Uber Technologies Inc. said Thursday it is moving its self-driving fleet from San Francisco, the company's home town in Northern California, to Arizona.
The move came a day after the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in California revoked the registration of 16 Volvo XC90 sports utility vehicles in the car-hailing service's self-driving fleet and a week after Anthony Levandowski, head of Uber's Advanced Technology Group, offered clients in San Francisco a chance to ride on one of these cars.
The DMV reasoned that registrations were wrongly issued as the Volvos were test vehicles.
As part of Uber's pilot program, self-driving cars have been operational since September in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In response to the state DMV's demand that the company apply for a special permit for road testing the self-driving vehicles, Levandowski's repsonse was that Uber has put a person behind the steering wheel to monitor the vehicle's operation and therefore the Californian rules does not apply to its cars and the company does not need a permit.
The argument dragged on, with both the DMV and the Golden State's attorney general threatening legal actions, prompting Mayor Ed Lee of San Francisco to call the company's chief executive officer Travis Kalanick.
Uber said Wednesday it would remove the self-driving vehicles off the streets in San Francisco.
However, Thursday morning, Uber said in a statement that "our cars departed for Arizona this morning by truck."
In Arizona, Governor Doug Ducey released a statement Thursday, saying "Arizona welcomes Uber self-driving cars with open arms and wide open roads. While California puts the brakes on innovation and change with more bureaucracy and more regulation, Arizona is paving the way for new technology and new businesses."
Ducey signed an executive order in 2015 supporting the testing and operation of self-driving cars in Arizona. "This is about economic development, but it's also about changing the way we live and work. Arizona is proud to be open for business. California may not want you, but we do," he said in the statement.
