Category: Transportation

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Investors on the lookout for startups working at the frontiers of technology are casting their nets ever further into unchartered territory, sometimes literally as well as figuratively. In one of the latest examples, a startup called Karman+ with ambitions to build autonomous spacecraft that can travel to asteroids and then mine them for materials has…

Troubled electric truck maker Nikola files for bankruptcy

February 19, 2025

Hydrogen electric trucking startup Nikola Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday after it failed to find a buyer or secure additional funds to maintain operations. Nikola was once a Silicon Valley darling, valued at $30 billion in June 2020 after it went public through a special purpose acquisition merger. But a series of…

Hyundai’s new Tesla charging port comes up short

February 19, 2025

Fetii’s group rideshare app for young people attracts funding from Mark Cuban, YC

February 18, 2025

When he was a senior studying at Texas A&M University, Matthew Iommi realized that there were no good options for transporting groups of people. Fellow college students heading out for the night together didn’t have access to on-demand rides with the same convenience, accessibility, and affordability of typical ride-hail platforms, like Uber and Lyft. “Once…

Trump fires hundreds of air traffic support staff as SpaceX visits FAA command center

February 17, 2025

The Trump Administration has begun firing hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration employees who maintain critical air traffic control infrastructure, reports CNN. The firings, which began late Friday night, come as Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been tapped to help create a new air traffic control system. It’s not yet clear how many workers were fired, but the…

Uber sues DoorDash, alleging anti-competitive tactics

February 14, 2025

Ride-share giant Uber filed a lawsuit Friday against DoorDash, accusing the delivery outfit of stifling competition by intimidating restaurant owners into exclusive deals. Uber alleges in the lawsuit, filed in Superior Court of California, that its chief rival bullied restaurants into only working with DoorDash. Uber claims that DoorDash, which holds the largest share of…

How this weekend’s ‘Tesla Takeover’ protests against Elon Musk came together on Bluesky

February 14, 2025

As Elon Musk and his acolytes rip through the federal government looking for agencies to throw into the “wood chipper,” a grassroots effort to hit the world’s richest man where it hurts is picking up steam. The courts are busy contesting the actions of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, but the judicial system is slow…

Turo scraps plans for an IPO

February 13, 2025

Turo on Thursday withdrew its plans for an IPO, ending a three-year wait to bring the online car-sharing network to the public marketplace, according to a regulatory filing. Turo, which was founded in 2010, allows private car owners to rent out their vehicles through the startup’s website or app. The company — sometimes described as…

Another robotaxi operation heads to Texas and Archer scores $300M for its defense mission

February 13, 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! Raise your hand if you’re exhausted by the firehose of information coming from every direction. Yeah, me too. At TechCrunch, we’re focused on helping readers (that’s you!)…

Honda’s $60B merger with Nissan falls apart

February 13, 2025

The $60 billion mega-merger between Honda and Nissan has been called off, in part because of Nissan’s “pride and insufficient alarm about its predicament,” writes Reuters, citing half a dozen sources. The report hints at bad blood on both sides, saying the development also ties to Honda abruptly revising the terms of the merger and…

Avride launches sidewalk delivery bots on Uber Eats in Jersey City

February 13, 2025

Uber Eats customers in Jersey City can now have their orders delivered by one of Avride’s autonomous sidewalk delivery robots. The launch, which kicked off this week in New Jersey, is Uber’s latest foray into autonomous vehicles and represents an expanding relationship with Avride. The ride-hail and delivery giant deploys AVs on its app in…

Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team steers toward nature-based carbon credits

February 13, 2025

May Mobility launches its first driverless commercial ride-hail service

February 12, 2025

May Mobility is deploying autonomous vehicles differently than its peers. Rather than operate robotaxis for individual ride-hail, May has followed a “gentle onramp” approach to commercialization by offering on-demand shuttles and pooled rides within campuses and along uncomplicated routes. The startup announced Wednesday the launch of its first fully driverless commercial service in Peachtree Corners,…

Trump picks Apple exec to lead transportation safety agency

February 12, 2025

President Donald Trump has chosen Jonathan Morrison, an Apple executive, to head the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, per a Senate filing. The nomination will be reviewed and voted on by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation before being sent for a full Senate vote. If he’s sworn in, Morrison will oversee an…

A woman in China sued Tesla after complaining of faulty brakes — now she’s paying Tesla $23K

February 12, 2025

As per an investigation by the Associated Press (AP), Tesla has won a defamation lawsuit against one individual called Zhang Yazhou, who in February 2021 was a passenger in a Tesla Model 3 car that allegedly crashed due to faulty brakes, resulting in a four-day hospital stay for both her parents. Following the accident, Zhang…

