General Motors (GM) is expected to announce significant spending cuts on its self-driving unit Cruise this week, following a series of bad news for the subsidiary after an incident with one of its robotaxis last month.
On Wednesday, GM will outline how much it plans to cut spending on the self-driving arm, according to Financial Times, after a Cruise robotaxi hit and pinned a woman in San Francisco on October 2. Since the accident, the company has slowly been whittling back certain planned operations, including production plans and the mere scope of what cities the startup will operate in.
Currently, GM has invested a quarterly average of around $700 million, though how much it plans to cut Cruise’s operations is not yet clear. The automaker has spent billions of dollars on the startup self-driving company, last year spending $2.1 billion to buy out Softbank’s minority stake in the company. GM also had a long-term revenue target of about $80 billion by 2030, though the announcement is also expected to affect this outlook.
Part of Cruise’s pitch has been based on a goal of “zero crashes, zero emissions, zero congestion,” though it has said it is currently focused on rebuilding public trust.
GM recently said its “strategy is to relaunch in one city and prove our performance there, before expanding… [once] we have taken steps to improve our safety culture and rebuild trust.”
GM-owned Cruise hires law, tech firms to review accident response
In addition to cutting spending, Cruise has announced multiple delays to the production of its Origin self-driving van, resignations from two separate co-founders and executives, recalls of its 950 Chevy Bolt self-driving vehicles and more. Following the incident, Cruise’s self-driving permit was immediately revoked by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and the company faces a federal investigation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
A letter was sent to the NHTSA that had been signed by 26 different transportation labor organizations, highlighting “grave safety concerns about the expanded testing and operation of automated driving system-equipped vehicles,” according to Transportation Trades Department chief of staff Matthew Colvin.
Some have questioned how the company’s finances will look in the wake of the incident, especially as it moves away from tangible returns that possible investors can justify investing in. Barclays auto analyst Dan Levy thinks will be front and center in the minds of investors keeping tabs on the announcements this week.
“The big question is to what extent ‘Zero Zero Zero’ also hinged on zero rates,” Levy said. “This has been a big theme this year in auto; everyone has had to step back from the euphoria.”
Along with being concerned about returns, GM investors are also hesitant about the startup’s safety following the accident, as expressed by some in the weeks since.
“The problem for Cruise as a business is GM is dependent on it for all the software [revenue] targets the company has set,” said one GM investor. “We don’t see a path to profit, but we do see they will burn a lot of cash trying. GM would be better placed winding back its bet, and returning the money to shareholders.”
“The public are also recognising that being unwitting guinea pigs to unproven tech that’s desperately underregulated is not what anybody has signed up for,” the investor added, noting that a move to reduce spending “as much as possible” at Cruise would constitute an “easy win.”
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send your tips to us at tips@teslarati.com.
Tesla has lost its Model Y Program Manager, he announced on LinkedIn, marking the second major departure from the company today.
Emmanuel Lamacchia has been in the role for 4 years and 7 months, responsible for the rollout of the all-electric crossover in several markets.
The Model Y became the best-selling vehicle in the world for two years under Lamacchia’s watch, making this a huge loss for the company. However, it seems the decision was made under Lamacchia’s own initiative.
He confirmed his decision on LinkedIn:
“After 8 incredible years, I’m moving on from Tesla.
What a journey it’s been… from leading NPI for Model 3 and Model Y variants to becoming the Vehicle Program Manager for Model Y, the best-selling car in the world!
Leading the All-New Model Y launch was the highlight: converting all 4 factories across 3 continents in just 2 weeks. Something that had never been done before in the auto industry.
To the teams who made this possible: you should be incredibly proud. This achievement belongs to you: the engineers, designers, buyers, and associates in Fremont, Shanghai, Berlin, and Austin who turned an impossible timeline into reality.
Grateful to the leaders who trusted me with programs that stretched my capabilities and to the cross-functional partners who showed me that great solutions come from collaboration, not hierarchy.
Tesla taught me how to move fast without breaking things and how to scale from prototypes to millions of units.
Excited for what’s next. More to share soon.”
It marks the second major program loss for Tesla today, as it also bid farewell to Cybertruck and Model 3 Program Manager Siddhant Awasthi, who said he left voluntarily in “one of the hardest decisions of his life.”
Lamacchia was at Tesla for just a shade under eight years, and previously worked for Rolls-Royce for roughly the same amount of time.
