Marco della Cava

USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — Anthony Levandowski, the Uber self-driving car chief who is facing a lawsuit from former employer Google, will no longer lead the ride-hailing company's autonomous car effort.

Levandowksi also will recuse himself from any Uber meetings related to LiDAR sensor technology, the light detection and sensing device that helps a car see where it is.

In an internal email first reported by Business Insider, Levandowski told colleagues to "please make sure not to include me in meetings or email threads related to LiDAR, or ask me for advice on the topic."

Uber confirmed the authenticity of the email to USA TODAY, and added that the company's autonomous car program would now be headed up by Eric Meyhofer, who will report directly to CEO Travis Kalanick.

Earlier this year, Levandowski and Uber were sued by Waymo, the new name for Google's self-driving car project, which charged that Levandowski stole intellectual property related to its LiDAR tech before leaving Google and starting his self-driving truck company, Otto. Uber bought Otto last summer for $670 million.

In the ongoing case, Uber has argued that it has never used any of the documents allegedly taken by Levandowski to create its LiDAR technology. Waymo attorneys have said that Levandowski downloaded 14,000 files shortly before taking leave of his former employer, which has been working on autonomous tech since 2009 and recently announced it would be using its self-driving Chrysler Pacifica minivans to ferry around passengers in the Phoenix area.

The race toward cars that drive themselves is accelerating, with dozens of technology and automotive companies in the running.

Most experts assume that, at least initially, self-driving cars won't be privately owned but instead will be deployed by big companies as ride-hailing fleets in urban centers.

Uber may have had a huge valuation of nearly $70 billion, but Kalanick has repeatedly pointed out that the road to true profitability for companies like his remains anchored to the notion of not having to share ride revenues with drivers.

Levandowski's role change comes at a time of intense internal and external scrutiny for Uber.

Kalanick has responded to allegations from a former employee of fostering a sexist environment by ordering an internal investigation and searching for a chief operating officer. The widow of a former employee sued the company after her husband killed himself as a result of what she says was his stressful work environment.

Follow USA TODAY tech reporter Marco della Cava on Twitter.