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☆ Self-driving car company Cruise agreed to reduce its driverless fleet by 50% after a spate of recent crashes. San Francisco officials previously pushed for a slower rollout of robotaxis.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

City officials previously told Insider the approval would be "premature." Cruise, a self-driving car company, agreed to slash its driverless taxi operation in San Francisco by half on Friday following reports of two separate crashes involving its vehicles. One Cruise vehicle also drove into wet concrete at a construction site. Another collision occurred that evening, in which another vehicle ran a red light "at a high rate of speed," the company told Insider. Tilly Chang, executive director of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA), previously told Insider that her agency believes approving the permits would be "premature."

Persons: Alphabet's Waymo, Darcie Houck, robotaxis, Cruise, San Francisco, Tilly Chang, Chang, We've, Joe Castiglione, SFCTA's, CPUC, Castiglione Organizations: California Department of Motor Vehicles, DMV, California Public Utilities Commission, CBS, City, San, San Francisco County Transportation Authority Locations: California, San Francisco, San Francisco County, —

☆ Cruise will reduce robotaxi fleet by 50% in San Francisco while California DMV investigates ‘incidents’
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In an aerial view, Chevrolet Cruise autonomous vehicles sit parked in a staging area on June 08, 2023 in San Francisco, California. Cruise will reduce its robotaxi fleet by 50% in San Francisco, the California Department of Motor Vehicles told CNBC. "The DMV is investigating recent concerning incidents involving Cruise vehicles in San Francisco," a DMV spokesperson said in a statement. In addition to the crash with a firetruck, one Cruise vehicle reportedly got stuck in concrete, and an autonomous vehicle with a passenger got hit by a driver. Last weekend, a slew of Cruise vehicles stalled and slowed traffic outside an outdoor music festival.

Persons: Alphabet's Waymo, Cruise, Greg Dietrerich, Dietrerich, — CNBC's Lora Kolodny Organizations: Chevrolet Cruise, Cruise, California Department of Motor Vehicles, CNBC, General Motors, San, DMV, Cruises Locations: San Francisco , California, Autonomous, San Francisco

☆ Tesla owners share their best tips for taking an EV on a road trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Autopilot and Tesla's Full Self-Driving beta feature are also a major plus for relaxing on the road, some drivers said. Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty ImagesAll Tesla models are equipped with the Autopilot feature, which enables a car to steer, accelerate, and brake automatically within its lane. Earlier this year, Model S owner Tim Heckman told Insider the driver assist features were a "lifesaver" on his 6,392-mile road trip. Long trips can take a mental toll," Heckman said at the time, noting that he'sd used Autopilot on previous road trips and discovered he could drive further without getting tired. Zuga told Insider Autopilot is one of several features that he feels make road trips less stressful and safer in a Tesla.

Persons: Chris Walker, Tim Heckman, Heckman, Zuga Organizations: Chicago Tribune, Tribune, Service, Getty, Traffic, Administration, California Department of Motor Vehicles

☆ Cruise Agrees to Reduce Driverless Car Fleet in San Francisco After Crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Yiwen Lu | More About Yiwen Lu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Less than a day after one of its driverless taxis collided with a fire truck in a San Francisco intersection, Cruise agreed on Friday to a request from state regulators to cut in half the number of vehicles it was operating in the city. On Friday, the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which regulates the safety of the driverless cars, asked Cruise to halve the number of vehicles it was operating in San Francisco. The Cruise vehicle’s collision with a fire truck the day before had injured a passenger in the driverless car. Earlier in the week, another Cruise vehicle got stuck in newly poured concrete on another city street. The company, which now has 400 vehicles operating in San Francisco, will have no more than 50 driverless cars running during the day and 150 at night.

Persons: Cruise Organizations: California Public Utilities Commission, General Motors, Google, California Department of Motor Vehicles Locations: San Francisco, Cruise

☆ Tesla under investigation by California attorney general over Autopilot safety, marketing
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk, Tesla boss, runs to a Tesla at the Tesla Gigafactory construction site. The California attorney general's office is investigating Tesla , seeking information from customers and former employees about Autopilot safety issues and false advertising complaints, CNBC has learned. Wester isn't the only Tesla customer to be contacted by analysts with the attorney general's office after voicing safety and related concerns. The person had previously voiced concerns about Autopilot and FSD safety issues at Tesla and publicly. While the company has previously identified "requests from the DOJ for documents related to Tesla's Autopilot and FSD features," Tesla has not disclosed that the California attorney general was investigating the company.

