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No matter what you think of them, autonomous vehicles will bring a range of opportunities for drivers and public infrastructure. That said, one of the most critical aspects of AVs becoming a part of everyday life is public trust, and the major players in today’s AV development race have struggled to earn and keep people’s confidence. Last year, GM’s Cruise operations shut down after high-profile accidents raised serious questions, and now, it’s Waymo’s turn under the microscope.

Americans, especially Californians, have good reason to be skeptical of autonomous vehicles. There have been multiple crashes and plenty of annoying traffic holdups as companies test robotaxis and other vehicles, and now, some Canadians are taking action to prevent similar issues.

General Motors’ Cruise division has been in the news a lot lately, but Waymo has stayed mostly out of the spotlight. That changed earlier this week when one of its autonomous taxis struck a bicyclist in San Francisco, though it appears the situation might have even challenged human drivers.

Updated with new information from Waymo after publication. We corrected dates for the company's Arizona operations, and Waymo noted that its expansion plans are not tied to Cruise's in any way.

General Motors’ Cruise has had a rough few months, ending with it pulling back on autonomous testing efforts across the country. Now, Alphabet’s Waymo is looking to expand, asking the California Public Utilities Commission for permission to grow its services in Los Angeles.

General Motors’ Cruise has had an exceptionally tough 2023, but the company isn’t going down without a fight or, in this case, a massive lawsuit against the city of San Francisco. GM has paid San Francisco $108 million in taxes and $13 million in interest since 2016 and now wants it back.

Rather than taxing GM and Cruise separately, as the automaker claims it should, the city lumped them together, resulting in higher tax bills.

The hits keep on coming for GM’s Cruise. After high-profile crashes and being forced to temporarily shutter operations in California, the autonomous vehicle unit announced yesterday that it would lay off a quarter of its workforce in a move that sees around 900 people losing their jobs.

Cruise is going through some things right now. After one of its robotaxis hit a pedestrian, the company halted all autonomous vehicle operations and issued a recall for many of its units. It also lost the ability to operate in California, its home base, at least temporarily, and now, we’ve learned that its CEO and co-founder has stepped down.

General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle division has had a bumpy few months. A number of frustrating failures have caused massive traffic pileups, car accidents, and even injured pedestrians. There have been so many issues that the company is temporarily halting public testing and has issued a recall for some of its vehicles. Now, we’re learning that Cruise’s robotaxis aren’t as robotic as everyone thought, as the company recently told CNBC that it employs “remote assistant agents” (people) to help the vehicles navigate.

General Motors recently announced a pause on all autonomous vehicle operations after several high-profile accidents, one including a pedestrian. Automotive News reported that the automaker is also halting production of the Cruise Origin Van.

Cruise was already in hot water with California authorities after a string of high-profile incidents, and now the company is suspending all operations to regroup and rebuild public trust.

Companies hoping to press autonomous vehicles into service on public roads have a long way to go to convince governments and local residents that everything will be fine, and the number of high-profile accidents in test cities isn’t helping. General Motors’ Cruise has been testing AVs in San Francisco for a while, but the company’s vehicles have been involved in a number of incidents with first responders, in which they block or delay rescue workers’ ability to help people. The company is looking at ways to improve the situation and recently penned a blog post to explain the path forward.

Driverless cars for everyday drivers do not exist, but a handful of cities in the country have allowed companies like Waymo to begin limited testing of autonomous taxis and other vehicles. Tech-heavy San Francisco is at the forefront of the movement, but its time with robo-taxis hasn’t been without drama.