In October of last year, the robotaxi Cruise hit a woman who had already been hit by another car and dragged her for another 6 meters - however, the investigation by regulators was complicated by the fact that the company could not provide a 45-second video of the incident (as the current investigation results allegedly show, because of "internet connection issues").
The legal firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, hired by Cruise to determine if its executives misled regulators, outlined detailed findings in a 200-page report reviewed by The Verge. The document notes that "weighty evidence" confirms that Cruise "reproduced or attempted to reproduce the full video" showing how its car dragged the woman to the side of the road, however, "internet connection issues likely prevented the company from obtaining a clear and complete recording."
In the first hours after the incident, some Cruise employees did not know that the car had dragged the woman while trying to stop and avoid hitting her, so they made a statement to the press and began sharing the first videos. Meanwhile, the company's executives were "fixated" on correcting the media narrative that Cruise's car, not another driver, caused the accident.
Several executives resigned after the incident, including co-founders Kyle Vogt and Dan Kan. Cruise initially suspended driverless trips in California, and then nationwide, appointed a new director of safety, and recalled all 950 of its vehicles. Nearly a quarter of the company's employees were laid off as General Motors withdraws part of the company's funding. In October, GM reported losing approximately $1.9 billion on Cruise for the first nine months of 2023, including $732 million for just the third quarter.
"We are focused on improving our technology and regaining public trust," Cruise executives write in a blog post in response to the report.
Additionally, the incident is being investigated by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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