended Cruise’s operating permits by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

The incident’s aftermath was devastating for the company, with a wave of executive departures, including co-founder Kyle Vogt, and a layoff of 24% of its workforce. Despite these challenges, it’s no longer in doubt that Cruise remains committed to resuming its self-driving tests.

While the journey to recovery may be challenging, Cruise’s return to Dallas is a crucial step towards rebuilding public trust and proving the reliability of its autonomous driving technology.

GM and Competitors

Apart from rebuilding public trust, the move might also show Tesla and Alphabet’s Waymo that GM is not sleeping on its plans to be a big player in the autonomous driving car market.

While Waymo has achieved some success in the market, Tesla has yet to release its robotaxi cars. The latest the public heard about Tesla’s robotaxi plans was on April 5, when Elon Musk shared on X that Tesla’s robotaxi would be unveiled on August 8. Musk did not provide further details?after the post.

Tesla Robotaxi unveil on 8/8

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2024

As it returns to the roads, Cruise is adopting a more cautious approach, marking a stark departure from its previous rapid expansion strategy, which led to criticisms that the company was compromising on safety standards.