Uber and GM-backed Cruise stated on Thursday that it will deploy its autonomous vehicles on the ride-hailing company’s platform as part of a multi-year agreement. The agreement, which launch next year, will allow Uber riders to select a trip using a Cruise automated car. GM shares increased more than 1% in extended trade, while Uber dropped 3%.
Due to a partnership with Alphabet’s Waymo, Uber has been providing autonomous cars in Phoenix on its platform since October of last year. The latest partnership with Cruise comes as Tesla CEO Elon Musk prepares to disclose delayed plans for a robotaxi product in October, slowing demand for electric vehicles. Cruise is hoping to return to U.S. roadways after being forced to stop operations due to a serious accident last year.
This year, it began conducting tests with safety drivers to reassure state and federal agencies about the vehicles’ safety. Furthermore, the US auto safety agency announced on Thursday that Cruise had decided to close a probe into the issue by recalling about 1,200 robotaxis due to harsh braking problems. With over 700 cars in its fleet, Waymo is the only US company uperating uncrewed robotaxis to collect fares.
