GM Has Employed a Former Tesla Exec in Its Revived Self-Driving Push

GM is popping to former staff from its failed robotaxi startup Cruise because it embarks on a brand new self-driving car push.

The Detroit auto big has employed Ronalee Mann, a former Cruise and Tesla government, to report back to Sterling Anderson, GM’s chief product officer, Enterprise Insider has realized.

Mann, who beforehand labored as a method and operations supervisor at Cruise, just lately joined GM as head of product operations, in keeping with an inside Slack message seen by Enterprise Insider.

Mann left Cruise in April 2024 and in addition beforehand labored as a director of strategic packages at Tesla. She is going to concentrate on “streamlining” GM’s operations and “eradicating pointless friction” from its “programs, instruments, and processes,” Anderson wrote within the Slack announcement.

Anderson, who has beforehand labored for Tesla as its Autopilot chief, added that Rashed Haq, one other former Cruise government, would be a part of GM as the corporate’s new VP of autonomy.

In his Slack message, Anderson praised Haq’s work at Cruise, including that he would “maintain us centered on execution and progressing towards protected autonomy.” Haq introduced his new function on LinkedIn final week. Mann’s transfer has not beforehand been made public.

A spokesperson for GM declined to remark. Mann didn’t instantly reply to a Enterprise Insider request for remark.

GM’s self-driving shake-up

Anderson has shaken up GM’s software program divisions since arriving on the century-old automaker in Could. Bloomberg reported in August that Anderson, who additionally cofounded the self-driving startup Aurora, instructed staff he would search to rehire some former Cruise staff to assist construct a brand new autonomous car platform for private use.

GM shut down Cruise final December after investing greater than $10 billion within the robotaxi startup since 2016.

Cruise bought the inexperienced mild to function an autonomous robotaxi service in San Francisco alongside Waymo, however was banned from working in California and needed to recall its total fleet after certainly one of its robotaxis critically injured a pedestrian.

GM’s software program division has seen some vital government turnover in latest months. The corporate’s senior VP of software program and providers engineering and head of AI have each left since October, and CNBC reported final week that senior vice chairman Baris Cetinok would additionally depart this month.

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