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Trump targets EV charging funding programs Tesla benefits from

President Donald Trump is trying to halt the flow of funding for EV charging infrastructure from two programs that Tesla has benefitted from — the latest example of how Elon Musk’s political interests seem to be at odds with his car company’s goal of advancing sustainable energy. It’s not a given that Trump’s gambit will…

US safety regulators expand Ford hands-free driving tech investigation

January 20, 2025

A U.S. federal safety regulator has “upgraded” its investigation into Ford’s hands-free advanced driver assistance system known as BlueCruise — a required step before a recall can be issued. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation launched a probe into Ford BlueCruise last April after the agency confirmed the system was active…

EV startup Canoo files for bankruptcy and ceases operations

January 17, 2025

Seven-year-old electric vehicle startup Canoo has filed for bankruptcy and will “cease operations immediately.” The company is liquidating its assets in a Chapter 7 proceeding in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court. The company said in a press release published late Friday that it was “in discussions with foreign sources of capital” that proved unsuccessful, and also…

Amazon suspends US drone deliveries following crash at testing facility

January 17, 2025

Amazon has paused testing of its delivery drones following a crash involving two of its models, according to Bloomberg. It’s the latest setback for Amazon’s beleaguered Prime Air program, which aims to deliver around 500 million packages a year to customers by the end of the decade. Bloomberg reports two Amazon drones crashed in rainy…

Netradyne snags $90M at $1.35B valuation to expand smart dashcams for commercial fleets

January 17, 2025

Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of car accidents and a major reason why auto insurance premiums are expected to increase in 2025. For commercial fleets, that’s a nightmare. But for California-based startup Netradyne, it’s a tailwind. Netradyne provides fleet owners, including big names like Amazon, with AI-enabled dashcams that collect vehicle data…

SpaceX and Blue Origin must investigate this week’s big rocket tests, FAA says

January 17, 2025

The Federal Aviation Administration is requiring Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to investigate what went wrong on their respective mega-rocket test flights this week. The regulator said both companies must perform what’s known as a “mishap investigation.” These probes involve the companies and the FAA working together to understand what went wrong,…

Rivian finalizes $6.6B loan for its Georgia factory

January 17, 2025

Rivian and the Department of Energy have finalized a $6.6 billion loan announced in November with just a few days left until Donald Trump’s inauguration. The company will use the loan to help build out its planned factory in Georgia, east of Atlanta, with construction beginning in 2026. The first R2 SUVs are scheduled to…

GM banned from sharing driving and location data with insurance companies

January 17, 2025

FAA had to divert flights because of SpaceX Starship explosion

January 16, 2025

The Federal Aviation Administration has told TechCrunch that it had to “briefly” slow and divert a number of aircraft near the area where debris was seen falling after SpaceX’s Starship exploded during a test flight Thursday. Multiple flights could be seen entering holding patterns or completely changing course in the airspace near Puerto Rico shortly…

A rising EV startup star snags $100M and Tesla’s win-lose federal funding moment

January 16, 2025

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! Before we move into the news of this week, we have one more roundup of transportation tech at CES 2025. As I noted last week, autonomous vehicle…

Polestar digs in for another grim year

January 16, 2025

Volvo spinoff Polestar had a rough 2024, and 2025 looks like it could be just as difficult. The EV maker announced Thursday that it expects to generate less revenue in fiscal year 2024 than it did in 2023, after previously estimating sales would stay the same. That’s thanks to “fewer than expected Polestar 3 and…

Netradyne snags $90M at $1.25B valuation to expand smart dashcams for commercial fleets

January 16, 2025

Distracted driving is a leading cause of car crashes — and rising auto insurance premiums, which are expected to increase in 2025. For commercial fleets, that’s an expensive challenge to navigate. But for California-based startup Netradyne, it’s a tailwind. Netradyne provides fleet owners, including big names like Amazon, with AI-enabled dashcams that collect vehicle data…

Tesla to split $100M award for electric truck charging corridor in Illinois

January 15, 2025

Tesla, along with three other industry partners, quietly backed an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency application that won $100 million in funding to build electric truck charging stations across the state, TechCrunch has learned. The award was the biggest given out by the Biden Administration’s Federal Highway Administration last week in the second round of what’s…

