Takeaways
- Kyle Vogt, co-founder and CEO of autonomous taxi developer Cruise, announced he is resigning from the GM-owned company.
- Vogt leaves after series of incidents with autonomous vehicles developed by the company. this led the unit to stop testing on public roads.
- Chief Administrative Officer Craig Glidden and Executive Vice President Mo Elshenawy would be Cruise's new co-presidents.
This is a big upheaval For General Motors (GM)-taxi driving unit, Cruise: co-founder and CEO Kyle Vogt announced he was resigning over the weekend.
Vogt indicated that he would “ spending more time with my family and exploring new ideas.” Before leaving, he apologized to staff and took responsibility for the problems facing the division, Reuters reported.
Cruise halted testing of all its vehicles in the United States in October after a pedestrian struck by another driver in San Francisco was crushed by a Cruise car, which pulled over her. Another pedestrian was struck by a cruiser in August. Regulators with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are investigating.
San Francisco city officials have also complained about how Cruise vehicles have added to traffic problems, particularly when they malfunction.
GM purchased Cruise in 2016. At the time, GM Chairman Dan Ammann explained that fully autonomous vehicles “can bring enormous benefits to our customers in terms of greater convenience, lower cost and improving safety for their daily mobility needs”.
Last week, the council Cruise's board of directors has named Craig Glidden, general counsel to the CEO, as Cruise's chief administrative officer. CEO Mary Barra reportedly told Glidden employees and Cruise executive vice president Mo Elshenawy that they would now be co-presidents of Cruise.
GM shares rose by 2.43% today, but are still more than 15% lower for 2023.
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Source: investopedia.com
