Cathie Wood’s robotaxi future may have somewhat come into fruition as multiple companies have deployed driverless cars to roam the roads and take passengers.
However, state regulators have pumped the brakes on a key player who treated the roads like a beta test battleground.
Related: Cathie Wood dumps $4.5 million worth of surging Big Tech titan
In a brief statement, the California Department of Motor Vehicles has suspended the permits of General Motors (GM) -) -backed Cruise within the state, citing that its vehicles are “not safe for the public’s operation” and that the cars pose “an unreasonable risk to the public.”
Both Cruise and Alphabet (GOOG) -) subsidiary Waymo have been under fire by local authorities, motorists and the general public ever since they were allowed to provide 24-hour rideshare services around the San Francisco area and in other U.S. cities.
Cruise’s suspension, in particular, comes one week after the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration said it was investigating the company following two incident reports of injuring pedestrians.
Cruise spokesperson Navideh Forghani said in a statement to Forbes that the company is reviewing an Oct. 2 incident in San Francisco where a woman who was initially hit by a human-operated vehicle was thrown into the path of an oncoming Cruise autonomous vehicle.
More Technology:
- The company behind ChatGPT is now facing a massive lawsuit
- Prominent EV company says latest deal will be the first of many
- Apple makes a big new move with Elon Musk's Twitter
San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin told Forbes that Cruise’s suspension was “better late than never,” adding “San Francisco has long held that Cruise vehicles were not ready for prime time and the state should have never allowed their unlimited deployment in the first place.”
The California DMV stated that they have provided Cruise with the steps it needs to take to apply to reinstate its suspended permits in its brief statement. However, any specific details of such has not been disseminated.
San Francisco is not the only city where Cruise offers its robotaxi service. It also operates in Austin, Texas and Phoenix, Ariz. Currently it is testing vehicles in 10 other cities around the United States, including Nashville, Tenn.
Get investment guidance from trusted portfolio managers without the management fees. Sign up for Action Alerts PLUS now.