Trump’s DOT pick wants EV owners to pay to use roads

January 15, 2025

Sean Duffy, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. Department of Transportation, thinks owners of electric vehicles should pay to use roads. “How to do that, I think, is a little more challenging,” Duffy said at his confirmation hearing Wednesday before the Senate Commerce Committee. The former Republican lawmaker is correct that it would…

Accel doubles down on Sarla Aviation’s ambition to develop electric air taxis in India

January 14, 2025

Biden admin’s final rule banning Chinese connected cars also bars robotaxi testing on U.S. roads

January 14, 2025

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced a final rule Tuesday that would ban the sale or import of connected vehicles from China and Russia due to national security concerns. The rule would also bar Chinese car companies, such as WeRide and Pony AI, from testing self-driving cars on U.S. roads. “China is trying to dominate…

Aurora takes feds to court over safety rules as it nears self-driving truck launch

January 14, 2025

Aurora Innovation is taking federal safety regulators to court in a case that could have far-reaching implications for self-driving truck companies operating in a regulatory environment designed around humans. The fight centers around the rather commonplace practice of placing physical warning triangles around semi trucks stopped along highways. The court denied Aurora’s request to be…

EV startup Harbinger’s obsession with simplicity fuels $100M Series B

January 14, 2025

It’s not an easy time to raise money for an electric vehicle startup, especially given how many have failed or are close to failing. But Los Angeles-based Harbinger has pulled it off by taking an hyper-focused approach to electrifying commercial trucking. The reward is a $100 million Series B, co-led by early Tesla investor Capricorn…

Biden admin snubs Tesla’s $100 million big-rig charging funding request — again

January 13, 2025

The Department of Transportation announced Friday another $636 million in funding that will be awarded to 49 applicants for electric vehicle charging infrastructure — and Tesla’s application for nearly $100 million to fund a big rig charging corridor was once again passed over. Tesla’s name was not among the list of recipients released, and its partner…

eBay acquires Caramel to reduce risk and complexity of online car sales

January 13, 2025

E-commerce giant eBay has announced plans to acquire Caramel, a startup that helps car sellers and buyers complete the final steps of the transaction — including verification, financing, paperwork, ownership transfer, insurance, and more. Founded out of Los Angeles in 2021, Caramel formally launched last year with some $19 million in funding behind it, from…

CES 2025: Self-driving cars were everywhere, plus other transportation tech trends

January 12, 2025

Even before CES 2025 kicked off a few trends began to emerge — or more accurately, some gaps appeared. All U.S. and some European automakers that have helped turn CES into an auto show were absent. Several Chinese automakers filled that void, notably Zeekr, the EV brand owned by China’s Geely Holdings. Wey, a premium…

I got soaked driving the Arc Sport electric boat

January 11, 2025

I did not go to CES 2025 with the goal of getting drenched by Lake Mead’s chilly January waters. But when I discovered Los Angeles-based boat startup Arc had brought its new sport boat to Las Vegas, I figured it was worth the risk. It was. The Arc Sport was a joy to drive, even…

A drone punched a hole into an LA firefighting plane

January 10, 2025

Riding in a Zoox robotaxi at CES 2025: Everything that went right and wrong

January 10, 2025

A construction zone. A car crash. A double parked truck. A motorcycle cop with its red-white-and blues deployed. My one-hour trip along the Las Vegas Strip in a custom-built Zoox robotaxi during CES 2025 wasn’t a dull one. A second, shorter ride the following evening, proved less eventful. And in both rides, the Zoox robotaxi…

Tesla launches new-look Model Y in China

January 9, 2025

Tesla has revealed a new-look Model Y meant for the Chinese and other Asian-Pacific markets, marking the first major update to the SUV since its launch in 2020. The redesign comes as Tesla finished 2024 having delivered fewer vehicles than it did in 2023. It was the first year-over-year drop since the company started selling…

Autonomous vehicles are having a moment and other vibes from CES 2025

January 9, 2025

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! Hey hey, it’s a new year! I’ve missed you these past two weeks. But I’m back, and in Las Vegas for CES 2025. As always, announcements from…

CES 2025: Where have all the US automakers gone?

