The CEO of General Motors’ (GM’s) self-driving unit Cruise shared an apology for the company’s situation this weekend after an accident last month halted all operations and sparked multiple external and internal investigations.
After it was reported on Thursday that Cruise had suspended an employee share buyback program in which GM purchases worker-owned shares, an apology from CEO Kyle Vogt on Saturday has reinstated the program, as reported by Reuters. In the email, Vogt said workers would be allowed to sell a limited number of shares back to GM after some employees complained about tax obligation concerns.
“I am sorry we have veered off course under my leadership and that this has affected many Cruisers in a deeply personal way,” Vogt wrote in an email to staff.
“As CEO, I take responsibility for the situation Cruise is in today. There are no excuses, and there is no sugar coating what has happened. We need to double down on safety, transparency, and community engagement.”
Vogt also noted that Cruise needed to improve its process around working with regulators, the press and the public, saying that these factors “must improve.”
(1/3) The most important thing for us right now is to take steps to rebuild public trust. Part of this involves taking a hard look inwards and at how we do work at Cruise, even if it means doing things that are uncomfortable or difficult.
— cruise (@Cruise) October 27, 2023
The company’s original suspension of the employee buyback program had said it would ban the sale of shares for the current quarter, while the self-driving startup endures a comprehensive review. The cancellation is expected to cut costs for GM, following the company putting its operations on pause.
Following the suspension, some workers spoke out saying that they would face large tax burdens on the stocks that were vested at higher valuations on October 15. The program was originally introduced in 2022 to help garner talent at the company, which would allow workers to sell vested equity back to GM and investors each quarter.
“We’ve heard your concerns and are developing a plan to conduct a new tender offer that would provide some RSU liquidity to mitigate potential tax obligations,” Vogt said.
“I’m glad they realized they needed to fix the situation,” one worker told Reuters.
The news follows an incident in which a driverless Cruise robotaxi hit and pinned a pedestrian in early October, after which the company’s self-driving permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) was immediately revoked. The GM subsidiary now faces an investigation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the state, and it has hired third-party firms to help aid its internal reviews of the software and incident response.
Since the incident, it’s been more bad news for Cruise, with the company having laid off hundreds of contractors who were operating and maintaining the driverless fleets in California, Arizona and other locations, according to some sources.
The California DMV said Cruise “misrepresented” and “omitted” certain details in its information about the October 2 pedestrian accident. Cruise has also had to halt GM’s production of the Origin driverless van, and it has recalled nearly 1,000 of its driverless vehicles on U.S. roads.
Cruise CEO explains robotaxi fleet’s human remote assistance system
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Tesla celebrates 75k Superchargers, less than 5 months since 70k-stall milestone
Tesla’s 75,000th stall is hosted at the South Hobart Smart Store on Cascade Road, South Hobart, Tasmania.
Tesla has crossed another major charging milestone by officially installing its 75,000th Supercharger stall worldwide. The electric vehicle maker chose South Hobart, Tasmania, as the commemorative location of its 75,000th Supercharger.
Tesla’s 75,000th Supercharger
Tesla’s 75,000th stall is hosted at the South Hobart Smart Store on Cascade Road, South Hobart, TAS 7004, as noted in a techAU report. The location features four next-generation V4 Superchargers, which are built with longer cables that should make it easy even for non-Teslas to use the rapid charger. The site also includes simplified payment options, aligning with Tesla’s push to make V4 stations more accessible to a broader set of drivers.
For Tasmanian EV owners, the installation fills an important regional gap, improving long-distance coverage around Hobart and strengthening the area’s appeal for mainland travelers traveling by electric vehicle. Similar to other commemorative Superchargers, the 70,000th stall is quite special as it is finished in Glacier Blue paint. Tesla’s 50,000th stall, which is in California, is painted a stunning red, and the 60,000th stall, which is in Japan, features unique origami-inspired graphics.
