GM’s Self-Driving Car Company Cruise Admits To Submitting False Report

Autonomous driving startup Cruise, a subsidiary of GM Motors, is paying a $500,000 criminal fine for misleading a federal investigation. According to the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ), Cruise admitted to providing a false report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) related to an accident involving one of its self-driving cars.

In addition to the fine, Cruise must fully comply with any further government inquiries and submit annual reports to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The self-driving car technology company will also create a safety compliance program. If Cruise fails to meet the requirements for at least the next three years, it could face criminal prosecution.

“Companies with self-driving cars that seek to share our roads and crosswalks must be fully truthful in their reports to their regulators,” said Martha Boersch, who heads the criminal division for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Francisco, per Reuters.

Craig Glidden, Cruise’s president, said the company will adhere to agreement laid out by the DOJ. There will be full transparency and a commitment “to move forward under new leadership,” he stated.

Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt left the company in November 2023 after acknowledging multiple internal problems, including the pending government investigation. Co-founder Daniel Kan also resigned around the same time.

Cruise Self-Driving Car Accident

Just over a year ago, a woman in San Francisco was struck by a Cruise robotaxi. Reportedly, the vehicle did initially stop, but then began moving again in an attempt to get to the roadside. The woman was stuck underneath and the car dragged her as it moved, causing significant injuries.

Cruise’s report of the accident to the NHTSA omitted the dragging detail. Plus, Cruise failed to submit a video related to the dragging incident to investigators.

GM allegedly settled with the injured woman for around $8 million. Cruise also had to come up with $1.5 million to pay a fine to the NHTSA in September.

While Cruise is still racing to get reliable self-driving technology to market, competitors like Tesla’s robotaxi and Waymo are gaining steam. While government officials did suspend Cruise’s testing program during the accident investigation, the company has since returned to letting autonomous vehicles map Sunnyvale and Mountain View, California, yet this time with someone behind the wheel.