January 9, 2025

The old chestnut passed around by industry watchers for the past decade was that CES — one of the world’s largest consumer tech trade events — had turned into an auto show. Maybe even the most important auto show of the year. And there was ample evidence of that. GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra…

Scout Motors CEO Scott Keogh says modern cars have become ‘dystopian’ and ‘disconnected’

January 9, 2025

Volkswagen-backed startup Scout Motors broke cover just a few months ago, and at this week’s CES 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada, they hold the honor of being one of the only American automakers with a presence at the show. That’s not the only thing that stands out about Scout being here, though. In a sea…

Tesla directors to pay up to $919 million to settle claims they overpaid themselves

January 9, 2025

A Delaware judge has approved a settlement that will see Tesla directors – including Chair Robyn Denholm, Oracle founder Larry Elison, Kimbal Musk, and James Murdoch – return up to $919 million to the automaker, officially resolving allegations that they overpaid themselves, per Reuters. The settlement concludes a 2020 lawsuit by the Police and Fire…

We talked to the guy who was stuck in a Waymo robotaxi on an dizzying loop

January 8, 2025

A month ago, a video circulated around social media of a Waymo robotaxi stuck in a roundabout loop – an isolated incident with no passengers in the vehicle, according to Waymo. Apparently, it wasn’t a one-time thing. Around the same time, in another Waymo robotaxi headed for the Phoenix airport, Mike Johns, founder and CEO…

Vay expands driverless car-sharing fleet in Las Vegas

January 8, 2025

Vay is hitting the accelerator on its driverless car-sharing service in Las Vegas. The Berlin-based startup, which uses teleoperations technology that lets humans pilot empty vehicles to customers, has been operating a small commercial fleet of retrofitted Kia e-Niro vehicles in certain parts of Las Vegas since January 2024. When customers open the Vay app…

Delta SkyMiles members can now earn miles riding with Uber, ending its deal with Lyft

January 7, 2025

Uber announced during CES 2025 a multi-year exclusive partnership with Delta Air Lines that allows SkyMiles members to earn miles when they ride with Uber or order delivery through Uber Eats in the United States. The deal means an end of Delta’s partnership with Lyft. The Uber partnership will launch in the spring, giving Uber…

Delta SkyMiles members can now earn miles riding with Uber

January 7, 2025

Uber announced during CES 2025 a multi-year exclusive partnership with Delta Air Lines that allows SkyMiles members to earn miles when they ride with Uber or order delivery through Uber Eats in the U.S. The partnership will launch in the spring, giving Uber customers access to perks like “improved Uber pickup and drop off experiences…

Delta Air Lines announces an AI-powered assistant in its mobile app and free onboard YouTube Premium and Music at CES 2025

January 7, 2025

Over the last few years, Delta Air Lines’ presence has become a staple of CES, with the airline regularly hosting splashy keynotes. This year, the company has rented out the Sphere to announce its latest slate of updates. These include (can you guess it?) an AI-powered assistant in its app, as well as an updated…

Zeekr RT, the robotaxi built for Waymo, has the tiniest wipers

January 7, 2025

For the autonomous vehicle-obsessed, the Waymo-Zeekr robotaxi is nothing new. In 2021, Waymo and Zeekr announced a partnership. Waymo first showed a concept of the purpose-built robotaxi in late 2022 and began testing prototype versions on public roads in San Francisco last year, even as it began rolling out its commercial fleet of Jaguar I-Pace…

Feds investigate Tesla’s ‘Actual Smart Summon’ after several crashes

January 7, 2025

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into 2.56 million Tesla vehicles after several crashes involving the automaker’s “Actual Smart Summon” remote parking feature. Tesla released Actual Smart Summon, or ASS for short, via software update in September. It allows Tesla owners to use their app to command the vehicle drive itself…

Xpeng Aero HT unveils ‘flying car’ that’s part-van, part-eVTOL at CES 2025

January 7, 2025

Xpeng Aero HT, the aerospace company under Chinese EV startup Xpeng, unveiled at CES 2025 its “modular flying car,” the so-called Land Aircraft Carrie. It’s ssentially an electric minivan with a small folding eVTOL (vertical takeoff and landing vehicle) tucked in the back, which can be rolled out and launched into flight. The company says…

