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This is the time of the year when the news cycle should slow down. No, at least not this week.
One of the jaw-dropping projects this week is the New York Times survey article on Tesla, Elon Musk and their influence on the design company's autonomous driving assistance systems. Two days after that article was published, it contained many interesting and disturbing details, including that the company’s 2016 video of “Our Car is Fully Driverless” was faked, and another New York Times article reported that Slug owners can play video games while driving.
Although the federal government’s highest car safety regulator said it is studying the driving game function, I don’t believe it will produce any results. The questions I linger on, and the problems that arise every time Tesla breaks the safety limit, is it time for regulators to step in? This question has not yet been answered.
At the same time, CNBC reported that Tesla is replacing the relay cameras on the front fenders of at least hundreds of Model S, X and 3 cars manufactured in Fremont, California. According to CNBC reports, the company's internal service documents released at the end of November show that the company has not yet initiated a voluntary recall.
As a small item for comparison, Mercedes has voluntarily recalled EQS through a software update because its huge infotainment screen allows drivers to watch TV and browse the Internet while driving.
As always, you can email me at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com to share thoughts, criticisms, comments or tips. You can also send me a message directly on Twitter — @kirstenkorosec.
I don't want to surpass myself here, but are we about to reach the point of no return of our micro-transportation revolution? A very promising study just published by McKinsey found that, if possible, about 70% of people in the world would go to work on bicycles, mopeds or electric scooters. Why don't you? You don’t need a 3,000-pound car to carry a 150-pound person, but you do need to make it easier and safer for people to buy and ride small vehicles.
Entering US legislators, they are working to provide a 30% tax credit for the purchase of a new electric bike of up to $3,000. This is a credit of up to $900, which suddenly makes electric bikes affordable for many people. Data from the NPD Group, which tracks retail bicycle sales, found that in the past year or so, 60% of bicycles were sold for less than US$500 or more than US$3,500. Among them, the fastest-growing bicycle price ranged from US$1,500 to US$2,000. Wait.
Incentives are good, but infrastructure is also important, so it’s worth emphasizing when cities do a good job. For example, Milan is investing 250 million euros in its urban bike strategy, which will give rise to fast bike corridors with better public transport integration. Jersey City, New Jersey is working with Oonee to create a complete network of secure bicycle parking, with 30 protected lockers near the bus station that can be used to store bicycles and scooters, and by providing covered seats. Double as a transit shelter.
For places where road infrastructure is not conducive to safe riding, some companies are working hard to solve this problem. For example, the software company Terranet AB announced plans to produce BlincBike, a camera-based collision warning system for electric bicycles. The company hopes to start accepting reservations in July, so if you are interested, please set a reminder on your phone.
All celebrities seem to be moving towards the exponential growth potential of micro-mobile applications. Maybe it's just the summer in New Zealand, maybe it's the holiday approaching, but I feel hopeful.
The end of the year will be an active year for IPOs-or at least plan for them. According to the latest news, Intel plans to make public its advanced driving assistance and autonomous driving subsidiary Mobileye, which it acquired for $15 billion more than four years ago.
Splitting Mobileye into an independent public company may increase the value of Intel shareholders. A source told TechCrunch that the IPO is expected to take about six months, and this timetable indicates that it has not yet started the typical IPO roadshow process.
Intel will remain Mobileye's major shareholder, and the two companies will continue to be strategic partners and cooperate on projects.
Other transactions that caught my attention...
BMW i Ventures led the seed round of Rapid Liquid Print. The company has developed a 3D printer for elastomers that can use industrial materials such as soft rubber, silicone and foam to produce large, high-resolution, soft and stretchable products .
Candela, a developer of electric hydrofoil vessels, has raised $24 million to accelerate the production of its existing small vessels and larger commercial vessels.
Carma is an Australian-based online used car startup that has raised US$20 million (A$28 million) in seed funding from Tiger Global. Carma has been operating secretly for the past nine months and stated that the funding allowed the company to recruit an executive team, develop its website and build the first inspection and repair facility in Sydney.
Flink is a Berlin-based startup that sells food and other necessities and aims to be delivered in less than 10 minutes. It raised $750 million. This is a Series B financing led by strategic backer DoorDash. This transaction brings Flink's post-investment valuation to US$2.85 billion.
According to Bloomberg News, Hitachi is considering options to streamline its business, including the possible sale of its minority stake in the transportation sector.
Indian ride-hailing giant Ola said in a document that before it plans to apply for an IPO early next year, the company has raised US$139 million at a valuation of approximately US$7.3 billion. The Mumbai-based financial giant Edelweiss leads the new investment segment. IIFL, Siddhant Partners, Tejal Merchantile and Hero Enterprise also invested funds.
Robotic Research is an autonomous driving technology company that has been developing road and off-road autonomous vehicles for the Department of Defense for the past 20 years. The company has raised $228 million in Series A financing. This round of financing was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Enlightenment Capital. Crescent Cove Advisors, Henry Crown and Company and Lidar company Luminar also participated in the investment.
Serve Robotics, a moving sidewalk delivery company spun off from Uber's Postmates in March, has completed a $13 million seed round of expansion financing. Uber participated in this round of financing as a strategic investor, as well as DX Ventures backed by Delivery Hero, 7-Eleven's corporate venture capital arm 7-Ventures, and Wavemaker Partners, a venture capital studio focused on food automation, Wavemaker Labs.
Solid Power, a solid-state battery developer backed by Ford and BMW, went public for the first time, and its stock price soared on the first day of trading.
According to Reuters, Uber is negotiating with the management of its Middle East division Careem to introduce external investors into the business.
In an extensive interview at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council Summit, Tesla CEO Elon Musk publicly opposed the 1.2 trillion U.S. dollar infrastructure bill and the nearly 2 trillion U.S. dollar budget reconciliation bill, even though each bill contained a purpose. In terms of promoting the adoption of electric vehicles.
