Cruise

[EVNow]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1722666679409545364

 

[diplomat33]

I feel like we are seeing the slow death of Cruise.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1722666679409545364

That info is consistent with what we know. We already knew that Cruise's L4 was nowhere near as reliable to what the PR was portraying. I remember months ago seeing countless ride videos showing the Cruise doing all kinds of bad stuff and needing remote assistance, getting stuck, etc... And I said back then, on reddit, that I thought Cruise did not have good FSD. But yeah, it is clear that the top execs tried to scale anyway. And we see the result. I just wish Kyle would get fired over this because that is where the blame lies, not with the everyday engineers who were just trying to do their jobs.

 

[EVNow]

I just wish Kyle would get fired over this because that is where the blame lies, not with the everyday engineers who were just trying to do their jobs.

Oh yes - he will get fired.

I think GM is waiting to see if there is going to be a damage case against them - in which case firing CEO might be seen as admitting guilt. So they may wait.

Sounds like Kyle is no better than Kalanick of Uber and so many other extremely aggressive Silicon Valley CEOs.

 

[diplomat33]

Cruise Update: they are now pausing supervised and manual AV operations in the U.S., affecting roughly 70 vehicles. I wonder how long before they just admit they are shutting down completely?

Craig Glidden to assume the role of Chief Administrative Officer for Cruise

As we posted in our blog last week, we have initiated workstreams in four key areas to identify potential improvements to how we operate. We are pleased that Craig Glidden, GM’s Executive Vice President of Legal and Policy and Cruise board member, will be expanding his support of Cruise and working closely with Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt and the Cruise Senior Leadership Team to oversee the workstreams around Transparency and Community Engagement. Cruise’s Legal & Policy, Communications, and Finance teams will report directly to Craig, and he will assume the title of Chief Administrative Officer for Cruise. He will continue in his current role at GM. Cruise will benefit from leveraging Craig and GM’s experience and best practices when it comes to transparency and engagement around safety.

Retention of an independent expert to conduct a comprehensive safety assessment

We announced last week that Cruise will hire a permanent Chief Safety Officer who will report directly to Kyle. In addition, the Cruise Board will retain a third-party safety expert in the coming weeks to perform a full assessment of Cruise’s safety operations and culture. These independent findings will help further guide and inform the work we have initiated.

Expansion of Exponent’s scope

Cruise previously hired the independent, third-party engineering consulting firm, Exponent, to conduct a technical root cause analysis of the October 2 incident. That work is ongoing, and the Board plans to expand Exponent’s remit to include a comprehensive review of our safety systems and technology.

Voluntary pause of supervised and manual operations

On October 26, we announced a pause of all our driverless operations while we take time to examine our processes, systems, and tools and improve how we operate. In the coming days, we are also pausing our supervised and manual AV operations in the U.S., affecting roughly 70 vehicles. This orderly pause is a further step to rebuild public trust while we undergo a full safety review. We will continue to operate our vehicles in closed course training environments and maintain an active simulation program in order to stay focused on advancing AV technology.

Cruise is dedicated to rebuilding trust and operating at the highest standards of safety. We are committed to keeping our customers, regulators, and the public informed throughout this process.

Important Updates from Cruise

We are dedicated to building a better Cruise, this post outlines the steps we’re taking as we listen, learn, and improve.

getcruise.com

 

[Dewg]

Cruise Update: they are now pausing supervised and manual AV operations in the U.S., affecting roughly 70 vehicles. I wonder how long before they just admit they are shutting down completely?

Important Updates from Cruise

We are dedicated to building a better Cruise, this post outlines the steps we’re taking as we listen, learn, and improve.

getcruise.com

Starting to feel like the Uber AV test that killed a pedestrian - they just quietly disappeared after that.

 

[EVNow]

Starting to feel like the Uber AV test that killed a pedestrian - they just quietly disappeared after that.

I don't think GM wants to just write off their investment. They will want to bring it back to some shape and sell it.

I mean clearly they have some IP - probably just needs some more debugging and training for small children etc.

Ironically Dan O'Dowd went after Tesla for hitting small children. He should have targeted Cruise. Reminds me people used to keep calling Musk a fraud - but CEOs of other auto majors ended up in Jail (VW, Nissan ...) !!

 

[stopcrazypp]

I don't think GM wants to just write off their investment. They will want to bring it back to some shape and sell it.

I mean clearly they have some IP - probably just needs some more debugging and training for small children etc.

Ironically Dan O'Dowd went after Tesla for hitting small children. He should have targeted Cruise. Reminds me people used to keep calling Musk a fraud - but CEOs of other auto majors ended up in Jail (VW, Nissan ...) !!

It might not be a full AV though, might be L2 or L3 for GM branded vehicles. That was part of the initial desire when they bought them, even though it ended up there was very limited collaboration up to now. Now may be a chance to "absorb" Cruise into GM instead of letting them be largely independent.

However, tech aside, in terms of branding, Cruise may be heavily tarnished. So any hope of using that in GM vehicle branding (for example "powered by Cruise") may no longer be viable.

 

[voyager]

What if AV developers would change the sort of vehicle used to pilot AV technology?
After all, the average cab ride consists of 1.2 person.

The DMV decided against the vehicles Cruise is using on the basis of the available AV tech,
as they clearly present a danger to other road users, in particular pedestrians.
It is the vehicle that needs maneuvering through traffic... not the AV tech as such.