Honda reveals its futuristic ‘0 SUV’ prototype at CES 2025

January 7, 2025

Honda is adding to its so-called 0 Series of EVs with a new SUV it just revealed at CES 2025. The company showed off a mid-size SUV prototype dubbed, surely enough, the 0 SUV, which will join the 0 Saloon that Honda showed off at last year’s show. A production version of the SUV will…

BMW’s new UI puts widgets on the windshield

January 7, 2025

BMW is totally revamping its in-car user interface, starting with the Neue Klasse sedan later this year and ultimately spreading to all models, the company announced at CES 2025. Some of it looks and feels familiar, but the big change is a widget-based system that lets users customize the layout — including on the car’s…

At CES 2025, Uber teams up with Nvidia to scale autonomous driving faster

January 7, 2025

Uber will use Nvidia’s new generative world model simulation tool, Cosmos, and cloud-based AI supercomputing platform, DGX Cloud, to support the development of autonomous vehicle technology, the companies announced at CES 2025. Cosmos is being marketed to robotics and autonomy companies as a tool that generates physics-based videos from a variety of inputs, including 9,000…

Serve Robotics raises additional $80M as it scales sidewalk delivery robots

January 7, 2025

Nvidia and Uber-backed Serve Robotics has raised $80 million in a direct offering of 4.2 million shares of common stock, money that will help the company extend its runway through 2026 and scale its fleet from the 100 robots on the streets of Los Angeles today to the 2,000 Serve hopes to deploy by the…

Segway dropped two e-bikes at CES that are stylish and packed with tech for under $3000

January 7, 2025

Micromobility giant Segway launched two new e-bikes at CES 2025 that are designed to make the experience of riding a bike easier, safer, more convenient, and more accessible. The new bikes – the Xyber that’s giving dirt bike energy, and the classic-looking Xafari – are available for pre-order now, with expected delivery in February, according…

May Mobility reveals electric autonomous minibus at CES 2025

January 7, 2025

May Mobility, an autonomous vehicle technology startup, unveiled at CES 2025 the next vehicle in its portfolio: an electric, autonomous minibus made in partnership with European electric bus manufacturer Tecnobus. Ann Arbor-based May Mobility offers on-demand and fixed-route autonomous shuttles on campuses and in planned communities. Today its fleet consists of 40 Toyota Sienna minivans that…

NXP to buy automotive safety software firm TTTech Auto for $625M

January 7, 2025

Dutch semiconductor giant NXP on Tuesday said it plans to acquire TTTech Auto, an Austrian company specializing in safety software for autonomous vehicles, in an all-cash transaction valued at $625 million. TTTech Auto spun out of TTTech Group in 2018, with some $78 million in backing from the likes of AUDI, Samsung and GE Ventures.…

Toyota’s next-generation cars will be built with Nvidia supercomputers and operating system

January 6, 2025

Toyota announced at CES 2025 that its next-generation vehicles will have automated driving capabilities powered by Nvidia’s Drive AGX Orin supercomputer and safety-focused operating system, DriveOS. TechCrunch has reached out to Toyota to learn more about the automaker’s plans to deploy vehicles with autonomous capabilities. DriveOS is the operating system for Nvidia’s autonomous vehicle platform…

Sony-Honda’s Afeela EV will start at $89,900

January 6, 2025

Sony has been trickling out details of the Afeela brand it launched with Honda, ever since it unveiled the EV in 2023. But it’s held back one big detail — until today. Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida announced Monday at CES 2025 that the four-door Afeela EV would have a starting price of $89,900. The Sony-Honda…

Toyota is ‘exploring rockets’ and has made its first investment into Interstellar Technologies

January 6, 2025

Japanese automaker Toyota is “exploring rockets,” chairman Akio Toyoda announced on stage at CES 2025 on Monday, while hinting at the idea of moving people through space. The rocketry mention on the CES 2025 stage came while Toyoda was in the middle of explaining how he views his company’s myriad technologies as “invention by kakezan,”…

