Cruise's value has halved after its unmanned car hit and dragged a woman

General Motors-owned autonomous car manufacturer Cruise has suffered severe financial losses after an incident in which one of its unmanned vehicles hit and dragged a woman. The company's intrinsic share price has fallen by more than half.

Here's What We Know

According to a third-party valuation of Cruise, the share price fell to $11.80 from $24.27 in the previous quarter. Chief Administrative Officer Craig Glidden said such a large drop in estimated value "has real consequences" for the company.

The incident occurred last October. The woman was first hit by a regular car before being hit by a Cruise drone. The self-driving car also hit the pedestrian and dragged her about 6 metres.

The woman suffered serious injuries as a result of the accident. Cruise has suspended all of its unmanned car fleets across the country. The incident sparked a wave of investigations by various oversight agencies, including the Justice Department and the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Cruise was previously valued at $30bn in 2021 after raising $8bn from Microsoft, Walmart and other investors, amid excitement around unmanned driving technology. Since then, however, the general enthusiasm around autonomous cars has waned somewhat, and an October traffic accident permanently reduced the company's capitalisation.

Go Deeper:

• In San Francisco, a car hit a pedestrian and threw him under the wheels of a Cruise robot car
• California bans Cruise drone testing after crashes and allegations of data hiding
• Cruise has appointed a safety director after a series of incidents involving autonomous cars in San Francisco

Source: The Register