Anonymous whistleblower accuses GM-backed Cruise of chaotic safety culture

A letter addressed to California Safety Regulators arrived recently from an alleged Cruise employee turned whistleblower. The letter states the EV robo-taxi company is hiding safety information about vehicle crashes. Included in the letter are details that indicate a “very chaotic environment” where safety concerns are tabled for months and go undisclosed.

A Cruise spokesperson said the company’s safety records are both public and worth being proud of. However, there have been several noteworthy incidents involving Cruise EVs in San Francisco – one involving a blocked fire lane that resulted in injuries. This story was first reported on by the Wall Street Journal last week.

The letter was addressed May 19, two weeks before safety regulators cleared Cruise’s robotaxis for commercial services in California. Detailed in the letter, the writer describes a work environment where the vehicles are not ready to be used for public services.

The author further claimed that workers on crucial safety systems were not given access to information about collisions. Additionally, he claimed that Cruise frequently saw situations in which stranded or stopped automobiles blocked traffic. Vehicle Retrieval Events, as the incidents were purportedly known internally, were those in which the vehicles could not always be collected remotely and had to be physically taken away.