Toyota’s Woven City is open for business and looking for startups

January 6, 2025

Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda revealed Monday at CES 2025 his vision for a living laboratory chock full of startups and technology. His message: Woven City — a prototype city on a 175-acre site at the foot of Mount Fuji in Japan — is open for business and searching for inventors. “Today, I say to…

Toyota is ‘exploring rockets’

January 6, 2025

Japanese automaker Toyota is “exploring rockets,” chairman Akio Toyoda just announced on stage at CES 2025, while hinting at the idea of moving people through space. Toyoda did not offer any details explaining what he meant. But he showed a rendering on stage of a rocket designed by Interstellar Technologies, a private Japanese spaceflight company…

Flying Flea electric motorcycles will feature connected services powered by Qualcomm

January 6, 2025

Flying Flea is the latest electric two-wheeler manufacturer to embrace the connected vehicle trend. At CES 2025, Flying Flea shared plans to integrate some of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon products into its upcoming line of motorcycles, bringing connected capabilities like voice assistance, smartphone-enabled keys, and customizable ride modes. Indian motorcycle manufacturer Royal Enfield introduced the Flying Flea…

Trucks VC launches $70M fund to find the next great batch of transportation startups

January 6, 2025

Trucks Venture Capital co-founder Reilly Brennan has spent more than a decade looking for — and investing in — entrepreneurs building the future of transportation, including autonomous vehicle tech, electric air taxis, EV charger maintenance, mobility data platforms, and more. Now, Brennan along with partners Jeffrey Schox, Kathryn Schox, and Puneeth Meruva, are on the…

Bosch is making e-bike batteries lockable via an app to deter theft

January 6, 2025

German conglomerate Bosch announced on Monday at CES 2025 a new layer of theft prevention for its e-bike batteries: the ability to lock a battery through the company’s Flow+ app. With the feature activated, batteries will automatically digitally lock when owners turn off their Bosch e-bike. If a thief somehow steals one of these batteries…

Pebble reveals its EV travel trailer designed for digital nomads

January 6, 2025

Three years ago, Bingrui Yang founded Pebble to bring electrification, automation, and the usability of an iPhone to the RV world. The public got its first glimpse Monday at CES 2025 of what that looks like: a production-ready all-electric travel trailer loaded with tech designed to make towing and camping stress free. The 25-foot all-electric…

Lucid meets production target with 9,029 EV deliveries in 2024

January 6, 2025

Luxury electric vehicle startup Lucid produced and delivered a record number of electric vehicles in the fourth quarter and full year of 2024. Lucid produced 3,386 vehicles and delivered 3,099 in Q4. On a full-year basis, the company produced 9,029 vehicles and delivered 10,241 vehicles in 2024, meeting its previously announced target to produce roughly…

Toyota’s CES 2025 press conference: How to watch

January 5, 2025

Five years ago, Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda went to CES to share with the world his “personal field of dreams” — a plan to build a prototype city on a 175-acre site at the foot of Mount Fuji in Japan, where people would live and work amongst all of Toyota’s projects, including autonomous vehicle technology,…

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi resigns from self-driving truck startup Aurora’s board

January 3, 2025

Dara Khosrowshahi is resigning from the board of autonomous vehicle technology company Aurora Innovation, citing a desire to focus on his ongoing responsibilities as CEO of Uber and reduce external board commitments, according to a Friday regulatory filing. Khosrowshahi’s resignation was effective as of Tuesday. Aurora says Khosrowshahi’s decision to leave the board was not…

Scout Motors EVs will have satellite connectivity

January 3, 2025

Volkswagen offshoot Scout Motors is getting a jump start on CES 2025 next week, with some good news for people who plan to take the company’s EVs way, way outdoors: The forthcoming Traveler SUV and Terra pickup will have a built-in satellite connection. Scout Motors isn’t saying where it’s sourcing the satellite link-up hardware from,…

Turo CEO: Attackers had clean records, so background checks wouldn’t have stopped them

January 3, 2025

Two individuals rented cars from Turo, a peer-to-peer car-sharing platform, and used them to perform acts of violence earlier this week. First, a military veteran driving a Ford F-150 Lightning drove into a crowd of people, killing at least 15. Then, an active-duty Green Beret rented a Tesla Cybertruck, parked it in front of the…