BYD to offer Tesla-like driver assist, even on its cheapest models

February 11, 2025

Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD unveiled “God’s Eye,” an advanced driver assistance system that will be install on its entire model lineup, including its $9,600 Seagull hatchback. BYD founder Wang Chuanfu said at a live streamed event Monday that “we’re entering an era where autonomous driving is for everyone,” according to The Financial Times. God’s…

Archer Aviation doubles down on defense aircraft with fresh $300M

February 11, 2025

Escalating geopolitical tensions and a new administration with a hawkish defense agenda has led many startups to embrace dual-use strategies to secure revenue through military applications. And it’s a trend that is already heating up in aerospace. Just look at Archer Aviation, a California-based startup building eVTOLs (electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles). Until very…

Rivian opens commercial van sales to all businesses

February 10, 2025

Rivian will sell its commercial electric vans to any U.S. business that wants one — more than a year since ending an exclusivity deal with backer Amazon. The company will sell two vans — the smaller 500 and the larger 700 — but buyers will have to be registered businesses, according to the company. That…

Revel nabs $60M in New York State funding to build more EV chargers

February 10, 2025

As President Donald Trump attempts to freeze funding for a $5 billion federal EV charging infrastructure program, some states are stepping up. EV charging infrastructure startup Revel secured Monday a $60 million loan from New York’s clean energy investment fund NY Green Bank to more than triple its current public fast charging network in NYC. …

Lyft to launch Mobileye-powered robotaxis ‘as soon as 2026,’ starting with Dallas

February 10, 2025

Ride-hail giant Lyft plans to bring fully autonomous robotaxis, powered by Mobileye, to its app “as soon as 2026” in Dallas, with more markets to follow, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. The news comes a day before Lyft shares its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 earnings report, and it coincides with Waymo’s preparations to launch a commercial…

Trump admin freezes EV charging program that gave Tesla millions

February 7, 2025

The Department of Transportation has paused funding for a $5 billion EV charging infrastructure program that Tesla has received at least $31 million from. The move is widely viewed to be illegal. It’s the latest attempt from the Trump administration to hack away at federally funded renewable energy projects around the country, a clear priority…

Tesla’s Dojo, a timeline

February 7, 2025

Elon Musk doesn’t want Tesla to be just an automaker. He wants Tesla to be an AI company, one that’s figured out how to make cars drive themselves. Crucial to that mission is Dojo, Tesla’s custom-built supercomputer designed to train its Full Self-Driving (FSD) neural networks. FSD isn’t actually fully self-driving; it can perform some…

Self Inspection raises $3M for its AI-powered vehicle inspections

February 7, 2025

A number of startups are racing to make vehicle inspections faster, easier, and cheaper. Self Inspection, a startup based in San Diego, thinks it has them all beat with its AI-powered service — and now it has convinced outside investors. Self Inspection, founded in 2021, is set to announce Thursday it’s raised $3 million in…

Pour one out for Cruise and why autonomous vehicle test miles dropped 50%

February 6, 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! We knew this day was coming: Cruise is dead — at least as a robotaxi company. General Motors completed its acquisition of GM Cruise Holdings LLC; Cruise is…

Tracking the EV battery factory construction boom across North America

February 6, 2025

Tesla Dojo: Elon Musk’s big plan to build an AI supercomputer, explained

February 6, 2025

Ford goes protectionist as EV losses top $5B

February 6, 2025

Ford CEO Jim Farley has a question about President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China: Why stop there? Farley said in a conference call Wednesday that Trump’s selective approach “doesn’t make sense.” “Why are we having this conversation while Hyundai-Kia is importing 600,000 units in the U.S. with no incremental…

Lyft’s new AI customer assistant is powered by Anthropic’s Claude

February 6, 2025

Ride-hail giant Lyft has partnered with AI startup Anthropic to build an AI assistant that handles initial intake for customer service inquiries for both riders and drivers. It’s the first phase of a broader collaboration between the two companies to use Anthropic’s services to research and test new Lyft products and build software internally. The…

Presto is building Stripe for EV charging

February 6, 2025

Scout Motors sued over plan to sell EVs direct to consumers

February 5, 2025

Scout Motors’ plan to eschew traditional dealerships and sell EVs directly to consumers is running into legal trouble. A group of Volkswagen and Audi dealers filed a lawsuit this week against Scout Motors, the EV that spun out of Volkswagen. The lawsuit, which was first reported by Automotive News, seeks to block Scout’s direct-to-consumer sales…

AI’s biggest stage awaits – TechCrunch Sessions: AI tickets available

February 5, 2025

AI is heating up, and we’re diving in! TechCrunch Sessions: AI is officially open for registration. Secure your spot now and save up to $300 on select tickets before prices rise From startup founders to AI investors to aspiring innovators — TC Sessions: AI is where the entire AI ecosystem comes together. Whether you’re building,…

