Cruise Co-Founder and CEO Kyle Vogt Leaves the GM-Owned Robo Taxi Company

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Bill McColl
Bill McColl
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Bill McColl has 25+ years of experience as a senior producer and writer for TV, radio, and digital media leading teams of anchors, reporters, and editors in creating news broadcasts, covering some of the most notable news stories of the time.

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Published November 20, 2023
Cruise Founder & CEO Kyle Vogt

Kimberly White / Stringer / Getty Images

Key Takeaways

  • Kyle Vogt, co-founder and CEO of self-driving taxi developer Cruise said he was resigning from the GM-owned company.
  • Vogt is leaving after the self-driving vehicles developed by the company had a series of incidents that led to the unit shutting down testing on public streets.
  • Chief Administrative Officer Craig Glidden and EVP Mo Elshenawy are said to be the new co-presidents of Cruise.

It’s a big shakeup for General Motors’ (GM) self-driving taxi unit, Cruise: Co-founder and CEO Kyle Vogt announced he was stepping down over the weekend.

Vogt indicated he was moving on to “spend more time with my family and explore some new ideas.” Before leaving, he apologized to the staff and took responsibility for the problems the division faced, Reuters reported.

Cruise shut down testing of all its vehicles in the U.S. in October after a? pedestrian hit by another driver in San Francisco was run over by a Cruise car, which stopped on top of her. Another pedestrian was struck by a Cruise vehicle in August. Regulators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are investigating.

City officials in San Francisco have also complained about how Cruise vehicles have added to traffic problems, especially when they malfunction.

GM purchased Cruise in 2016. At the time, GM President Dan Ammann explained that fully autonomous vehicles “can bring our customers enormous benefits in terms of greater convenience, lower cost, and improved safety for their daily mobility needs.”

Last week, Cruise’s board appointed GM General Counsel Craig Glidden as chief administrative officer of Cruise. CEO Mary Barra is said to have told workers Glidden and Cruise EVP Mo Elshenawy would now serve as Cruise co-presidents.

Shares of GM were up 2.43% today, but are still more than 15% lower for 2023.

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  1. X. "@kvogt, 9:31 PM · Nov 19, 2023."

  2. Reuters. "CEO of GM's Cruise robo-taxi unit resigns amid US safety review."

  3. General Motors. "GM to Acquire Cruise Automation to Accelerate Autonomous Vehicle Development."

  4. Cruise. "Important Updates from Cruise."

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