Turo taps national security and counterterrorism experts after Cybertruck explosion

January 3, 2025

Rivian wraps 2024 with more than 50,000 EVs delivered

January 3, 2025

Rivian finished last year having delivered 51,579 electric SUVs, trucks, and vans, more than triple the number it shipped to customers in 2023. The company announced Friday that it also built 49,476 EVs in 2024. That’s about 8,000 fewer than it expected to manufacture as recently as July. Rivian was forced to lower its expectations,…

How to watch CES 2025’s press conferences

January 2, 2025

CES 2025 kicks off January 7. The annual Las Vegas event sets the tone for the year’s consumer electronics and automotive industries. As always, TechCrunch will be there, sniffing stories from the most exciting startups and tech giants. If you really want a piece of the action without paying for the hotel and flight, many…

Cybertruck explosion outside Trump hotel in Vegas leaves 1 dead, 7 injured

January 2, 2025

A Tesla Cybertruck that exploded and burst into flames Wednesday morning just outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas has left one person dead and seven people injured, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD). Matthew Alan Livelsberger, a 37-year-old man who was an active duty U.S. Army Green Beret from Colorado Springs,…

CES 2025: What to expect from the year’s first and biggest tech show

January 2, 2025

CES 2025 officially kicks off in Las Vegas on Tuesday morning, running through the end of the day on January 10. The “official” dates are specific to when the floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center is open to attendees, and ultimately belie the show’s true duration. A pair of press days kick off Sunday…

Tesla Cybertruck fails to boost 2024 sales as annual deliveries fall for first time

January 2, 2025

Tesla delivered fewer cars last year than it did in 2023, marking its first year-to-year drop and signaling that the company is struggling to reach new buyers. That means Tesla’s Cybertruck, which is the company’s first true new model since 2020, did little to boost the company’s growth in its first full year of sales.…

Police investigating Cybertruck fire outside Trump hotel in Vegas

January 1, 2025

A Tesla Cybertruck that caught fire Wednesday morning just outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas is being investigated by local law enforcement. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a post on social media site X that the fire was out and being investigated. The fire was reported around 8:40 a.m. PT,…

Toyota’s CES 2025 press conference: How to watch

January 1, 2025

Elon Musk’s promises for Tesla in 2024, from robotaxis to Optimus bots

December 31, 2024

Elon Musk had an eventful 2024, what with his hard push into right-wing politics and leveraging his X social media platform and considerable influence to help Donald Trump win the presidential election. Putting politics aside for a moment, it’s worth focusing on another Musk pastime: making promises for Tesla. The Tesla CEO’s promises — and…

A Waymo robotaxi and a Serve delivery robot collided in Los Angeles

December 31, 2024

On December 27, a Waymo robotaxi and a Serve Robotics sidewalk delivery robot collided at a Los Angeles intersection, according to a video that’s circulating on social media. The footage shows a Serve bot crossing a street in West Hollywood at night and trying to get onto the sidewalk. It reached the curb, backed up…

Volkswagen leak exposed precise location data on thousands of vehicles across Europe for months

December 30, 2024

Mercedes-backed Volocopter files for bankruptcy

December 30, 2024

German electric air taxi company Volocopter has filed for bankruptcy protection, the latest in a string of similar startups to hit financial turbulence. The company plans to keep operating while it searches for new investors. “We are ahead of our industry peers in our technological, flight test, and certification progress. That makes us an attractive…

How to watch CES 2025’s press conferences

December 28, 2024

CES kicks off January 7. The annual Las Vegas event sets the tone of the year’s consumer electronics and automotive industries. As always, TechCrunch will be there, sniffing stories from the most exciting startups and tech giants. If you really want a piece of the action without paying for the hotel and flight, many of…

The trends that shaped EVs, robotaxis, and electric flight in 2024

December 27, 2024

If there was one phrase that captured the vibe and theme of 2024 — at least in the transportation sector — it was business whiplash. Legacy automakers changed direction on their all-EVs-or-bust strategy, startups pivoted, and some Silicon Valley VCs and executives adjusted their views to a changing political landscape, in which they now are…

