Nvidia halts self-driving tests in wake of Uber accident

Uber is one of Nvidia’s partners and uses some of its self-driving technology. Nvidia’s shares closed down 7.8 percent at $225.52, wiping out more than $11 billion in market value.

Nvidia shares have more than doubled in value in the past 12 months on bets that the company will become a leader in chips for driverless cars, data centers and artificial intelligence.

Uber suspended North American tests of its autonomous vehicles after the fatal collision on March 18 in Tempe, Arizona. And Arizona on Monday suspended permission for Uber to test self-driving vehicles on public streets.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles said on Tuesday that Uber indicated it would not renew its current permit to test autonomous vehicles in California. 

Under current terms, Uber is allowed to test autonomous vehicles on California public roads until March 31.

Uber should be given a chance to understand what went wrong, Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said at the company’s annual GPU Conference in San Jose, California. “We don’t know what happened.”