In a call to “realign” its autonomous driving strategy, General Motors will no longer be funding its Cruise driverless robotaxi program in Austin and across the nation, according to a news release by the company Dec. 10.

The why

The announcement comes after the company paused operations in Austin over a year ago.

The company cited the “considerable” time and resources that would be needed to effectively scale the robotaxi business, particularly in an increasingly competitive market. There are currently five other autonomous vehicle companies known to be testing or operating in Austin at present.

General Motors plans to integrate its majority-owned Cruise with its internal technical teams to focus on developing advanced driver-assistance systems, paving the way for fully autonomous personal vehicles, the release states.


“General Motors is committed to delivering the best driving experiences to our customers in a disciplined and capital efficient manner,” General Motors CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. “Cruise has been an early innovator in autonomy, and the deeper integration of our teams, paired with General Motors’ strong brands, scale and manufacturing strength, will help advance our vision for the future of transportation.”

The automotive company, which currently owns 90% of Cruise LLC, is expected to pursue the remaining ownership shares, the release states. General Motors expects its restructuring of the autonomous vehicle company to lower its spending by over $1 billion annually.

Of note

Though trends indicate less complaints surrounding autonomous vehicle operations in Austin, a recent spike during one of the city's busiest event months prompts prolonged concern from locals.


There have been a total of 74 reported incidents involving autonomous vehicles since July 2023, with nine incidents occurring within this past October, according to data from the city’s Transportation and Public Works Department.
Thus far, there have been zero deaths attributed to autonomous vehicles; however, the city’s data cites roughly 30% of the documented incidents as a “near miss.” Of the most recent complaints, nuisance and not following police officer direction arise as the next top criticisms.

Local leaders continue to navigate the best way to regulate autonomous cars.

In Texas, there is not much regulation for automated cars at the local level. Senate Bill 2205, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2017, amended the Texas Transportation Code with policies governing autonomous vehicles. SB 2205 put much of the oversight of these vehicles in the state’s hands, rather than local municipalities, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.