Lyft says San Francisco overcharged it $100 million in taxes

December 27, 2024

Want a cheap EV? Hertz is handing out discounts to renters

December 27, 2024

Hertz has been contacting people who are in the middle of renting electric vehicles recently to offer them the option to buy the car instead of returning it, reports The Verge. And the offers are pretty sweet, according to some renters who shared the offers on Reddit. One renter was reportedly offered a 2023 Chevy…

The fall of EV startup Fisker: A comprehensive timeline

December 26, 2024

Onyx Motorbikes is back, one year after its owner died leaving the company in shambles

December 24, 2024

A year after Onyx Motorbikes owner James Khatiblou died suddenly, leaving customers with unfulfilled orders and millions in unpaid debts, the brand has been revived by its original founder. “I’m excited to announce I have resurrected my original brand Onyx with incredible backers!” founder Tim Seward wrote in a LinkedIn post on Monday. “Onyx is…

Shuttered electric air taxi startup Lilium may be saved after all

December 24, 2024

A consortium of investors has resurrected Lilium just days after the electric air taxi startup ceased operations and laid off about 1,000 employees. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Tesla Superchargers: GM, Ford, Rivian, and other EV brands with access

December 24, 2024

Hyundai is giving away free Tesla NACs adapters to its EV customers

December 23, 2024

Hyundai said Monday it will send customers who have bought or leased an EV before January 31 a free charging adapter that will let them access Tesla’s supercharging network. The Hyundai-authorized adapter will give CCS-port-equipped Hyundai EV drivers access to more than 20,000 Tesla Superchargers in the United States, according to Hyundai. Free adapters will…

An investigation finds that Google Maps fails users in the West Bank

December 23, 2024

A Wired investigation found that Google Maps can be near impossible to use in the West Bank, especially since the start of the war. Users told the publication that the navigation app would direct them into walls, fail to account for time-consuming checkpoints, or steer them onto restricted roads leading to Israeli settlements, which can…

CES 2025 is coming: TechCrunch wants to meet your hardware startup

December 23, 2024

According to the calendar, we’re a mere weeks out from CES — the perfect gift for your gadget blogger who has everything. The massive consumer electronics and automotive event kicks off in Las Vegas on January 7. TechCrunch is returning to future home of the Oakland Athletics for the event, and — as always —…

Electric aircraft startup Lilium ceases operations, 1,000 workers laid off

December 23, 2024

Honda and Nissan plan major merger focused on ‘intelligence and electrification’

December 23, 2024

Japanese car giants Honda and Nissan are working out the details of a major merger that could create the world’s third-largest automaker, as the companies look to survive in an industry faced with uncertainty. The Tesla-led shift towards electric vehicles, and China’s increased importance in the automotive market, have companies like Honda and Nissan feeling…

The biggest flops and fizzles in 2024 transportation, from Apple Car to Fisker

December 22, 2024

Autonomous vehicle technology and electrification startups were once the darlings of the VC and corporate world. The two technologies promised billions of dollars in revenue — and a new pathway for automakers to make money beyond building and selling cars. Those VC-money-printing days have been over for AVs for a while now, with a few…

EV startup Canoo places remaining employees on a ‘mandatory unpaid break’

December 20, 2024

Struggling electric van startup Canoo has placed its remaining employees on what it’s calling a “mandatory unpaid break” through at least the end of the year, according to an email obtained by TechCrunch. The company told employees they are being locked out of Canoo’s systems at the end of the day Friday, according to the…

Feds clear the way for robotaxis without steering wheel and pedals

December 20, 2024

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday proposed a new national framework that could make it easier for companies to deploy at scale autonomous vehicles without traditional manual driving controls – like steering wheels, pedals, and sideview mirrors. The guidelines also require AV companies to share a whole lot more safety data with the…

Rivian executives accused of harassment in previously unreported lawsuits

December 20, 2024

Four employees have sued Rivian in separate lawsuits this year over allegations they were harassed, in some cases by top executives, and that the company’s leadership did little to address their concerns, according to a TechCrunch review of court records. Rivian has also reached settlements in three other harassment and discrimination cases, TechCrunch has learned. …

