Kyle Vogt, CEO of self-driving car developer Cruise, resigns amid internal turmoil


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TechCrunch

Kyle Vogt, CEO of Cruise, a subsidiary of car manufacturer General Motors that develops and operates self-driving cars, has announced his resignation. Cruise is in the midst of a safety investigation related to a fatal accident that occurred in October 2023, and there has also been turmoil within the company, including suspending and reversing an employee stock sale program amid backlash. It continued.



CEO of GM's Cruise robo-taxi unit resigns amid US safety review | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/gms-cruise-ceo-resigns-company-email-2023-11-20/

Cruise co-founder and CEO Kyle Vogt resigns | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/19/cruise-co-founder-and-ceo-kyle-vogt-resigns/

Vogt announced his resignation in an email to employees. I also posted the same content on X (Twitter). Its contents are as follows.

“The last 10 years have been amazing and I’m grateful to everyone who has helped Cruise along the way. The startup I started in my garage has completed over 250,000 driverless trips in several cities. We have given people a sense of the future, even if only slightly.”



“Cruise is just getting started and I believe we have a great future ahead of us. Everyone at Cruise is talented, motivated and resilient. We have a solid, multi-year roadmap and an exciting product vision. I'm excited to see what Cruise has in store next.'



“To all of my Cruise colleagues and GM, we can do it! No matter how you got started working on self-driving cars, remember why this work is important. The road we're on is in bad shape, but we're at the corner. We have proven that there are far better things nearby.”



'I'll figure out what I do next while spending time with my family. Thank you for the wonderful ride.'



Although the successor CEO has not been determined, GM CEO and Chairman Mary Barra announced that Mo El-Shenawy, Vice President of Engineering, will be appointed as Cruise's new president and CTO.

Barra, CEO and Chairman, thanked Mr. Vogt for his vision, passion and dedication over the past 10 years, and expressed his respect for his decision to step down and wished him well in his next endeavor.

Please note that Cruise has completely stopped unmanned driving tests due to the accident that occurred in October 2023 . The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched a safety investigation, raising concerns about employee morale.

Cruise announces complete suspension of unmanned driving tests for self-driving cars - GIGAZINE



To add insult to injury, it was announced that the employee stock sale program would be temporarily suspended in the fourth quarter of 2023, causing a fierce backlash as some employees would suffer losses of up to $100,000 (approximately 14.8 million yen). . It was immediately retracted, and Vogt apologized for the current situation.

in Note, Posted by logc_nt