China freezes new robotaxi licenses after Baidu chaos

April 29, 2026 Robert Hart

A Baidu Apollo Go robotaxi in Wuhan, China. | Image: Bloomberg via Getty Images

China has suspended new licenses for autonomous vehicles, Bloomberg reports, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. The move comes after dozens of robotaxis operated by Chinese tech giant Baidu ground to a halt in traffic last month in Wuhan, creating chaos.

The restrictions will prevent companies from adding new driverless cars to their fleets, expanding into new cities, or starting new test projects. It is unclear when officials will start issuing new licenses again.

Bloomberg said the Wuhan incident alarmed authorities in Beijing, prompting regulators to urge local governments to review the sector to prevent similar episodes. …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Previous Article
Meta isn’t doing enough to keep kids off Facebook and Instagram, rules EU
Meta isn’t doing enough to keep kids off Facebook and Instagram, rules EU

Meta is breaching Europe's Digital Services Act (DSA) rules by failing to prevent children under 13 from us...

Next Article
GitHub rushed to fix a critical vulnerability in less than six hours
GitHub rushed to fix a critical vulnerability in less than six hours

GitHub employees fixed a critical remote code execution vulnerability in less than six hours last month. Wi...