Cruise CEO quits after mishaps

SAN FRANCISCO: Kyle Vogt, a founder and CEO of Cruise, the driverless car subsidiary of General Motors, resigned Sunday, less than a month after Cruise suspended all autonomous operations after a series of traffic mishaps. Vogt had faced criticism for months as Cruise’s self-driving operations ran into issues in cities such as San Francisco. At various points, Cruise’s autonomous vehicles were involved in accidents, with outrage mounting after one of its cars dragged a pedestrian 20 feet after a crash in October. In a statement, Cruise said that its board had accepted Vogt’s resignation, but it did not specify what had led to his departure. The company did not name a new CEO but appointed a new president who also became its chief technology officer and a new vice chair. It also made other executive changes. “As we previously announced, Cruise has paused operations while we take time to engage third-party experts and strengthen public trust,” the company said in the statement. “The results of our ongoing reviews will inform additional next steps as we work to build a better Cruise centred around safety, transparency and trust.” In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Vogt, 38, said he had resigned from Cruise but did not elaborate on his reasons for leaving. “The last 10 years have been amazing, and I’m grateful to everyone who helped Cruise along the way,” he wrote. “The start-up 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 didn’t have an immediate comment beyond its statement. Mary Barra, GM’s CEO, sent an email to Cruise’s employees Sunday in which she thanked Vogt for “his tremendous vision” and said that the board understood and respected his resignation. “The board and I also want you to know that we are intensely focused on setting up Cruise for long-term success,” she wrote. “Public trust is essential to this. As we work to rebuild that trust, safety, transparency and accountability will be our north stars.”