Detroit-based automaker General Motors Co GM said on Tuesday that the company will cut expenses by about $1 billion at its self-driving unit Cruise in 2024, while also reiterating hopes for Cruise autonomous vehicles returning to the road soon. Rival EV maker Tesla Inc‘s CEO Elon Musk responded to the latest update from the company by terming investors who chose Cruise over Tesla as “suicidal.”
What Happened: GM on Tuesday reported an operating loss of $3.48 billion at Cruise in 2023, as compared to a loss of $3.24 billion in 2022.
The company said that it will significantly cut spending on Cruise this year while also investing in the people developing the self-driving software, specialized hardware, and other AI capabilities.
“We are committed to Cruise. When we look at the technology, the foundational technology is sound,” GM CEO Mary Barra said.
When asked if the company will raise funds to relaunch Cruise, Barra said, “You know, as we get the — the detailed plan of how we’re going to relaunch Cruise in the road map, then we’ll evaluate the overall funding needs and will determine is it internal or externally sourced.”
Musk Responds: Responding to the news of the downscaling at Cruise, Tesla CEO on Tuesday highlighted fund manager T. Rowe Price who invested over a billion dollars in Cruise in 2019, along with a group of Cruise’s existing investors. T.Rowe Price announced the investment into Cruise weeks after the fund manager cut over a 90% stake in Tesla, Reuters reported.
“Yeah. I told them so at the time. They just insisted on suiciding [sic] themselves!” Musk said.
Trouble With Cruise: Cruise has been embroiled in safety concerns after one of its AVs got involved in an accident in San Francisco in early October. It has paused both autonomous and manual AV operations in the United States.
Last week, the GM unit said that it is being probed by the U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission over the accident.
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