Kyle Vogt, the CEO and co-founder of Cruise, an autonomous vehicle venture owned by General Motors, has resigned from his position. The announcement was made in a company statement sent to CNBC on Sunday. Mo Elshenawy, former executive VP of engineering at Cruise, will now take over as president and CTO for the company. Vogt confirmed his resignation through a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), stating that he plans to spend time with family and explore new ideas. Despite leaving, Vogt expressed confidence in Cruise, stating that the company has a great future ahead.
The resignation comes after a series of incidents and missteps by Cruise. The company issued a recall affecting 950 of its robotaxis and halted all vehicle operations after incidents that drew widespread criticism. An investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is currently ongoing to determine whether Cruise’s automated driving systems exercised appropriate caution around pedestrians in the roadway.
GM acquired Cruise in 2016 and brought on investors such as Honda Motor, Softbank Vision Fund, Walmart, and Microsoft. However, last year GM acquired SoftBank’s equity ownership stake for $2.1 billion. Despite high hopes, GM has reported significant losses on Cruise between January and September 2023.
Following Vogt’s resignation, Cruise appointed former Tesla and Lyft executive Jon McNeill as vice chairman of the self-driving unit’s board of directors. This resignation comes two years after Vogt was reappointed as CEO, following the unexpected departure of former GM executive Dan Ammann in December 2021. Ammann was credited with the 2016 acquisition of Cruise.
Cruise has faced increasing pressure and criticism, prompting the need for a change in leadership. This move will likely impact Cruise’s future trajectory and reputation in the autonomous vehicle industry.
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