General Motors is aggressively building its autonomous vehicle team, aiming to solve a challenge no company has yet cracked: affordable self-driving for personal cars. The automaker's VP of autonomous vehicles, Rashed Haq, told Business Insider that the company is hiring engineers from top competitors to develop technology for "millions" of GM customers.
GM's near-term goal is to deliver eyes-off driving on highways by 2028, a capability it wants to offer in the Cadillac brand first. The approach contrasts with current industry leaders: Tesla's Full Self-Driving still requires constant driver supervision, while Waymo's robotaxis operate only in limited areas with expensive sensor arrays.
"Nobody has solved millions of cars all across the US roads at, let's say, $10,000 worth of hardware," Haq said. "That is still a very much unsolved problem and a very interesting problem." This cost constraint defines the core engineering challenge GM must overcome to scale self-driving beyond luxury models.
The automaker's strategy focuses on gradual integration rather than a single leap. By starting with highway automation in a premium brand, GM can refine the technology before broader deployment. Success would open a massive market of everyday drivers who cannot afford dedicated robotaxi services.
Skeptics note that GM has previously struggled with autonomous ambitions, having scaled back its Cruise robotaxi division after safety incidents. The company will need to prove it can execute reliably where past efforts faltered.