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GM says Cruise should be rated on test difficulty, not miles

GM's self-driving car, Cruise. Photo: GM

General Motors' self-driving car unit, Cruise, wants to shift how consumers (and the press) evaluate self-driving car technology, which has so far focused on the total number of miles driven.

Between the lines: This is Cruise's attempt to shake the notion that the company with the most autonomous miles driven has the best self-driving cars. Currently, that distinction, at least in California, goes to Waymo, Alphabet's self-driving car unit, which began working on this in 2009 (Cruise declined to share its miles driven so far in 2017). Cruise's move also comes just a day after a report from The Information that paints a bumpy picture of Waymo's self-driving cars, which have been driving around Chandler, Ariz., and nearby suburbs.

What Cruise is saying: "[D]riving in San Francisco is almost nothing like driving in the suburbs or anywhere else," Cruise co-founder and CEO Kyle Vogt told reporters on Tuesday. "My point today is not that it's going to take time but that testing in these environments will take less time."

In the company's view, by testing the Cruise cars in San Francisco, their cars encounter left turns, emergency vehicles, and other scenarios more often than cars being tested in Arizona suburbs.

Go deeper

Jonathan Swan
9 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Scoop: Gina Haspel threatened to resign over plan to install Kash Patel as CIA deputy

CIA Director Gina Haspel. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

CIA Director Gina Haspel threatened to resign in early December after President Trump cooked up a hasty plan to install loyalist Kash Patel, a former aide to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), as her deputy, according to three senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the matter.

Why it matters: The revelation stunned national security officials and almost blew up the leadership of the world's most powerful spy agency. Only a series of coincidences — and last minute interventions from Vice President Mike Pence and White House counsel Pat Cipollone — stopped it.

Go deeper (3 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated 11 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Health: Coronavirus deaths reach 4,000 per day as hospitals remain in crisis mode — CDC warns highly transmissible coronavirus variant could become dominant in U.S. in March.
  2. Politics: Biden says, "We will manage the hell out of" vaccine distribution — Biden taps ex-FDA chief to lead Operation Warp Speed amid rollout of COVID plan — Widow of GOP congressman-elect who died of COVID-19 will run to fill his seat.
  3. Vaccine: Battling Black mistrust of the vaccines — "Pharmacy deserts" could become vaccine deserts — Instacart to give $25 to shoppers who get vaccine.
  4. Economy: Unemployment filings explode again — Fed chair: No interest rate hike coming any time soon —  Inflation rose more than expected in December.
  5. World: WHO team arrives in China to investigate pandemic origins.
Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Lachlan Markay
11 hours ago - Politics & Policy

John Weaver, Lincoln Project co-founder, acknowledges “inappropriate” messages

John Weaver aboard John McCain's campaign plane in February 2000. Photo: Robert Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

John Weaver, a veteran Republican operative who co-founded the Lincoln Project, declared in a statement to Axios on Friday that he sent “inappropriate,” sexually charged messages to multiple men.

  • “To the men I made uncomfortable through my messages that I viewed as consensual mutual conversations at the time: I am truly sorry. They were inappropriate and it was because of my failings that this discomfort was brought on you,” Weaver said.
  • “The truth is that I'm gay,” he added. “And that I have a wife and two kids who I love. My inability to reconcile those two truths has led to this agonizing place.”
Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow