Cruise CEO and Co-Founder Steps Down
Cruise is going through some things right now. After one of its robotaxis hit a pedestrian, the company halted all autonomous vehicle operations and issued a recall for many of its units. It also lost the ability to operate in California, its home base, at least temporarily, and now, we’ve learned that its CEO and co-founder has stepped down.
Kyle Vogt started Cruise in 2013, and the company was acquired by GM in 2016. Though it has been one of the most prominent names in the industry, Cruise has also seen plenty of criticism over how its vehicles operate and react to collisions and other problems.
Vogt did not give a reason for leaving his company, though it’s reasonable to guess his departure is related to the challenges Cruise has faced. He addressed the move in a series of posts on X/Twitter, saying, “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 one of several companies working with autonomous vehicles, but the issues it’s faced illustrate the difficulties with driverless cars, even in the most limited use cases. We’re still years away from anything even slightly resembling a driverless future, and the technology is only part of the challenge. Government and public trust will take some time to win, and Cruise’s mishaps haven’t done much to build either.
[Image: Tada Images via Shutterstock]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
More by Chris Teague
Comments
Join the conversation
Pretty good summary here: https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/20/business/gm-self-driving-ceo-resigns/index.html
These fools thought the only obstacle to AVs was the technology. As I predicted, it's the liability that limits AV deployment. 'Good enough' doesn't cut it when your loved one is injured.
It's no coincidence that the new co-presidents are a) GM's general counsel and b) the CTO of Cruise. No announcement yet of a new CEO for Cruise - ominous.
With Cruise, everybody loses - all the way up to Mary Barra.
But this is just a precursor for the demise of Tesla's fraudulent "FSD". At least Cruise didn't soak its customers for upwards of $15k.
Ford lost $2.7 billion in Argo AI, then restarted the same business as Latitude AI - but they're only going for SAE Level 2 and 3 autonomy - which keeps liability on the driver. That's a substantially lower target. https://blueskypit.com/2023/03/06/ford-hires-550-in-pittsburgh-for-new-autonomous-driving-venture/
Poor Kyle finds himself adrift and rudderless at age 38, with only his $581M to fall back on.
No matter which experienced CEO replaces this 3 year old, it will be like rearranging the chairs of the Titanic.
This Dawg will Not Hunt, and Idiot Mary Barra thought it was worth $50 billion.
The only billions we saw were the billions idiot Mary Barra wasted on this stupid venture NO Car Enthusiast ever asked for.
The same thing thing will happen to GM electric vehicles within the next decade. Reality has a funny way of catching up to you.