© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Cruise self-driving automobile, which is owned by Common Motors Corp, is seen outdoors the corporate’s headquarters in San Francisco the place it does most of its testing, in California, U.S., September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Heather Somerville//File Picture
By Greg Bensinger
(Reuters) -Common Motors’ Cruise autonomous car unit has hit an “all time low,” stated its new chief, whereas promising to revive belief with regulators and the general public after the corporate pulled all of its autos from U.S. roads.
“Our integrity, our competency are being questioned and this really hurts,” stated Mo Elshenawy at an all-staff assembly Tuesday, in keeping with a transcript of the decision reviewed by Reuters. “We went from an all-time high to an all-time low and from being an industry leader to temporary pausing all of our operations,” he said.
A spokesperson for Cruise declined comment.
Elshenawy was installed as Cruise president last month after its CEO stepped down following regulatory scrutiny after an October accident in which a San Francisco woman was dragged.
Cruise has been under growing pressure after regulators said it failed to fully disclose details of the October accident. Last month, Cruise paused all driverless and supervised car trips in the United States and expanded a safety review of its robotaxis and CEO Kyle Vogt and chief product officer Daniel Kan both stepped down.
Elshenawy seemed to acknowledge a difficult path ahead for the self-driving car company that competes with Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:) Waymo and Amazon (NASDAQ:).com’s Zoox. “We don’t have a deep reservoir of trust with all of our stakeholders and our regulators,” he said.
“This last week a Cruiser shared with me that they don’t wear their Cruise jacket in public anymore,” stated Elshenawy. “It truly breaks my heart.”
Cruise may face $1.5 million in fines and extra sanctions over its failure to reveal particulars surrounding the Oct. 2 accident wherein considered one of its robotaxis dragged a pedestrian after being struck by one other car, a California company stated in a letter final week.
The California Public Utilities Fee ordered Cruise to look at a Feb. 6 listening to 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.”
The corporate has employed a legislation agency to assist it conduct a security evaluation and has pulled all of its autos off public U.S. roads within the meantime. Dad or mum GM Monday that the automaker’s exterior evaluation of Cruise’s security will final into the primary quarter of 2024.
Cruise has stated it can conduct layoffs later this month however on Tuesday declined to offer a lot element to workers. It has stopped taking questions from staffers at all-hands conferences, beforehand a fixture.
The corporate’s chief administrative officer, Craig Glidden, stated his focus has been on “resetting” the regulatory relationship and “building trust” and acknowledged “we still have a ways to go,” in keeping with the transcript. “I intend to work collaboratively with legal and government affairs on all the submissions that we need to make,” he stated.
