Driverless race steps up with Cruise allowed to drive empty in San Francisco

"So that's a step or two beyond what we'll be doing initially with this permit," said Dan Ammann, Cruise's chief executive. "It's not too far down the road," he said, but declined to share a timeline. In a blog post, he added, "We're not the first company to receive this permit, but we're going to be the first to put it to use on the streets of a major U.S. city." It will be an important step for Cruise to charge customers. For any of the companies to start making money in California, a separate permit is required, state officials said.