General Motors’ (GM) Cruise robotaxi unit could face fines worth USD 1.5 million and additional sanctions for ‘misleading’ US regulator over an accident that took place on October 2. It involved a Cruise robotaxi dragging a pedestrian 20 feet after being struck by another vehicle. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has ordered Cruise to appear at a February 6 hearing for “misleading the Commission through omission regarding the extent and seriousness of the accident” and “making misleading public comments regarding its interactions with the commission.”
Cruise allegedly withheld information
The ruling mentioned that a day after the incident, a senior manager of government affairs at Cruise, Jose Alvarado, telephoned commission analyst Ashlyn Kong and informed her of the collision. However, Alvarado’s description “omitted that the Cruise AV had engaged in the pullover maneuver which resulted in the pedestrian being dragged an additional 20 feet at 7 mph (11.27 km per hour).”
Earlier, Kong had highlighted that Cruise’s blog posting that it “proactively” shared information with the commission “including the full video” is “inaccurate. “She mentioned that the “full video was shared only in response to a data request more than two weeks after the incident.”
Cruise conducting robotaxi reviews
Last month, the robotaxi firm paused all its driverless and supervised car trips in the US and expanded a safety review of its robotaxis. The company’s CEO Kyle Vogt and chief product officer Daniel Kan both stepped down. The company has also started reviewing its robotaxis’ handling of interactions with regulators and first responders as part of a pair of external reviews. “We will be transparent. I am not going to rush either of them,” GM Chief Executive Mary Barra told Reuters. She added that the automaker’s external review of Cruise’s safety will last into the first quarter of 2024.
However, the growing regulatory pressure for allegedly withholding information about the crash in San Francisco could hamper GM and Cruise’s effort to rebuild trust and restart its operations in California. The company is already facing losses, having lost more than USD 700 million in the third quarter and more than USD 8 billion since 2016. However, Barra is positive about the future plans with Crusie. She said, “I would call it an investment not a loss,” Barra said. “We have to have the right plan. We have to communicate it … and we will do that at the appropriate time.” She added that the Detroit automaker is “very focused on righting the ship” at Cruise.