GM's Cruise Goes the Extra Mile with 24/7 Robotaxi Rides, But Profitability Remains Out of Reach

The robotaxi arm of General Motors Co. GM incurred losses in the first quarter despite serving driverless rides around the clock in San Francisco.

What Happened: A part of Cruise’s fleet now serves driverless rides 24 hours a day across all of San Franciso, marking a major milestone for Cruise, said Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt in GM’s first-quarter earnings call on Tuesday. Previously, Cruise was offering driverless rides only during specific hours at night.

Cruise’s fleet has risen 86% since the last quarter- from 130 to 242 autonomous vehicles- and it has covered 1.5 million miles without a driver, Vogt said. The cars further complete 1000 driverless trips every day with passengers.

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Why It Matters: Cruise plans to bring in $1 billion in annual revenue by 2025 and $50 billion annually by 2030. Vogt said that the company’s Cruise Origin AV will commence testing in Austin soon and help achieve profitability. “We remain on track and slightly ahead as of today,” the CEO said.

However, Cruise reported a surge in losses in the first quarter. The robotaxi arm reported an adjusted EBIT loss of $561 million in the three months, an increase of 72.6% as compared to the loss of $325 million reported in the corresponding quarter last year. Cruise’s first quarter net sales and revenue accounted for a mere $25 million, down from $26 million a year ago.

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