GM subsidiary Cruise’s Co-founder & CEO Kyle Vogt quits

SAN FRANCISCO: Kyle Vogt, co-founder and CEO of GM’s self-driving car subsidiary Cruise, has resigned, in less than a month after the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) suspended Cruise’s deployment and driverless testing permits.

GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra announced that Mo Elshenawy, executive vice president of engineering at Cruise, will serve as president and CTO for Cruise, reports TechCrunch.

However, the new Cruise CEO was yet to be announced.

“Cruise is still just getting started, and I believe it has a great future ahead. You all are brilliant, driven and resilient. I’m deeply saddened I won’t be working next to you anymore,” Vogt told employees in an email.

“However, I know you’re executing against a very strong, multi-year technology roadmap and exciting product vision, and I’m thrilled to see what Cruise has in store in its next chapter,” he added.

He also posted on X: “As for what’s next for me, I plan to spend time with my family and explore some new ideas. Thanks for the great ride!”

Barra said that the Cruise Board understands and respects his decision to resign as CEO.

“We wish him well in his next chapter. We continue to believe strongly in Cruise’s mission and the potential of its transformative technology as we look to make transportation safer, cleaner and more accessible,” Barra added.

On October 2, a pedestrian, initially hit by a human-driven car and landed in the path of a Cruise robotaxi, ran over and dragged 20 feet by the autonomous vehicle. A video showed the robotaxi braking aggressively and coming to a stop over the woman.

The DMV order stopped Cruise’s robotaxi operations in San Francisco just months after receiving the last necessary permit to commercialise its operations.

The order of suspension said that Cruise allegedly withheld video footage from an ongoing investigation.