California tells Uber to stop transporting people in self-driving cars


Just hours after it started a public pilot program in San Francisco giving passengers rides in self-driving cars, Uber was notified by the California Department of Motor Vehicles on Wednesday that if the company doesn't stop, it will face legal action.
The DMV said it is illegal for Uber to offer the service without having a permit to operate "autonomous vehicles" on public roads, The Associated Press reports. Uber said it was aware of the permit, but since their self-driving cars still have a person behind the wheel to intervene if necessary, they don't fit the definition of an "autonomous vehicle." The permits cost $150, with users having to show proof of insurance and reporting to the state every crash and instance when a person had to take control of the vehicle. The letter did not specify the legal action Uber might face.
The pilot program uses Volvo SUVs with sensors that allow the car to steer, accelerate, brake, and change lanes. Users can notify Uber if they are unwilling to ride in a self-driving car, and the cost is the same as getting a lift in a standard vehicle.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Massive earthquake sends tsunami across Pacific
Hundreds of thousands of people in Japan and Hawaii were told to evacuate to higher ground
-
Ghislaine Maxwell offers testimony for immunity
Speed Read The convicted sex trafficker offered to testify to Congress about her relationship with late boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein
-
July 30 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Wednesday’s political cartoons include a beast under the surface, new unemployment officers, and more
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement