Uber Shuts Down Controversial Self-Driving Truck Unit

Uber will shut down its self-driving truck unit as it turns its autonomous ambitions solely towards self-driving cars.

The ride-hailing company’s self-driving trucks unit is based in San Francisco and came into life after Uber purchased Otto for $680 million almost two years ago. The company believes focusing all of its energy towards self-driving cars is the smart way to go, rather than dividing efforts between the future of trucking and passenger cars, Tech Crunch reports.

“We recently took the important step of returning to public roads in Pittsburgh, and as we look to continue that momentum, we believe having our entire team’s energy and expertise focused on this effort is the best path forward,” head of Uber Advanced Technologies Group, Eric Meyhofer said in an email.

In a separate email from Meyhofer to Uber employees, the executive added that Uber still sees a future where it can introduce self-driving technologies to freight applications.

“I know we’re all super proud of what the Trucks team has accomplished, and we continue to see the incredible promise of self-driving technology applied to moving freight across the country.

“But we believe delivering on self-driving for passenger applications first, and then bringing it to freight applications down the line, is the best path forward,” Meyhofer said.

Uber Advanced Technologies Group intends on retaining its relationships with key truck manufacturers despite the shift in approach. Additionally, the division will continue to develop LiDAR technologies that are set to shape Uber’s autonomous future.

Uber’s self-driving truck program has been at the center of controversy from the moment Waymo claimed Otto founder and former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski stole trade secrets and brought them to Uber when Otto was purchased.