California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into a law new rules for robotaxis, including one that that's meant to address concerns that they could get in the way of emergency services. Newsom signed Senate Bill 1246, which will establish local penalties for robotaxi companies if their vehicles block first responders, such as ambulances and fire trucks, for more than 30 minutes in case of emergencies. Several events over the past year have heightened people's worries that driverless cars could hinder emergency services from responding in a timely manner. In December 2025, several Waymo vehicles got stuck in the middle of San Francisco roads after a power outage that took out the city's traffic lights. During this year's Fourth of July celebrations, Waymo vehicles also had to be towed away after they ran out of power and got stranded due to heavy San Francisco traffic. Outside of California, in Austin Texas, a Waymo car blocked an ambulance that was responding to a shooting.

Cruise co-founder and CEO Kyle Vogt has resigned. In his announcement on X, the 38-year-old exec expressed that "the last 10 years have been amazing," while reminding us that "the startup I launched in my garage has given over 250,000 driverless rides across several cities." As to what Vogt is doing next, he plans on taking a break first to "explore some new ideas." Vogt had previously co-founded video platforms Justin.tv, According to TechCrunch, General Motors has since promoted Mo Elshenawy, Executive Vice President of Engineering at Cruise, to President and CTO of its robotaxi subsidiary.

In the wake of California withdrawing Cruise's permit to operate self-driving cars in the state, the company said on Friday it's suspending all U.S. robotaxi operations. The move comes after the California Department of Motor Vehicles alleged that Cruise withheld from regulators video footage of a Cruise robotaxi dragging a person down a city street. The future for the company is anybody's guess. Its parent company, General Motors, has lost $1.9 billion on Cruise thus far this year, including a $732-million loss in the third quarter, according to its latest earnings report. Competitor Ford shut down its Argo robotaxi unit in 2002, concluding that the possibility of far-off profits weren't worth the enormous cash drain.

On Oct. 2, a Cruise driverless robotaxi hit a woman in downtown San Francisco and pinned her under the car, sending her to the hospital with serious injuries. On Tuesday, state authorities suspended Cruise's operating permit, banning it from deploying driverless cars on public roads until safety concerns are resolved. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating whether to take action too. The turn of events marks a new chapter in the evolution of driverless cars and trucks. Not only is the underlying technology of autonomous vehicles under question; so too are the ethics of Cruise management, centering on founder and Chief Executive Kyle Vogt.

San Francisco is in an uproar over robotaxis' persistent interference with firefighters, police officers and other emergency medical personnel. The city's fire chief called attention Thursday to the potentially dangerous encounters between driverless cabs and first responders, telling The Times in an interview that she was "fed up" with the incidents, which include driving into active emergency scenes and parking on a fire hose. Now San Francisco's police union has joined city officials in urging regulators to postpone a vote, scheduled for Thursday, on a measure that would allow Waymo, Cruise and other robotaxi companies to expand in San Francisco. "While we all applaud the advancements in technology, we must not be in such a rush that we forget the human element and the effects such technology unchecked can create dangerous situations," union President Tracy McCray said. As robotaxi companies plan to provide service in Los Angeles, San Francisco officials battle with state regulators over robotaxi safety.