AUSTIN, Texas — Weeks after Cruise suspended all of its self-driving car operations, its CEO has stepped down.
Kyle Vogt stepped down as Cruise faced safety concerns and a recall of all 950 of its vehicles to update software.
The company used to operate its driverless rideshare vehicles in multiple cities including about 50 vehicles in Austin, but stopped its operations in October after several crashes in California.
Forbes reported on Monday that Cruise co-founder Dan Kan also resigned less than 24 hours after Vogt's departure.
Late last year, U.S. safety regulators said they were investigating reports that autonomous robotaxis run by Cruise can stop too quickly or unexpectedly quit moving, potentially stranding passengers.
Problems at Cruise could slow the deployment of fully autonomous vehicles that carry passengers without human drivers on board. It also could bring stronger federal regulation of the vehicles, which are carrying passengers in more cities nationwide.
Cruise had been testing 300 robotaxis during the day when it could only give rides for free, and 100 robotaxis at night when it was allowed to charge for rides in less congested parts of San Francisco. Vogt earlier said most collisions were caused by inattentive or impaired human drivers, not the AVs.
Cruise's statement said its board had accepted Vogt’s resignation. Mo Elshenawy, Cruise’s executive vice president of engineering, will become president and chief technology officer. It said Craig Glidden also will serve as president and continue as chief administrative officer for Cruise, an appointment announced earlier.
GM acquired a majority stake in Cruise when it was a startup in 2016. The company invested to take an 80% stake in the company in May 2021.
Vogt attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a co-founder of Twitch, an interactive livestreaming service for content including gaming, entertainment, sports and music. Amazon acquired Twitch for about $1 billion in 2014.