Persons: Elon, Tesla, Greg Wester, Wester, Rob Bonta's, Musk, It's Organizations: CNBC, Tesla, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, California, FSD, Consumer Sentinel Network, National, Traffic Safety Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, SEC, Department of Justice, The California Department of Motor Vehicles Locations: Grünheide, Berlin, California, U.S, Fremont, Austin , Texas, Palo Alto , California

☆ Mercedes-Benz beats Tesla for California's approval of automated driving tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The steering wheel in a moving Mercedes EQS 580 4Matic, when using the Drive Pilot, a technology of Mercedes Benz AG for autonomous driving. The California Department of Motor Vehicles on Thursday approved Mercedes-Benz 's automated driving system on designated highways under certain conditions without the active control of a driver. But the German carmaker beat Tesla to become the first carmaker to receive authorization to sell or lease cars with an automated driving system to the public in California. The 'DRIVE PILOT' system can only operate on highways during daylight at speeds not exceeding 40 miles per hour, the DMV said. Earlier this year, Mercedes-Benz also received an approval to deploy advanced automated driving systems on Nevada's roads.

Persons: Tesla Organizations: Mercedes, Mercedes Benz AG, The California Department of Motor Vehicles, Benz, DMV, Motors Locations: California, Bay Area, Central Valley, Los Angeles , Sacramento, San Diego, Southern California, Nevada

☆ Cruise robotaxis blocked a road in San Francisco after a storm downed trees and wires
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

General Motors ' self-driving vehicle unit Cruise acknowledged that some of its cars stalled out on city streets in San Francisco following rainstorms that downed trees there on Tuesday night. After that, another tree on Polk and Clay streets fell into the street. In response, he said, the San Francisco Fire Department had blocked off Clay between Polk and Jones streets with caution tape. He said the driverless Cruise vehicles did not appear to detect and avoid the caution tape and bus wires properly, and instead became "tangled in them." Cruise has permits to test and deploy autonomous vehicles in San Francisco all hours of day and night, excluding heavy rain."

☆ Elon Musk meets with California Gov. Newsom at Tesla's new engineering headquarters to discuss expansion
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Yasmin Khorram | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his staff are meeting Wednesday with California Governor Gavin Newsom and touring Tesla's new engineering headquarters. As the pandemic hit in March 2020, Musk and state officials clashed over reopening the Tesla plant in Fremont, California. In 2021, following repeated threats to leave the state, Musk moved Tesla's headquarters to Austin, Texas. Since then, Musk has made his political stance clear, characterizing California as a one-party state that is burdened with overregulation and high taxes. Tesla said it had 47,000 employees in California in 2022, according to a January 2023 blog post.

☆ Elon Musk announces that Tesla's engineering HQ is expanding in California, over a year after moving the company's headquarters to Texas
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk announced on Wednesday that Tesla plans to expand its engineering headquarters in California. Tesla moved the company's headquarters to Texas in 2021, but still employs thousands of workers in California. Gavin Newsom that the electric-car maker plans to expand its engineering headquarters in California. The announcement comes less than two years after Musk moved Tesla's headquarters to Austin, Texas. Despite the move to Texas, the carmaker continued to produce many of its cars at the Factory in Fremont, California and it still maintains its previous company headquarters in Palo Alto.

☆ Amazon’s Zoox robotaxi drives on public roads in California for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Amazon’s Zoox driverless transportation company has started testing its robotaxi on open public roads — with employees on board, for now. The company said Monday that it conducted an initial run of its shuttle service for workers at its headquarters in Foster City, California on February 11, a key step in its efforts to make autonomous vehicles widely available. Full-time employees will now be able to travel in the self-driving taxi on the route between Zoox’s two main office buildings. Zoox, which was founded in 2014 and purchased by Amazon in 2020, is unique in its approach to designing electric self-driving vehicles. But Zoox has ditched the steering wheel and brake pedal, claiming those features are unnecessary when there’s no human driver.

