Even with most of its autonomous vehicle fleet on ice, Cruise is still bleeding cash. The robotaxi company that is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors lost $435 million in the third quarter of 2024, GM reported this morning. That’s an improvement from the $791 million lost in the third quarter of 2023. It’s an instructive moment to check in with Cruise, because the company has been on hiatus since October 27, 2023, weeks after one of its driverless vehicles in San Francisco struck and then dragged a pedestrian over 20 feet, severely injuring her. Cruise has made small steps toward restarting its robotaxi service since then, with test vehicles on the roads in Arizona and Texas. It recently announced plans to deploy manually driven vehicles in the Bay Area later this year, but it still hasn’t said when it will resume its paid commercial service. Cruise is unique in the world of autonomous cars, in so far as we have much more insight into the company’s finances than nearly all of its competitors. Since GM breaks Cruise out in its earnings reports, we know about its net sales and revenue ($26 million for Q3), its total cost and expenses ($442 million), and its operating income (a loss of $417 million). Investors are no doubt pleased that GM has succeeded in stemming some of its losses with Cruise. The robotaxi subsidiary lost a staggering $3.48 billion in 2023, and has been seen by some as an albatross for the automaker, sucking up cash and lacking a clear path to profits. But GM CEO Mary Barra has long been bullish on autonomous vehicles — perhaps more than is warranted.

Full report : GM’s Cruise burnt $435 million this quarter, even after putting its robotaxis on hold.