Driverless cars have been causing havoc in the streets of San Francisco over the past year, much to the annoyance of local residents. The self-driving vehicles have become common in the Bay Area, after two tech firms, Cruise and Waymo, were given permission by local authorities several months ago to test their new vehicles on the…

A committee in the British Parliament has launched an inquiry into self-driving vehicles aimed at establishing what needs to happen for them to become a common sight on public roads. The Transport Select Committee in the House of Commons announced on June 27 that it will analyse the progress of research and trials into self-driving…

OAKLAND, Calif.—General Motors Co’s Cruise on Thursday became the first company to secure a permit to charge for self-driving car rides in San Francisco, after it overcame objections by city officials. Self-driving test cars with human safety drivers have become a constant sight in San Francisco, and completely driverless ones are increasingly common too. Turning…

General Motors Co. CFO Paul Jacobson said on Tuesday the company will spend about $2 billion on its self-driving taxi fleet Cruise this year. What Happened The legacy automaker said it is just a permit away from being able to begin charging for rides. “Inclusive of the incremental stock compensation expenses, we expect full-year 2022 expenses at Cruise to…

Motorists in self-driving cars will be allowed to watch TV on built-in screens, but the use of mobile phones will remain prohibited, the UK government confirmed on Wednesday. Transport minister Trudy Harrison said the update to the Highway Code—the UK’s rulebook for road users—will be a “major milestone in our safe introduction of self-driving vehicles,”…

Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk said on Sunday that the electric vehicle maker has rolled out its full self-driving beta software program to over 100,000 customers in the United States. What Happened The latest numbers indicate that Austin, Texas-based Tesla has significantly ramped up its beta program offering to customers. “The car currently drives me around Austin most of…

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has authorized two companies, Waymo and Cruise, to offer autonomous vehicle (AV) passenger services in the state. AVs refer to driverless vehicles. Earlier, the companies were permitted to provide passenger services under the Drivered Pilot program. This allowed Waymo and Cruise to carry out testing of their AV service…

San Francisco—Luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz will partner with self-driving sensor maker Luminar Technologies Inc to enable fully automated driving on highways for its next-generation vehicles, Luminar’s founder said. Automakers from Tesla to GM and Volvo have set their eyes on introducing autonomous vehicles, although regulatory and technological challenges remain. Tech firms such as Alphabet’s Waymo and…

General Motors (GM) unveiled a new personal self-driving electric concept car from its luxury brand Cadillac on Wednesday, while the company’s CEO said she anticipates introducing a personal autonomous vehicle “as soon as the middle of the decade.” The electric vehicle, part of Cadillac’s Halo Concept Portfolio, was revealed during the CES technology show in Las Vegas…

By Olga Megorskaya Waymo, a unit of Google’s Alphabet Inc., and Yandex Self-Driving Group, a division of the Russian-based Yandex corporation, are among more than a dozen leading names in automated vehicle software and hardware. The former recently launched a pilot self-driving taxi program in San Francisco, the latter has been testing its automated cars…