DMV

The recent arc

The latest coverage has shifted from permits to enforcement and administrative failure. California’s DMV suspended Cruise’s deployment and driverless-testing permits in October 2023, while 2025–26 stories center on Tesla: an administrative law judge’s finding of deceptive Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving” marketing, Tesla’s agreement to stop using “autopilot” in California, its lawsuit to reverse the DMV ruling, and records showing zero autonomous test miles in California since 2019.

The tension

Coverage repeatedly pits state safety and consumer-protection oversight against companies seeking to commercialize automated driving. Earlier permitting stories linked the DMV to Apple, Google, Uber, Tesla and Waymo; the more recent Tesla dispute and Cruise suspension show the regulator’s role becoming less about opening test access and more about policing what autonomy claims and deployments can proceed.

Why it matters

If this trajectory holds, DMV decisions will remain a practical gatekeeper for both autonomous-vehicle rollouts and the public claims attached to them, even as companies pursue robotaxi programs in states such as Texas. The New Jersey episode also underscores that DMV software and data-handling failures can carry consequences beyond transportation, making agency modernization and controls a broader civic-risk issue.

Coverage Timeline

2024-08-16

Axios 29 related

California announces driver's license and state ID support in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, rolling out “in the coming weeks”, as part of the DMV's mDL pilot

Shawna Chen / Axios :

2024-08-16 View

2024-07-29

TechCrunch 1 related

California DMV granted Nuro approval to test its third-gen R3 autonomous delivery vehicle in four Bay Area cities, a boost for the startup after some setbacks

2024-07-29 View

2024-07-28

TechCrunch 1 related

California DMV granted Nuro approval to test its third-gen R3 autonomous delivery vehicle in four Bay Area cities, a boost for the startup after some setbacks

Get the traffic cones ready. Forums: r/technology : Autonomous delivery startup Nuro is gearing up for a comeback

2024-07-28 View

2023-06-09

TechCrunch 5 related

California DMV issues the first permit to publicly sell or lease vehicles with an automated driving system, to Mercedes-Benz for its Level 3 Drive Pilot system

Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch :

2023-06-09 View

2019-12-23

Jalopnik 8 related

California DMV to start approving permits for self-driving delivery vehicles, with and without backup drivers, from Jan. 17, both for testing and commercial use

which include minivans, pickup trucks, utility vans, and step vans — can receive permits for testing and commercial deliveries . . ."https://www.theverge.com/...

2019-12-23 View

2019-12-22

Jalopnik 8 related

California DMV to start approving permits for self-driving delivery vehicles, with and without backup drivers, from Jan. 17, both for testing and commercial use

Are you ready to be stuck in traffic behind armies of autonomous delivery robots? No? Well good news: if you live in California …

2019-12-22 View

2018-10-31

San Francisco Chronicle 6 related

Waymo granted the first permit from California's DMV for driverless testing of autonomous cars on public roads, will start with limited tests in Silicon Valley

Carolyn Said / San Francisco Chronicle :

2018-10-31 View

2018-09-02

CNBC 12 related

DMV report: Apple, which has 66 self-driving cars approved for road testing in CA, says one of the SUVs was rear-ended, its first self-driving collision in CA

Apple said that its first autonomous vehicle crash in California occurred last week. — The accident during …

2018-09-02 View

2018-09-01

CNBC 9 related

DMV report: Apple, which has 66 self-driving cars approved for road testing in CA, says one of the SUVs was rear-ended, its first self-driving collision in CA

Apple said that its first autonomous vehicle crash in California occurred last week. — The accident during …

2018-09-01 View

2018-02-24

Reuters 1 related

California DMV says that autonomous vehicles with remote human operators could be tested on state roads as soon as early April

Alexandria Sage / Reuters :

2018-02-24 View

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Who they are

The recent arc

The tension

Why it matters

Patterns

Related Entities

Top Voices

Explore Further

Coverage Timeline

California announces driver's license and state ID support in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, rolling out “in the coming weeks”, as part of the DMV's mDL pilot

California DMV granted Nuro approval to test its third-gen R3 autonomous delivery vehicle in four Bay Area cities, a boost for the startup after some setbacks

California DMV granted Nuro approval to test its third-gen R3 autonomous delivery vehicle in four Bay Area cities, a boost for the startup after some setbacks

California DMV issues the first permit to publicly sell or lease vehicles with an automated driving system, to Mercedes-Benz for its Level 3 Drive Pilot system

California DMV to start approving permits for self-driving delivery vehicles, with and without backup drivers, from Jan. 17, both for testing and commercial use

California DMV to start approving permits for self-driving delivery vehicles, with and without backup drivers, from Jan. 17, both for testing and commercial use

Waymo granted the first permit from California's DMV for driverless testing of autonomous cars on public roads, will start with limited tests in Silicon Valley

DMV report: Apple, which has 66 self-driving cars approved for road testing in CA, says one of the SUVs was rear-ended, its first self-driving collision in CA

DMV report: Apple, which has 66 self-driving cars approved for road testing in CA, says one of the SUVs was rear-ended, its first self-driving collision in CA

California DMV says that autonomous vehicles with remote human operators could be tested on state roads as soon as early April

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