General Motors is shutting down its Cruise robotaxi project, citing intense competition for self-driving cars and the steep costs associated with developing them. Why it matters: Houston was the largest of three cities nationwide where Cruise was trying to reintroduce its autonomous rideshare service after a tumultuous launch in 2023.

General Motors (GM) said Tuesday that it will no longer fund the development of robotaxis and instead focus on creating fully autonomous personal vehicles. Cruise, GM’s self-driving car subsidiary, will be combined with the automaker’s own team to form a single unit focused on autonomous driving.

General Motors said on Tuesday it will stop funding and exit robotaxi development at its majority-owned Cruise business, a blow to the automaker that had made the advanced technology unit a top priority.

General Motors needed to exit its Cruise robotaxi business, most Wall Street analysts agreed on Wednesday, but the automaker's decision to do so was still a disappointing end for an operation that GM had touted as a potential $50 billion revenue generator by 2030.

While the world's richest man is going all in with a robotaxi, General Motors has decided to pull the plug on its embryonic autonomous taxis. GM has announced that it will stop shoveling money into Cruise, the robotaxi subsidiary that never managed to make a dime. Instead of taxis, GM plans to focus on autonomous driving for personal vehicles.

GM pulls the funding for its robotaxi program and will focus on autonomous driving for personal vehicles instead.