Waymo just popped up on the Uber app in Austin ahead of robotaxi launch

February 5, 2025

Uber customers in Austin may notice a new offer when they open the app and hail a ride: an invitation to signal their interest in a Waymo robotaxi. For now, this doesn’t translate into a Waymo picking them up. But it will soon. The “interest list,” which launched Wednesday, is part of a partnership between…

E-fuels startup will make diamonds before powering jet planes

February 4, 2025

Cruise to slash workforce by 50% after GM cuts funding to robotaxi operations

February 4, 2025

Waabi and Volvo team up to build self-driving trucks at scale

February 4, 2025

Self-driving truck startup Waabi is partnering with Volvo Autonomous Solutions to jointly develop and deploy autonomous trucks, an important milestone as it gets closer to a commercial launch. The tie up also marks Volvo’s second partnership to co-develop self-driving big rigs with a startup partner. In May 2024, Volvo teamed up with Aurora Innovation to…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Secure your ticket at this year’s lowest rates

February 3, 2025

Missed the 2-for-1 deal for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025? No problem! Super Early Bird prices are still available, with savings of up to $1,130 on individual tickets and up to 30% on group passes. These savings are only good until the end of this month. Celebrate 20 years of TechCrunch Disrupt from October 27-29 at Moscone…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Last 24 hours for 2-for-1 Pass

January 31, 2025

Final hours for 2-for-1 Passes! One of the best Super Early Bird Deals for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 will be wrapping up in just 24 hours for the rest of the year. The 2-for-1 Pass lets you bring a friend, colleague, or business partner, for nearly free. Buy one pass at the Super Early Bird rate…

Elon Musk reveals Elon Musk was wrong about Full Self-Driving

January 30, 2025

For nearly nine years, Elon Musk has promised Tesla vehicles had the hardware needed to support a self-driving car. This week, he made his latest admission that many are not. Musk said on a conference call Wednesday evening that Tesla cars equipped with so-called Hardware 3 will need an upgrade before they can support unsupervised…

Boom goes supersonic and Elon promises a self-driving service by summer

January 30, 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! In case you missed it, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company would launch a paid ride-hailing service with a fleet of driverless vehicles in Austin in…

Waymo employees can hail fully autonomous rides in Atlanta now

January 30, 2025

Waymo said it is launching fully driverless robotaxi rides for employees in Atlanta, an important step before the company opens the service up to members of the public later in 2025. This is the latest signal of Waymo’s push into new markets, and it comes two months after the company closed a $5.6 billion Series…

Elon Musk claims Tesla will launch a self-driving service in Austin in June

January 29, 2025

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday that his company will launch a paid ride-hailing robotaxi service in Austin, Texas this coming June, the latest in a long line of sky-high promises he has yet to meet about autonomy. Musk was unsurprisingly light on details. He said that there will be no people in the cars,…

Waymo reportedly testing robotaxis in 10 new cities in 2025

January 29, 2025

Waymo plans to start testing autonomous vehicles in 10 new cities this year, starting with Las Vegas and San Diego, according to The Verge. Although this doesn’t mean the company will launch commercial operations in any of these cities — or even test them in autonomous mode. Waymo told The Verge it will send less…

UVeye racks up another $191 million for its vision-based ‘MRI for cars’

January 29, 2025

UVeye started as a play to scan cars for security threats, but the Israeli startup really hit its stride when its founders realized the AI-powered computer vision systems could perform more typical vehicle inspections. Now, the company is evolving its funding strategy. UVeye announced Wednesday morning a $191 million extension to its 2023 Series D…

On Tesla earnings day, all eyes are Elon, profits, and AI

January 29, 2025

Tesla earnings day is upon us — the quarterly check in with one of the world’s largest EV makers and its controversial CEO Elon Musk. Tesla’s fourth-quarter and full-year earnings are expected to be released Wednesday after market close. A webcast, in which Tesla management will answer questions from analysts and retail investors, is scheduled…

Uber-backed mobility fintech Moove acquires Brazil’s Kovi, takes ARR to $275M

January 29, 2025

Uber-backed Moove, an Africa-born mobility fintech that offers vehicle financing to ride-hailing and delivery app drivers across six continents, has acquired Kovi, a Brazilian urban mobility provider. The value of the deal is not being disclosed, but Moove confirmed it was an all-share transaction, and Kovi is now wholly owned by Moove. Moove co-founder and…

Shared scooter startup Voi reports its first profitable year as it explores an IPO

January 29, 2025

Swedish shared micromobility giant Voi had its first profitable year in 2024, according to preliminary unaudited results the company shared exclusively with TechCrunch. Voi, which offers shared e-scooters and e-bikes across more than 100 markets in Europe, recorded €132.8 million ($138 million) in net revenue in 2024. On an adjusted basis, Voi earned €17.2 million…

