Uber gets permit to test autonomous cars in California

Uber Technologies' autonomous cars could be returning to California soon after state authorities permitted the company to test the vehicles. The ride-hailing company is now listed by the California Department of Motor Vehicles as one of over 20 companies, including Waymo, Tesla and Baidu, that have been issued autonomous vehicle testing permits as of Wednesday. The resumption of the tests that were stopped abruptly in December over Uber's refusal to take a permit from the DMV reflects a significant change of stand by the company, which had argued that its vehicles did not need the permit as the rules apply to cars that can drive without someone controlling or monitoring them. "For us, it's still early days and our cars are not yet ready to drive without a person monitoring them," Uber said in a post at the time. Having started testing its self-driving cars with ride-hailing customers in Pittsburgh in September, Uber decided by December to test the vehicles in San Francisco.