Founder and chief executive of automated taxi firm Cruise, Kyle Vogt, has stepped down from the company, he announced on Sunday.
Vogt’s resignation comes as the company, which was bought by General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) (GM) in 2016, reels from the chaotic rollout of its automated taxi service in San Francisco earlier this year, which resulted in its taxis being kicked off California’s roads.
“The last 10 years have been amazing, and I’m grateful to everyone who helped Cruise along the way,” Vogt said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“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.”
However, a score of incidents involving Cruise vehicles since the company was given the green light to operate commercially in August has dampened the success of the rollout.
These include run-ins with emergency vehicles and one case where a pedestrian was hit and dragged by a Cruise vehicle after being struck by a non-Cruise vehicle, placing the company’s technology under scrutiny.
Californian authorities dubbed the company’s vehicles as “not safe for the public's operation" as a result, with Cruise opting last week to pause all on-road vehicle operations in the US.
A replacement as chief executive is yet to be named, with an internal email from GM chief executive Mary Barra announcing Cruise engineering vice president Mo Elshenawy as chief technical officer.
GM board member Jon McNeill will join Cruise as vice president, the email cited by TechCrunch said, while existing chief administrative officer Craig Glidden remains in the role.
“Remember why this work matters,” outgoing boss Vogt added on X meanwhile.
“The status quo on our roads sucks, but together we’ve proven there is something far better around the corner.”