I think this is more a recognition that autonomous vehicle technology is going to take a decade or more to provide driverless rides at a national scale,” said Phil Koopman, a

General Motors said Tuesday it will no longer fund the development of a commercial robotaxi business and will instead absorb its self-driving car

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.

It was reported Cruise admitted to lying to federal investigators about the event. The news came after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration hit Cruise with a $1.5 million fine.

The car manufacturer will instead concentrate on developing partially automated driver-assist systems for personal vehicles

GM said it sees a better business case in developing autonomous technology for personal cars rather than to develop robotaxis for Cruise.

General Motors’ move Tuesday to halt funding for its Cruise robotaxi program makes way for Silicon Valley rivals to take a firmer hold of the potentially multibillion-dollar business. But experts say bowing out is the right choice for the embattled Cruise.