Waymo and Toyota are teaming up. The Japanese giant will help develop a new autonomous vehicle platform for the Google spin-off which has become the U.S. leader in driverless ride-sharing technology. The announcement comes days after VW and Uber revealed their own autonomous alliance. More from Headlight.News.
General Motors is shutting down its Cruise robocab program, shifting resources to the development of self-driving privately owned vehicles. The move comes a year after the subsidiary was blamed for a near-fatal accident near its San Francisco headquarters. It effectively hands what proponents see as a potentially huge market to competitors like Waymo and Tesla.
Rimac’s Verne robotaxi brand is aiming to take ride-hailing services in a new direction with its fleet of stylish taxis. Brand will begin initial rollout in crowded city centers before expanding operations.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet that the automaker will reveal its new robotaxi on August 8, 2024. According to recent reports, Tesla has scrubbed plans to build an “affordable” EV to focus resources on developing the driverless ride-sharing vehicle – though Musk said such reports are false.
From Henry Ford to the Jetsons, the idea of flying cars has long caught the public imagination. And, finally, they may be coming to reality. Headlight.News talks to RJ Schreiner, a former Marine pilot who’s now chief test pilot for Supernal, the Hyundai subsidiary that debuted its S-A2 flying cab at CES 2024.
Cruise LLC, GM’s autonomous vehicle arm, continues to feel the impact of an October 2 crash that nearly killed a pedestrian in San Francisco. The robotaxi company will eliminate a quarter of its workforce in a bid to move onto “a more deliberate path with safety as the north star.” That includes nine senior executives cited in an ongoing safety investigation.”
Any foreigner who has tried to negotiate Tokyo’s narrow, windy and painfully crowded roads knows what a challenge that can be. But General Motors and Honda say they’re confident they’ve got a better way to navigate traffic, with the partners set to launch service by Cruise robotaxis in Japan’s capitol starting in 2026.
Federal and state safety regulators are looking into a crash involving a driverless vehicle operated by GM’s Cruise ride-share service after it ran over a pedestrian, leaving her in critical condition. Get the details at Headlight.News.