TuSimple pivot from self-driving to AI animation is complete with CreateAI rebrand

December 19, 2024

TuSimple has completed its pivot away from autonomous trucking to AI animation and gaming with a rebrand. The company shall henceforth be known as CreateAI. The rebrand comes as TuSimple is embroiled in controversy over the company’s plans to move its remaining U.S. assets to China to fund the new business, which it initially announced…

Waymo fills the Cruise void overseas and a salute to icon Jean Jennings

December 19, 2024

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. This will be the last newsletter of 2024! But don’t worry, we’ll be back in 2025 — sign up here to get it in your inbox every week. Thank you for reading and your emails. I love…

Tesla is courting Texas cities to test its promised robotaxi service

December 19, 2024

Tesla is evaluating multiple Texas cities where it wants to test a long-promised robotaxi service, including Austin, according to emails obtained by Bloomberg News. An employee has apparently been in touch with Austin officials since May, and recently held an event in December to “train first responders on how to best work with Tesla’s autonomous…

Canoo furloughs workers and idles factory as it scrapes for cash

December 18, 2024

Struggling EV startup Canoo says it has furloughed 82 employees and is idling its factory in Oklahoma while it grasps for the capital needed to survive. The company claims it is in “advanced discussions with various capital sources” to raise emergency funding. The announcement comes just a few days after board member James Chen resigned,…

Rivian EVs finally get YouTube, Google Cast, and SiriusXM

December 18, 2024

Rivian has released a new software update to its vehicles that brings some long-awaited apps to its in-vehicle experience. Owners who update their R1S SUV or R1T pickup truck can now use YouTube (while parked) or SiriusXM (with a subscription). The company is also adding Google Cast functionality. That also can only be used while…

California can ban new gas cars starting in 2035, EPA says

December 18, 2024

Wing and DoorDash launch drone deliveries in Dallas-Fort Worth

December 18, 2024

Alphabet’s Wing announced on Wednesday that it’s expanding its partnership with DoorDash to bring drone delivery to customers in the the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Customers in the area will now be able to order food from 50 merchants located in Stonebriar Centre in Frisco and Hulen Mall in Fort Worth. Wing says its drones can…

Ram delays electric truck launch to 2026, bets on extended range Ramcharger

December 18, 2024

Stellantis is tapping the brakes on the all-electric Ram 1500 REV truck and will push its launch into 2026, the company said Wednesday, citing slowing industry demand for half-ton battery electric pickups. The automaker had originally planned to begin selling the electric truck to customers in the first half of 2025. The automaker will instead…

Slip Robotics snags $28M for its bots that can load a truck in five minutes

December 17, 2024

Drop by any given loading dock and a buzz of forklifts — loaded up with goods — can be spotted maneuvering in and out of truck trailers. This logistical dance can take up to an hour to fill a trailer, leaving truck drivers in idle limbo. The founders of Atlanta-based Slip Robotics say they’ve developed…

Kakao Mobility hit with $10.5M antitrust fine for limiting rivals’ access

December 17, 2024

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog has fined Kakao Mobility, the ride-hailing unit of Korean tech firm Kakao, $10.5 million (KRW 15.1 billion) for limiting competitors’ access to its taxi app — lowering the penalty from an initial fine of $50.3 million (KRW 72.4 billion) as the earlier sanction was based on an overestimated calculation of the…

Waymo robotaxis are coming to Tokyo in 2025

December 16, 2024

Waymo will begin testing its autonomous vehicle technology in Tokyo in early 2025, the first time the Alphabet company’s robotaxis have driven on public roads outside the U.S. The move to Japan is part of Waymo’s so-called “road trips,” a development program that involves bringing and testing its technology in a variety of cities —…

TuSimple drama heats up ahead of pivotal shareholder meeting

December 16, 2024

TuSimple co-founder and former CEO Xiaodi Hou is on a war path in the lead up to Friday’s annual shareholder meeting that will decide the makeup of the company’s board of directors. Over the past several weeks, Hou has sued TuSimple for control of his voting rights, demanded the company immediately liquidate and return all…

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