After the loss of both Lamacchia and Awasthi today, Tesla has lost a handful of key executives in 2025, including:
- David Imai, Director of Design
- David Lau, VP of Software Engineering
- Mark Westfall, Head of Mechanical Engineering
- Prashant Menon, Regional Director in India
- Vineet Mehta, Head of Battery Architecture
- Omead Afshar, VP/Head of Sales and Manufacturing in North America
- Milan Kovac, Head of Optimus Team
- Jenna Ferrua, Director of HR
- Troy Jones, VP of Sales, Service, and Delivery
- Pete Bannon, VP of Hardware Engineering
- Piero Landolfi, Director of Service
News
Tesla prepares to expand Giga Texas with new Optimus production plant
Drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer recognized Tesla construction crews performing ground leveling and clearing efforts at the plant earlier today.
Tesla is preparing to expand Gigafactory Texas once again with a brand new facility that will house the eventual manufacturing efforts for Optimus, its humanoid robot.
It is already building some units on a Pilot line at the Fremont Factory in Northern California, but Tesla is planning to build the vast majority of its Optimus project at Gigafactory Texas.
Tesla Optimus gets its latest job, and it’s not in the company’s factories
It will build one million units per year in Fremont, but CEO Elon Musk said the company would build 10 million units every year in Texas at a new building at Giga Texas.
Musk said:
“I think there could be tens of billions of Optimus robots out there. Um, now obviously it’s very important we pay close attention to safety here. Then a 10 million unit uh per year production line here the I don’t know where we’re going to put the 100 million unit production line. on Mars. Maybe on Mars, I don’t know.”
Evidently, Tesla is ready to begin thinking about the production efforts of Optimus beyond a theoretical standpoint and is starting to prepare for the construction of the manufacturing plant on Giga Texas property.
Drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer recognized Tesla construction crews performing ground leveling and clearing efforts at the plant earlier today:
Giga Texas News!
A brand-new, stand-alone factory is starting construction! This follows the Shareholders meeting & info that a 10-million-per-year @Tesla_Optimus production facility “on the Giga Texas campus” will be built & enter into production in 2027!
Here are some… pic.twitter.com/7ig5DohfOt
— Joe Tegtmeyer 🚀 🤠🛸😎 (@JoeTegtmeyer) November 10, 2025
Production is still slated for 2027, at least at Gigafactory Texas. As previously mentioned, the company is building some units in Fremont for the time being, at least until subsequent versions of the Optimus project advance.
Tesla has done a great job of advancing Optimus forward, but it also has truly grand expectations for the project.
Musk said it could potentially be the biggest product in the history of the planet, as it will revolutionize the way humans perform tasks, probably eliminating monotonous tasks from everyday life.
Tesla revealed its first customer for the all-electric Semi truck after it launches next year. Who it truly is should not be a surprise.
The Semi is going to finally start deliveries to new companies outside of Tesla’s pilot program starting in 2026. The company has been building a dedicated production facility in Reno, Nevada, that has finally taken shape, but Tesla was evidently not finished with the Semi’s development.
Last week at the Annual Shareholder Meeting, Tesla said it had implemented some new designs into the Semi, helping with efficiency, updating its design, and making it a more suitable vehicle for hauling loads, as the changes also helped increase payload.
Tesla has obtained a lengthy list of companies that have committed to implementing the Semi in their own fleets, hoping to bring their logistics lineups up to date with electric powertrains and autonomous technologies.
While it is already operating a pilot program with PepsiCo. and Frito-Lay, Tesla will expand to other businesses, primarily using it internally after its launch.
Head of the Semi program at Tesla, Dan Priestley, said the company would be the first user of the vehicle after its launch next year. It has been using it to a certain extent, but the company has not been able to completely abandon gas haulers.
Instead, it will implement the Semi into its fleet for more sustainable vehicle logistics starting next year:
Tesla will be the first customer as we electrify our supply chain. This includes Texas operations.
— Dan Priestley (@danWpriestley) November 7, 2025
Tesla has already received orders for the Semi from a variety of large companies, including Walmart, Sysco, Anheuser-Busch, UPS, DHL, J.B. Hunt, among others.
Many analysts see the Tesla Semi as a major contributor to future growth and increasing value within the company, especially from a Wall Street perspective. Some firms say the Semi is one of several near and medium-term contributors to the company increasing its market cap.
Cantor Fitzgerald is just one of those firms, as last week it explicitly listed the Semi as a catalyst.
Analyst Andres Sheppard said, “Overall, we remain bullish on TSLA over the medium to long term. We continue to see meaningful future upside from Energy Storage & Deployment, FSD, Robotaxis/Cybercab, Semis, and Optimus Bots.”
Tesla loses Model Y program manager in second blow in single day
Tesla prepares to expand Giga Texas with new Optimus production plant
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