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

January 28, 2025

Waymo is reportedly building a charity ‘tipping’ feature into its robotaxi app

January 28, 2025

Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company Waymo might be planning to test a feature that will allow robotaxi riders to add a “tip” that will go to the charity of their choice after a ride. Jane Manchun Wong, a security researcher who recently hacked the display dome on top of a Waymo vehicle, found the new tip…

Amazon’s Prime Air drone service is headed to this UK town

January 28, 2025

Amazon announced Monday it has picked the north England town of Darlington as the first site for its planned U.K. drone delivery expansion. Amazon was expected to expand Prime Air to the U.K. and Italy in 2024. After missing that initial target, the company opted to not share a timeline for this latest launch. Instead,…

Waymo begins testing robotaxis on LA freeways

January 28, 2025

Waymo robotaxis have become a common sight on Los Angeles surface streets. Now, those driverless vehicles are heading to the city’s network of freeways. The Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle technology company said Tuesday it will begin testing its fleet of robotaxis on the Los Angeles freeway system, including Interstates 10, 110, 405, and the 90. These…

Boom’s XB-1 becomes first civil aircraft to go supersonic

January 28, 2025

Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 demonstrator plane just went supersonic in the skies over California’s Mojave desert, making it the first civil aircraft to break the sound barrier. The American startup’s plane notched the historic achievement in its twelfth test flight. It cleared Mach 1 and stayed supersonic for around four minutes, reaching Mach 1.1. Test pilot…

GM expects to save up to $1 billion on Cruise costs

January 28, 2025

General Motors expects to save up to $1 billion annually by ending its Cruise robotaxi development program, CEO and Chair Mary Barra said Tuesday during the company’s earnings call. The estimate comes nearly two months after the automaker said it would no longer fund Cruise, its self-driving subsidiary that aimed to commercialize robotaxis. “GM has…

Lucid Gravity SUV owners will gain access to Tesla Superchargers on Jan 31

January 28, 2025

Owners of the electric Lucid Gravity SUV will gain access to Tesla’s Supercharging network starting January 31. The Gravity is Lucid’s second vehicle model in its lineup after its flagship Air sedan series, and the first to be built with charge ports compatible with Tesla’s NACS (North American Charging Standard) charge plugs. Lucid Air owners will…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: 5 Days left to claim your 2 for 1 Passes at the lowest rate of the year

January 27, 2025

The clock is ticking for one of our Super Early Bird sales! You have just 5 days left to lock in your 2 for 1 Passes at the lowest rates of the year for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. Save up to $1,400 on two of the same individual ticket type. This limited-time offer ends this Friday,…

Waymo lobbyist activity in SF skyrocketed in 2024

January 24, 2025

Waymo lobbyists had a busy 2024. A recent review of lobbyist disclosure data by the San Francisco Examiner revealed Waymo paid lobbyists to meet with San Francisco government officials 348 times last year, more than double the 137 times it reported in 2023. The pop in lobbyist activity is in sync with Waymo’s expansion in…

Kodiak has made its first driverless truck deliveries to customer Atlas Energy

January 24, 2025

Kodiak Robotics has officially handed off two autonomous trucks to customer Atlas Energy Solutions, marking the startup’s first commercial launch. Atlas, a provider of proppant (i.e., sand) and oilfield logistics, received its first Kodiak-equipped trucks in December and began driverless operations in an off-road environment in West Texas’s remote Permian Basin shortly after. The company…

Apple admits next-gen CarPlay is late, but still in development

January 24, 2025

Though Apple rarely misses self-imposed deadlines, it’s done so with the next-generation CarPlay. The company originally teased the update back in 2022. With this new version, CarPlay will integrate seamlessly with the instrument cluster to provide information on speed, climate control, and other car data. Apple had promised an initial rollout for a limit set…

Tesla’s redesigned Model Y is coming to North America in March for $60,000

January 23, 2025

Tesla has announced that its redesigned Model Y SUV is coming to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico in March, with a starting price just shy of $60,000. The news comes just two weeks after Tesla first revealed the new-look Model Y and said it was coming to China and other Asian markets, also in March.…

Hidden Waymo feature let researcher customize robotaxi’s display

January 23, 2025

Canoo craters and Trump comes for EVs

January 23, 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! We’re just a few days into a new Trump administration, and it’s already a firehose of executive orders, declarations, and even pardons. A few have crossed into…

Hackers found a way to remotely unlock, start, and track millions of Subarus

January 23, 2025

Amperesand targets data centers as the next big customer for its solid-state transformers

January 21, 2025

Trump targets EV charging funding programs Tesla benefits from

January 21, 2025

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…

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