☆ Amazon's Zoox robotaxi now giving rides to employees on public roads in California
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon -owned autonomous vehicle venture Zoox said on Monday that it is now testing its self-driving robotaxis on public roads in California with passengers on board. Zoox executives said the company began the tests after it received approval from the California Department of Motor Vehicles last week. Zoox said one of its vehicles completed a test run with employees on board over the weekend. Zoox unveiled its custom-built, electric robotaxi in 2020, with an eye on offering on-demand autonomous transportation in urban settings. It will continue to test the vehicle with employees and expects to launch a shuttle service for staffers this spring.

☆ Elon Musk might have tweeted himself into hot water — again — with a regulator
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A US agency is examining a tweet from Elon Musk about possibly disabling a driver-monitoring feature. Tesla's FSD has a feature that reminds beta testers to apply pressure to the steering wheel. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is examining a tweet from Elon Musk regarding an update to Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, a spokesperson told Insider. FSD is an add-on to Tesla's Autopilot driver assist program. Tesla's FSD software has faced criticism in the past.

☆ GM’s Cruise Seeks Regulatory OK to Test Shuttle With No Steering Wheel
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Ryan Felton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

General Motors Co.’s driverless-car unit has requested approval from California regulators to begin public testing of a shuttle that has no steering wheel or manual controls, showing the auto maker’s determination to make progress on autonomous vehicles as rivals step back. GM’s Cruise LLC division in August submitted an application to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, requesting permission to test its Origin driverless vehicle on San Francisco streets, according to a copy of the document obtained through a public records request.

☆ Fact Check-Noncitizens cannot vote in California congressional elections
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Noncitizens are not eligible to vote in California congressional elections, despite the claim resurfacing online ahead of November’s midterm elections. “By law noncitizens cannot vote in California elections. California law requires that voters be both U.S. and California citizens,” Joe Kocurek, a spokesperson for the California Secretary of State told Reuters via email. Noncitizens cannot vote in congressional elections in California. San Francisco voters passed an ordinance allowing noncitizens to vote in school board elections only.

☆ Tesla faces U.S. criminal probe over self-driving car claims, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Such warnings could complicate any case the Justice Department might wish to bring, the sources said. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment. As part of the latest probe, Justice Department prosecutors in Washington and San Francisco are examining whether Tesla misled consumers, investors and regulators by making unsupported claims about its driver assistance technology’s capabilities, the sources said. The Justice Department’s Autopilot probe is far from recommending any action partly because it is competing with two other DOJ investigations involving Tesla, one of the sources said. The Justice Department may also face challenges in building its case, said the sources, because of Tesla’s warnings about overreliance on Autopilot.

Such warnings could complicate any case the Justice Department might wish to bring, the sources said. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment. The Justice Department investigation potentially represents a more serious level of scrutiny because of the possibility of criminal charges against the company or individual executives, the people familiar with the inquiry said. As part of the latest probe, Justice Department prosecutors in Washington and San Francisco are examining whether Tesla misled consumers, investors and regulators by making unsupported claims about its driver assistance technology's capabilities, the sources said. The Justice Department’s Autopilot probe is far from recommending any action partly because it is competing with two other DOJ investigations involving Tesla, one of the sources said.

☆ Tesla faces U.S. criminal probe over self-driving claims, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Mike Spector | Dan Levine | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Such warnings could complicate any case the Justice Department might wish to bring, the sources said. The Justice Department investigation potentially represents a more serious level of scrutiny because of the possibility of criminal charges against the company or individual executives, the people familiar with the inquiry said. As part of the latest probe, Justice Department prosecutors in Washington and San Francisco are examining whether Tesla misled consumers, investors and regulators by making unsupported claims about its driver assistance technology's capabilities, the sources said. The Justice Department's Autopilot probe is far from recommending any action partly because it is competing with two other DOJ investigations involving Tesla, one of the sources said. The Justice Department may also face challenges in building its case, said the sources, because of Tesla's warnings about overreliance on Autopilot.

☆ Tesla cars will not be approved as fully self driving this year, Musk says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Hyunjoo Jin | Akash Sriram | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File PhotoThe Silicon Valley automaker sells a $15,000 software add-on called “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) which enables its vehicles to change lanes and park autonomously. A highly autonomous vehicle would require regulatory approval in California, for example. “It’s a separate matter as to will it have regulatory approval. It won’t have regulatory approval at that time,” he added. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on Thursday said it “has an ongoing review of the intended design and technological capabilities of Tesla vehicles,” without elaborating further.

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