Cruise is going through some serious shake-ups lately. First, the big boss Kyle Vogt bailed, and now, co-founder and Chief Product Officer Daniel Kan followed suit. Nobody’s spilling the beans on why Kan hit the road, adding a layer of mystery to the whole situation. The drama started when one of Cruise’s robotaxis had a fender bender with a pedestrian in San Francisco last month. Since then, it’s been a wild ride – GM had to yank nearly 950 robotaxis off the streets, and both the self-driving and manual operations got the red light.
This accident really knocked Cruise’s public image off its high horse. The California DMV slammed the brakes on their driverless permits, and a safety investigation is still hanging in the air. In a tweet, Cruise is all about “rebuilding public trust” now. But wait, there’s more – a not-so-great expose spilled the beans on Cruise knowing about issues like struggling to spot kids and road hazards, making things even messier.
In the midst of this chaos, the ex-CEO hinted at possible layoffs in a memo. With no word on who’s taking over the CEO or Chief Product Officer roles, General Motors is shaking things up differently by bringing in two fresh faces to the company board. Mo Elshenawy, the VP of Engineering at Cruise, steps up to bat as the new President.
Cruise is cruising through some seriously choppy waters. Rebuilding trust after the accident and dealing with doubts about their self-driving tech is a bumpy road. The big shots jumping ship only adds to the turbulence, leaving Cruise at a bit of a crossroads.
