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I was in Los Angeles earlier this week where I interviewed Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana on stage at our StrictlyVC LA event. Can watch the full interview herecovering his views on the Apple Car project, the company's “community tour” in Los Angeles, whether Waymo learned anything (or changed) in the wake of the Cruise debacle, and whether he's committed to staying in San Francisco even if The vandalism of its robotaxis continues.
The next morning (and by complete coincidence), the California Public Utilities Commission approved Waymo's application to operate a commercial robotaxi service in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Peninsula and San Francisco freeways. The approval removes the last barrier for the Alphabet company to charge for travel in these expanded areas. Importantly, it opens new territory for Waymo in one of the country's largest cities and unlocks a route to San Francisco International Airport, which is located south of the city.
This week's news also includes Ford giving its electric vehicle owners access to Tesla Superchargers, the National stock market Commission charging Lordstown Engines with deceitful investors, toyota practically paying people to buy their hydrogen fuel cell powered Mirai and more!
Come on!
a little bird
electric vehicle upstart fisker It's been dealing with a lot lately: underperforming its own sales goals, dealing with quality and customer service issues, and moving from a direct sales model to trying to sign up distributor partners.
Last week, the company announced that it will cut 15% of its staff as part of that transition and that it needs more cash to survive. Reuters reported on Friday that it is in talks with Nissan to collaborate on an electric pickup truck, in a move that could save the startup.
TO some little birds told us that these talks have been going on for more than a year, and that it wasn't the only Japanese automaker to talk to Fisker about a possible collaboration: Fisker also held talks with Mazda. But Nissan is the last one standing, and its continued interest comes at a crucial time for the troubled startup.
Do you have a suggestion for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at [email protected] or Sean O'Kane [email protected]. If you prefer to remain anonymous, Click here to contact uswhich includes SecureDrop (instructions here) and various encrypted messaging applications.
Offer of the week
Polar Star has a little more breathing room now that the Swedish electric vehicle company, owned by China's Geely Holdings, has secured a $950 million loan from a dozen banks.
Why does that matter? These are critical funds needed to keep Polestar's electric vehicle plans moving forward following Volvo's decision to withdraw its financial support for the electric car maker. The company had about $770 million in cash at the end of 2023, according to regulatory filings.
However, the financing does not solve all of Polestar's financial problems. Even with this new injection of capital, the company said it will continue to cut costs and seek efficiencies, including layoffs. Polestar, which has cut 10% of its jobs since mid-2023, said it plans to make another 15% cut this year. The company had already announced that 15% of jobs would be cut, which will affect about 450 people.
Other offers that caught my attention…
Power range, the startup developing electric trailers for commercial trucks, raised $23.5 million in a funding round led by Trousdale Ventures, with participation from UP.Partners, R7 and Yamaha Motor Ventures. Range has raised $31.5 million to date.
Notable readings and other tidbits
autonomous vehicles
Bye apple car; We never met you. Yes, that's right, Apple ended its plans to build and sell an autonomous electric car. Don't worry, in a few months we'll probably get rumors that he's back after all. ;D
Reporter Sean O'Kane He learned that Apple is likely cutting hundreds of employees from the team and that all work on the project has stopped. Some will move on to Apple's generative ai projects, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the project's cancellation. Others will have 90 days to find a reassignment to other roles within the company, or they will be laid off. About 1,400 employees were still working on the car project, according to an employee who remained anonymous because he was not authorized to speak about his work. Marginal note: Here's a timeline of the decade-long project.
G.M. you are saving your custom design Cruise Origin Robotaxis at a defunct Michigan plant.
Engine told employees that it will cut about 5% of its workforce (less than 70 people), TechCrunch has learned. The cuts mainly affect administrative functions and some employees who work in Boston, one of several cities where it is testing autonomous vehicles. Another very important detail according to sources is that the company needs to obtain more financing. That will mean Hyundai will foot the entire bill for the joint venture it once shared with Aptiv or look for another partner.
Electric vehicles, batteries and charging.
Xiaomi showed off its first electric car, the SU7, at the Mobile World Congress.
technology in the car
Amazon stopped selling the ring car camera.
This week's wheels
Image credits: Allen J. Schaben/Getty Images
This week I wasn't driving; I was in a driverless vehicle Waymo robotaxi. I've taken numerous Waymo robotaxis rides, but never one in Los Angeles. This trip provided an interesting test of how these robotaxis handle unexpected blockages.
Moments after getting into the Waymo, the vehicle was approaching a stop sign when it encountered a minor crash between two human-driven cars. Interestingly, another self-driving Waymo was right in front of me. A postal worker, who was also trapped, ended up backing into a turn lane and making a U-turn.
My self-driving car sat still and I began to wonder if it would ever move. Soon a message appeared on the touchscreen informing me that “our team is working to get you moving.” A moment later the vehicle backed up a few meters and made the same maneuver that the postman did. This was probably an incident in which remote guidance was provided. About two minutes were added to my trip due to the traffic jam.
We will post a video of the trip soon!