Below: Lit Motors' self-balancing two-wheeler with Lidar. Less obstructive, less likely to cause damage,
easier to monitor/scan the vehicle's vicinity.

 

[voyager]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1722666679409545364

Oh dear...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1724676256426496137

 

[Tam]

It might not be a full AV though, might be L2 or L3 for GM branded vehicles. That was part of the initial desire when they bought them, even though it ended up there was very limited collaboration up to now. Now may be a chance to "absorb" Cruise into GM instead of letting them be largely independent.

However, tech aside, in terms of branding, Cruise may be heavily tarnished. So any hope of using that in GM vehicle branding (for example "powered by Cruise") may no longer be viable.

Companies knew that it's a long-term dream to get Robotaxi capability and that would suck lots of money for countless years

Some how Robotaxis were pumped up as if it's just around the corner and numerous companies jumped in.

Google makes almost $60 billion so it can afford to spend a billion dollars annually which is a tiny fraction.

GM makes $20 billion profits annually and it figured by wasting a billion dollars annually on Cruise it will start to get $1 billion in profits in 2025 and increasing to 50 billion in 2030 so it thought it was a good investment.

2025 is only 13 months away so it's now clear that with this revelation, there's no way it will be profitable by that time and it can kiss the projected $50 billion good bye.

 

[spacecoin]

2025 is only 13 months away so it's now clear that with this revelation, there's no way it will be profitable by that time and it can kiss the projected $50 billion good bye.

Agree 100%

On that note, someone should perhaps call Morgan Stanley, Goldman, Wedbush, ARK, Gerber, Black et.al and inform them that TSLA valuation models needs revising... Also call SEC while at it.

Camera-only autonomy or any Tesla robo-taxi operations (regardless of sensing) are waay into the 2030:s if it ever happens.

 

[voyager]

Cruise, with the University of Michigan and Virginia Tech, have published a new detailed safety study based on Cruise's 5.6M driverless miles:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1707103745237295332

Vogt = CEO and Co-founder at Cruise.
One starts to wonder whether UMTRI and VTTI are really that impartial...
Or are leaning towards favorably rating the organization that initiated the survey.

 

[voyager]

GM pauses production of the Origin:

Under Fire Over Robotaxi Safety, GM Halts Production Of Cruise Driverless Van

The parent of the autonomous vehicle company is pausing manufacturing of the Origin, a self-driving van that does not have a steering wheel, amid safety concerns.

www.forbes.com

Again, why use 'rolling real estate' to carry the average 1.2 passenger per ride?
Unless Origin will be used in some clever form of ride-sharing the moment AV tech has been proven failsafe.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1724296121030164691

 

[Tam]

Again, why use 'rolling real estate' to carry the average 1.2 passenger per ride?
Unless Origin will be used in some clever form of ride-sharing the moment AV tech has been proven failsafe.

Big van or shuttle is in very high demand in airports especially for short routes to remote parking lots, car rentals, and near by hotels...

 

[Tam]

Vogt = CEO and Co-founder at Cruise.
One starts to wonder whether UMTRI and VTTI are really that impartial...
Or are leaning towards favorably rating the organization that initiated the survey.

Statistics don't lie. It's true that current Autonomous Vehicles have better records thạn humans so far...

Until more time and numbers are added and the end results may change.

 

[voyager]

Statistics don't lie. It's true that current Autonomous Vehicles have better records thạn humans so far...

Until more time and numbers are added and the end results may change.

Statistically maybe. But human drivers can be blamed when an accident occurs.
Robo taxi operators risk being shutdown, since it is systemc rather than incidental.

 

[voyager]

Big van or shuttle is in very high demand in airports especially for short routes to remote parking lots, car rentals, and near by hotels...

That may be, but fetching a cab through downtown SF differs from being shuttled to and from airports.

Ride-hail providers should differentiate. Smaller (sleeker) robo-cabs when 1-2 passengers need a ride.
Big van-like shuttles when more people need ferrying.

 

[EVNow]

Vogt = CEO and Co-founder at Cruise.
One starts to wonder whether UMTRI and VTTI are really that impartial...
Or are leaning towards favorably rating the organization that initiated the survey.

Just because a company "initiates a survey" doesn't mean VTI and UM are ready to be compromised. What matters is the transparency and methodology.

 

[voyager]

Just because a company "initiates a survey" doesn't mean VTI and UM are ready to be compromised. What matters is the transparency and methodology.

What I noticed is that research organizations tend to 'commit' themselves to vehicle autonomy.
PAVE is such a platform. Look who's involved. PAVE Is not interested in hearing about alternative views at all.
The price of so little self-criticism is that regulatory authorities step in.
UBER quit its driverless division, sold it to Aurora. Ford stopped too, Argo AI folded.

 

[EVNow]

What I noticed is that research organizations tend to 'commit' themselves to vehicle autonomy.
PAVE is such a platform. Look who's involved. PAVE Is not interested in hearing about alternative views at all.
The price of so little self-criticism is that regulatory authorities step in.
UBER quit its driverless division, sold it to Aurora. Ford stopped too, Argo AI folded.

Virginia Tech has been doing transportation related research for decades. Its not going to be swayed by a minor player like Cruise.

Conspiracy theories are just that .... conspiracy theories. Unless there is a clear conflict of interest you can show, I'm going to assume researchers are not compromised.

BTW, your argument is what a lot of anti-EV folks use as well - esp. against climate change research, calling it a "hoax".