Former Elon Musk rival enters high-profile bid for General Motors leadership

Robotics expert Sterling Anderson, once a key rival of Elon Musk, is quickly rising through the ranks at General Motors and is now being discussed as a possible future chief executive.

Anderson joined GM in June as chief product officer after spending several years at Aurora Innovation, the self-driving trucking startup he co-founded in 2016.

According to a recent report by Bloomberg, Anderson is among the leading internal candidates to eventually succeed current GM CEO Mary Barra, who is 63.

Bloomberg reported that Anderson’s hiring came with a clear understanding. If he can meet Barra’s expectations by strengthening GM’s software capabilities and advancing its self-driving technology, he would be well positioned for the top role. 

However, a GM spokesperson, played down the speculation, saying that any discussion beyond Anderson’s current position as chief product officer is “premature and speculative.”

As outlined by Bloomberg reporter David Welch, Anderson has been tasked with some of GM’s most critical priorities. 

These include boosting in-car computing power, improving vehicle software, advancing hands-free driving systems, rolling out profitable subscription features, and helping make electric vehicles a sustainable business.

For those unversed, before GM, Anderson built his reputation at Tesla, where he led work on the Model X and Autopilot programmes, putting him at the center of the autonomous vehicle race that once placed him opposite Musk.