Cruise LLC, the self-driving car subsidiary of General Motors Co., today released the findings of an internal report conducted by law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan into an accident involving one of its vehicles in October, and some of the findings are surprising.

The accident in October saw one of Cruise’s robotaxis in San Francisco drag a pedestrian 20 feet down the street after she had been knocked into the path of the driverless Cruise car by another vehicle driven by a person. Following the accident, the California Department of Motor Vehicles and California’s Public Utilities Commission later suspended Cruise’s permits to test their vehicles. Cruise then decided to suspend all tests in other cities, including Austin, Houston and Phoenix.

One accident alone should not have been enough to suspend operations, but that accident opened a Pandora’s Box of drama for Cruise. Chief Executive Kyle Vogt and Daniel Kan, co-founder and chief product officer, resigned from the company in November. A month later, Cruise announced it was laying off 900 employees, about a quarter of its workforce, as part of a move to scale back commercialization efforts.

The Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan report found that leading up to and following the accident, Cruise suffered from leadership and communications issues, including failures in internal processes, judgment and a problematic relationship with government officials.

On an allegation that it had willfully deceived regulators, the report found that there was no intentional deceit on the part of Cruise’s leadership or employees. It had been alleged that the company had failed to provide video evidence of the crash to regulators, but the report found that though there was no malice or intention to mislead, the approach taken by Cruise in the aftermath of the incident was insufficient and lacked the necessary transparency and clarity expected in such situations.

The surprising part is where the Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan report lays blame, identifying internet connectivity issues as a significant factor in Cruise’s failure to adequately communicate the details of the Oct. 2 incident to regulators. In short, the drama has been attributed to a dodgy internet connection.

During meetings with regulators and government officials, the report found that Cruise attempted to disclose critical information about the incident through a 45-second, nine-pane video that depicted the autonomous vehicle’s actions, including the movement that led to the pedestrian being dragged. However, these efforts were hampered by internet connectivity problems, which likely prevented the attendees from clearly and fully viewing the video.

Added to the mix was that it was found that the issue was compounded by a decision by Cruise not to highlight the key details in the video verbally, assuming that the video would speak for itself. The connectivity problems were, therefore, found to have played a critical role in the miscommunication and misunderstandings that followed, underscoring a need for more robust and reliable methods of information sharing during such briefings.

The report makes suggestions to ensure that a similar situation does not occur again. The recommendations include focusing on improving organizational processes and relationships with regulatory bodies and enhancing internal communication and decision-making processes to ensure timely and transparent information sharing. The report also suggests that Cruise make efforts to strengthen its relationship with government and regulatory officials, advocating for a more cooperative and less adversarial approach.

Photo: Cruise