Accelerating Supercharger milestones
The Tesla Supercharger’s pace of expansion shows no signs of slowing. Tesla celebrated its 70,000th stall at a 12-stall site in Burleson, Texas late June 2025. Just eight months earlier, Tesla announced that it had celebrated the buildout of its 60,000th Supercharger, which was built in Enshu Morimachi, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Tesla’s Supercharger Network also recently received accolades in the United Kingdom, with the 2025 Zapmap survey naming the rapid charging system as the Best Large EV Charging Network for the second year in a row. Survey respondents praised the Supercharger Network for its ease of use, price, and reliability, which is best-in-class. The fact that the network has also been opened for non-Teslas is just icing on the cake.
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Luminar-Volvo breakdown deepens as lidar maker warns of potential bankruptcy
The automaker stated that Luminar failed to meet contractual obligations.
Luminar’s largest customer, Volvo, has canceled a key five-year contract as the lidar supplier warned investors that it might be forced to file for bankruptcy. The automaker stated that Luminar failed to meet contractual obligations, escalating a dispute already unfolding as Luminar defaults on loans, undergoes layoffs, and works to sell portions of the business.
Volvo pulls back on Luminar
In a statement to TechCrunch, Volvo stated that Luminar’s failure to deliver its contractual obligations was a key driver of the cancellation of the contract. “Volvo Cars has made this decision to limit the company’s supply chain risk exposure and it is a direct result of Luminar’s failure to meet its contractual obligations to Volvo Cars,” Volvo noted in a statement.
The rift marked a notable turn for the two companies, whose relationship dates back several years. Volvo invested in Luminar early and helped push its sensors into production programs, while Luminar’s technology bolstered the credibility of Volvo’s safety-focused autonomous driving plans. Volvo’s partnership also supported Luminar’s 2020 SPAC listing, which briefly made founder Austin Russell one of the youngest self-made billionaires in the industry.
Damaged Volvo relations
The damaged Volvo partnership comes during a critical period for Luminar. The company has defaulted on several loans and warned investors that bankruptcy remains a possibility if restructuring discussions fall through. To conserve cash, Luminar has cut 25% of its workforce and is exploring strategic alternatives, including partial or full asset sales.
One potential buyer is founder Austin Russell, who resigned as CEO in May amid a board-initiated ethics inquiry. The company is also the subject of an ongoing SEC investigation.
Luminar, for its part, also noted in a filing that it had “made a claim against Volvo for significant damages” and “suspended further commitments of Iris” for the carmaker. “The Company is in discussions with Volvo concerning the dispute; however, there can be no assurance that the dispute will be resolved favorably or at all,” the lidar maker stated.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk says he’s open to powering Apple’s Siri with xAI’s Grok
Siri, one of the first intelligent AI assistants in the market, has become widely outdated and outperformed by rivals over the years.
Elon Musk says he’s willing to help Apple overhaul Siri by integrating xAI’s Grok 4.1, igniting widespread excitement and speculations about a potential collaboration between the two tech giants.
Siri, one of the first intelligent AI assistants in the market, has become widely outdated and outperformed by rivals over the years.
Musk open to an Apple collaboration
Musk’s willingness to team up with Apple surfaced after an X user suggested replacing Siri with Grok 4.1 to modernize the AI assistant. The original post criticized Siri’s limitations and urged Apple to adopt a more advanced AI system. “It’s time for Apple to team up with xAI and actually fix Siri. Replace that outdated, painfully dumb assistant with Grok 4.1. Siri deserves to be Superintelligent,” the X user wrote.
Musk quoted the post, responding with, “I’m down.” Musk’s comment quickly attracted a lot of attention among X’s users, many of whom noted that a Grok update to Siri would be appreciated because Apple’s AI assistant has legitimately become terrible in recent years. Others also noted that Grok, together with Apple’s potential integration of Starlink connectivity, would make iPhones even more compelling.
Grok promises major Siri upgrades
The enthusiasm stems largely from Grok 4.1’s technical strengths, which include stronger reasoning and improved creative output. xAI also designed the model to reduce hallucinations, as noted in a Reality Tea report. Supporters believe these improvements could address Apple’s reported challenges developing its own advanced AI systems, giving Siri the upgrade many users have waited years for.
Reactions ranged from humorous to hopeful, with some users joking that Siri would finally “wake up with a personality” if paired with Grok. Siri, after all, was a trailblazer in voice assistants, but it is currently dominated by rivals in terms of features and capabilities. Grok could change that, provided that Apple is willing to collaborate with Elon Musk’s xAI.