Meanwhile, Barra said Cruise would be a key money generator for GM, making up to $50 billion in annual revenue by 2030—even though the company was burning through $2 billion a year at the time. (Barra also suggested that GM’s revenue would double to $280 billion in that timeframe.)
Those claims were not entirely unfounded, said Billy Riggs, a University of San Francisco professor and director of the school’s Autonomous Vehicles and the City Initiative.
He explained that the projections likely were based on Cruise moving full-speed ahead on expanding its autonomous vehicle service and rolling out its higher-capacity Cruise Origin driverless van. GM has since paused production on the autonomous van.
“Unlike Waymo,” Riggs said, “they had a really aggressive scaling strategy.”
Integral to Cruise’s rapid growth was spending a ton of cash to expand into new markets and push forward Origin’s development, he added.
Part of Cruise’s future strategy, Riggs says, could include partnering with other companies on operations—letting Cruise focus on developing the hardware and software.
“They’re in a good position,” Riggs said. “They have cash, they have proven technology and they have assets that can be ready to scale”
See also:
See also:
https://sfstandard.com/2023/12/29/cruise-waymo-robotaxis-2024-predictions/