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Another week brings fresh announcements about robotaxis launching or gearing up in cities.
Let’s recap. Waymo has begun testing its autonomous vehicles (with a safety operator) in Philadelphia and is set to start manual driving to gather data in Baltimore, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Uber and Avride have launched a robotaxi service in Dallas, initially featuring a human safety operator behind the wheel. Additionally, the California Department of Motor Vehicles has updated regulations to allow companies to test and eventually deploy self-driving trucks on public highways.
The technology behind autonomous vehicles is advancing rapidly, but should it be moving this quickly?
As autonomous vehicles begin to integrate into city life, criticisms and challenges are surfacing. A couple of recent incidents highlight the concerns. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has requested more details from Waymo about its self-driving systems after reports from the Austin School District indicated that its robotaxis illegally passed school buses 19 times this year. An investigation is already underway into Waymo’s interactions with school buses.
In another tragic event, KitKat, the beloved bodega cat, was killed after being struck by a Waymo robotaxi on October 27. The company faced immediate backlash, and this could intensify with new surveillance footage that shows a woman trying to coax KitKat to safety just before the vehicle drove away unexpectedly.
A lot of changes have been happening at Lucid Motors recently, according to sources.
As many of you know, the company has seen a wave of executive departures, including former CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson and chief designer Eric Bach. Lucid is currently working to ramp up production of its Gravity SUV and has filled some of these roles through a mix of internal promotions and external hires.
And the changes keep coming. We’ve heard from reliable sources that several top managers in the software and electrical teams were let go, including two senior directors who have been with Lucid for about a decade.
Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at [email protected] or via Signal at kkorosec.07, or contact Sean O’Kane at [email protected].
Deals!
Electric aircraft manufacturer Beta Technologies, which recently went public, is building a supplier business for itself. The Vermont-based company aims to serve as an OEM for the aviation industry.
Beta has secured a deal to provide Eve Air Mobility with electric pusher motors for its air taxi fleet. This agreement is a potential 10-year opportunity worth around $1 billion.
Of course, the term “potential” is key here. That $1 billion is not guaranteed, despite shareholders reacting positively (stocks rose 8% after the announcement). Still, Beta is on its way to generating short-term revenue as it works towards commercial certification of its electric aircraft with the Federal Aviation Administration.
This week, Beta also reported its third-quarter earnings. The company saw its revenue more than double to $8.9 million compared to the same quarter last year, though its net losses have also increased. Beta reported net losses of $452 million for the third quarter, which is more than five times its losses from the previous year.
Other notable deals…
Autolane, a startup from Palo Alto focused on developing an “air traffic control” system for autonomous vehicles, raised $7.4 million in a funding round led by Draper Associates and Hyperplane.
Element Fleet Management, a company that specializes in automotive fleet management, acquired Car IQ, a company focused on connected vehicle payments based in San Francisco. While the terms weren’t disclosed, sources indicated the acquisition price is around $80 million. For context, Element Fleet Management previously acquired fleet optimization software startup Autofleet for $110 million in 2024.
ExploMar, a China-based company specializing in electric propulsion systems for boats, raised $10 million in a Series A funding round, led by private equity funds and a publicly listed company in China (details not specified), with continued participation from existing shareholder DCM Ventures.
Heven AeroTech, a startup developing hydrogen-powered drones, raised $100 million in a Series B round led by American quantum computing firm IonQ, pushing its post-money valuation above $1 billion. Texas Venture Partners also joined this round.
Wayve, a U.K. self-driving startup backed by Microsoft, Nvidia, and SoftBank Group, has acquired German startup Quality Match, which analyzes data to train AI models for automated driving. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
Notable reads and other tidbits
Amazon is looking into ending its long-term contract with the United States Postal Service and creating its own nationwide delivery network.
Tesla owners can use text messaging while driving with the latest version of the company’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) driver-assistance software, even though it’s illegal in most states.
Grand Theft Auto Online recently added robotaxis from a fictional company called “KnoWay,” which seem designed solely to create chaos.
Nvidia has announced Alpamayo-R1, a new open reasoning vision language model for research in autonomous driving.
TechCrunch’s Europe-based reporter Anna Heim provides an inside look at a drone delivery partnership in Finland.
In a policy update, the Trump administration has proposed lowering fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks sold in the U.S., claiming it will make vehicles more affordable. However, this could lead to higher gas prices for consumers.
The new proposal would set fleet-wide fuel economy at 34.5 miles per gallon for 2031 model-year cars, lower than what was previously mandated. The Biden administration’s standards aimed for 50.4 mpg by 2031. In 2024, automakers had to average 30.1 mpg across their fleets, a target they exceeded with an average of 35.4 mpg, according to CAFE calculations.
One more thing …
Before Thanksgiving, we conducted a poll in the Mobility newsletter asking, “When do you expect robotaxis to reach a tipping point of mass adoption that will change how people move from Point A to Point B?” Most readers chose “before the end of the decade,” receiving 47.2% of the votes, followed by the “2030s.” Based on your responses, there seems to be little confidence that 2026 will be the year of the tipping point.
Sign up for the Mobility newsletter to take part in our polls!