Regarding the infrastructure bill, he said, "It might be better if this bill is not passed." As for the budget reconciliation bill, he said Tesla does not need its $7,500 tax credit clause. (Tesla cars are currently not eligible because the automaker has sold more than 200,000 electric vehicles, but the new bill may remove the manufacturer’s cap.) “To be honest, I can only accept the entire bill. Don’t pass it. It. This is my suggestion."
However, he did admit that the country’s airports and highways could be improved, and we should come up with better traffic management methods, such as building tunnels or double-decker highways.
Although both Tesla and SpaceX benefited from public funds, he also targeted the role of the government more broadly, arguing that the role of the government should be similar to the referee of the game, "not the player in the game. The venue."
"The government should give way, not hinder progress."
His comments came from Tesla's new factory in Austin, and it is not surprising. Musk and President Joe Biden are not the most comfortable bedmates. Musk has always been critical of the additional clause in Biden's budget plan that would qualify unions and American-made electric vehicles to receive an additional $4,500 in tax credits. On October 31, he succinctly stated on Twitter, calling Biden a "UAW [sock emoji] puppet". A few months ago, he pointed out that although GM, Ford and Stellatis executives have all received invitations, it is "weird" that Tesla was not invited to participate in the White House's electric car event.
The last noteworthy part of the interview (at least in Policy Corner) is his comment on "rules and regulations." He said that we have too much garbage, but there is no effective "garbage collection system" to remove them. "The government should really work hard to get rid of rules and regulations that may have some benefits at some point but currently have no benefits."
Argo AI worked with the advocacy organization American Cyclist Alliance to develop guidelines for how self-driving cars should recognize and interact with cyclists. The goal is to develop a standard for other AV companies in the industry, especially as the autonomous driving industry shifts from testing to commercialization, and it will become more common in the next few years.
SAIC and Momenta have launched a trial service of robotic taxis in Shanghai. The company is testing and validating potential commercial applications with 20 vehicles powered by Momenta's autonomous driving technology.
GM announced the establishment of two partnerships to lock the domestic sources of rare earth minerals, alloys and finished magnets through the partnership for a series of its upcoming electric vehicles, including GMC Hummer EC, Cadillac Lyriq and Chevrolet Silverado EV and MP Materials and another separate transaction with Vacuumschmelze (VAC), Germany.
Toyota Motor will build its first battery plant in North Carolina, USA. Toyota will invest US$1.29 billion in the Toyota Battery Manufacturing Plant (TBMNC) in North Carolina and is expected to start production in 2025. The investment is part of a broader commitment to invest US$3.4 billion in automotive batteries 2030 in the United States through the following methods.
TuSimple has released a safety framework around its "driver out" autonomous driving system. The company stated that its plan is to demonstrate the driverless operation of Class 8 trucks on open roads.
Volkswagen has established three new partnerships with electric vehicle batteries. The three independent partnerships were announced on Wednesday, namely the materials technology group Umicore, battery specialist 24M Technologies and Vulcan Energy Resources, which are planning to open a lithium brine project in Germany.
DoorDash will launch "ultra-fast" deliveries in 10-15 minutes, starting from a DashMart location in New York City. The company has also begun testing a new employment model that relies on full-time employees rather than odd jobs to handle these new deliveries.
The British High Court ruled that Uber's business model was illegal. As reported by Natasha Lomas, this decision has a huge impact on how ride-hailing platforms such as Uber operate in the British capital and how much British taxes they will pay. The crux of the problem is the contract model that Uber and many other ride-hailing platforms have been using.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said that Ford plans to increase production of the all-electric Mustang Mach E next year, with the goal of doubling its existing capacity by 2023 to meet "incredible demand." This is the first time the automaker has provided specific prospects for Mustang Mach E. Ford also delayed the production of the electric Explorer and Lincoln Aviator crossovers by approximately 18 months. The EV versions of Explorer and Aviator should be assembled at its Cuautitlan plant in Mexico. The plant will now be used to increase the production of Mach E.
Lucid Group has been subpoenaed by securities regulators to investigate the merger of the electric car manufacturer, making it a public company. Lucid stated in a regulatory document that the US Securities and Exchange Commission required certain documents related to its investigation.
Stellantis has developed an ambitious plan to generate $22.5 billion annually from software in its vehicles that can sell products and subscriptions for passengers and drivers. This goal is consistent with that of its competitors—all competitors are looking for ways to go beyond selling, repairing, and financing vehicles. The global automaker said it will invest more than $33.7 billion in software and electrification by 2025. The investment will include hiring 4,500 software engineers by 2024.
US securities regulators have launched an investigation into Tesla because a whistleblower accused the company of failing to disclose the fire risk of its solar panel system to shareholders. These allegations were made by Steven Henks, a former Tesla employee, who filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2019.
Volvo Cars is investigating cyber security breaches and the theft of a limited number of company R&D data. The company stated that one of its file repositories has been illegally accessed by a third party.
Gareth Joyce will succeed Jack Allen as CEO of Proterra. The company announced a number of other board changes, including Allen will serve as non-executive chairman of the board, Ryan Popper will step down as a director of the board, and ML Krakauer will be appointed as a member of the board. At the same time, Karina Franco Padilla was appointed as Chief Financial Officer.
Oxbotica, an open self-driving car software developer, has appointed Gavin Jackson as its new CEO.
Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen Group, will keep his job, a decision made after weeks of speculation about his future with the German automaker. The Volkswagen Group Supervisory Board announced the news in the annual update of the company's five-year investment plan. The board of directors also agreed to increase expenditures from 150 billion euros last year to 159 billion euros (180 billion U.S. dollars).