General Motors Company (GM.US)'s self-driving department, Cruise, admits to submitting a false report and is fined $500,000.

The Department of Justice in the United States stated that Cruise, a self-driving car subsidiary of General Motors Company (GM.US), admitted on Thursday to submitting a false report to influence a federal investigation and will pay a criminal fine of $500,000 as part of a deferred prosecution agreement. The Department of Justice stated that Cruise did not disclose key details of an October 2023 crash to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In this accident, a self-driving taxi in San Francisco hit a pedestrian who had already been hit by another car and dragged her 20 feet (6.1 meters). Companies with autonomous vehicles must be completely truthful in the reports they submit to regulatory agencies if they wish to share our roads and crosswalks, said Marsha-Powers, head of the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco. Under the three-year agreement, Cruise must cooperate with government investigations, implement a safety compliance program, and provide annual reports to the U.S. Attorney's Office. If Cruise does not comply with the requirements in the next three years, the U.S. Attorney's Office can file charges against them. Cruise President Craig Gurley stated in a statement, "Cruise will comply with the requirements of the agreement, and we will continue to move forward under new leadership, with a firm commitment to transparency with regulatory agencies." In response to this accident and subsequent investigations, Cruise's CEO and co-founder resigned, the company reduced its workforce by a quarter, and nine executives, including the chief operating officer and chief legal and policy officer, were fired. In September, Cruise agreed to pay a fine of $1.5 million to settle an investigation by the NHTSA. Cruise must submit a corrective action plan to the NHTSA, explaining how they will improve reporting of serious accidents and face stricter reporting requirements for at least two years. The NHTSA is still investigating whether Cruise's self-driving taxis have taken sufficient precautionary measures to protect pedestrians. In August of this year, Cruise recalled 1,200 self-driving taxis due to brake issues. The company is also facing an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Cruise has resumed supervised self-driving tests in three cities in the United States but has abandoned the unmanned Origin vehicle. The company announced in August that it will start offering self-driving cars on the Uber Technologies, Inc. ride-hailing platform starting next year.