Cruise robotaxis blocked a road in San Francisco after a storm downed trees and wires

General Motors' self-driving conveyance portion Cruise acknowledged that immoderate of its cars stalled retired connected metropolis streets successful San Francisco pursuing rainstorms that downed trees determination connected Tuesday night.

A witnesser to the Cruise robotaxi failures, John-Phillip Bettencourt, shared photos of the stalled vehicles connected Twitter.

He told CNBC that astir 1:45 p.m. connected March 22, a ample histrion connected the country of Jones and Clay streets fell onto lines that powerfulness the city's buses, "pulling them down." After that, different histrion connected Polk and Clay streets fell into the street. In response, helium said, the San Francisco Fire Department had blocked disconnected Clay betwixt Polk and Jones streets with caution tape.

By 9:45 p.m. Bettencourt saw and took photos of the 2 self-driving Cruise vehicles halted successful the look of these antithetic obstacles. He said the driverless Cruise vehicles did not look to observe and debar the caution portion and autobus wires properly, and alternatively became "tangled successful them."

Bettencourt told CNBC via message, "The archetypal car was a small successful the way of the cross-street (about fractional way). Leavenworth & Clay are the transverse streets. The 2nd car was not blocking thing due to the fact that down it was each blocked disconnected (to cars different than robocars evidently) I deliberation the exertion is precise interesting. I mean it's the worldly radical my property lone talked astir erstwhile we were kids."

After Bettencourt shared his photos connected Twitter, the authoritative Cruise relationship replied: "Given the harm caused by past night's storms, immoderate of our cars concisely entered areas with downed trees oregon powerfulness lines. Some were capable to proceed autonomously, but wherever needed we instantly dispatched teams to region the vehicles."

CNBC reached retired to Cruise seeking further details including astir however galore of its robotaxis failed during oregon pursuing the rainstorm successful San Francisco connected Tuesday, whether immoderate injuries oregon spot harm occurred arsenic a result, and however rapidly the institution was capable to region immoderate stalled vehicles manually from roadways.

Earlier this week, Cruise filed an exertion with the California Department of Motor Vehicles to trial its robotaxis statewide, not conscionable successful San Francisco wherever it has been investigating for much than 2 years.

A California DMV spokesperson told CNBC, "The DMV is alert of this incidental and is successful interaction with Cruise LLC to amended recognize the circumstances. When applying for a deployment oregon driverless investigating licence from the DMV, companies indispensable place their intended operational plan domain, including the geographical country and specified conditions nether which the conveyance whitethorn run autonomously. Cruise has permits to trial and deploy autonomous vehicles successful San Francisco each hours of time and night, excluding dense rain."

Cruise is 1 of conscionable 3 companies authorized to commercially run their autonomous vehicles connected San Francisco metropolis streets, alongside Alphabet-owned Waymo and startup Nuro.

Others are authorized to behaviour autonomous conveyance investigating successful California with nary quality operator successful the car, including Amazon-owned Zoox and Chinese startup WeRide, according to the DMV website. 

Bettencourt emphasized connected societal media and successful messages to CNBC that helium wasn't trying to insult Cruise oregon beryllium overly captious astir Cruise. He took and shared photos of their cars halted connected the streets of Nob Hill due to the fact that helium saw "something brainsick that happened connected my thoroughfare connected a brainsick night," helium said.