Cruise: GM-owned self-driven car company Cruise CEO resigns, read email to employees

US-based autonomous vehicle company Cruise was co-founded by its CEO Kyle Vogt and its chief product officer Dan Kan in 2016. Initially, the company focused on equipment that could be fitted into a normal vehicle and turn it into a self-driving car. Soon, the startup pivoted to a different business model and was later acquired by General Motors(GM) in March 2016 for a deal valued at more than $1 billion.The company’s co-founder and CEO Kyle Vogt has announced its plans to resign from his post. According to a report by TechCrunch, Vogt sent an internal email to employees to make his decision official. He also posted a message on the social media site X to confirm his exit.

In another email, GM chairman and CEO Mary Barra has announced the shuffling in Cruise’s board. In this email, Barra announced that Mo Elshenawy, who is the executive vice president of engineering at Cruise, will serve as president and CTO for the self-driven car company.
Meanwhile, Craig Glidden, a Cruise board member and GM’s EVP of legal and policy, who was recently put in charge as chief administrative officer at Cruise, will continue in that role.
On the other hand, Jon McNeill, who is also a member of GM’s board, has been appointed as the vice chairman of the Cruise board. McNeill joined the Cruise board recently and will now serve alongside Cruise Board Chair Mary Barra. He has previously served in roles such as the chief operating officer at Lyft and president of Tesla.

The latest changes at the company come a few weeks after the California Department of Motor Vehicles

suspended Cruise’s permits to operate self-driving vehicles on public roads. The company’s permits were suspended after a Cruise car ran over and dragged a pedestrian for 20 feet.
After this incident, Cruise also internally decided to pause its driverless fleets in other states and laid off contract workers. More layoffs are also expected at the company that employs about 4,000 full-time employees. Last week, Cruise also suspended its employee’s share-selling program for Q4 2023.
Read Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt’s letter to employees
“I have resigned from my position as CEO of Cruise.
The last 10 years have been amazing, and I’m grateful to everyone who helped Cruise along the way. The startup I launched in my garage has given over 250,000 driverless rides across several cities, with each ride inspiring people with a small taste of the future.
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. 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!
Cruisers, you’ve got this! Regardless of what originally brought you to work on AVs, remember why this work matters. The status quo on our roads sucks, but together we’ve proven there is something far better around the corner.
The Cruise Board understands and respects his decision to resign as CEO, and 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.”