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Tesla CEO Elon Musk is in what one may describe a suboptimal place. He’s pushed arduous to get shareholders to view Tesla as an AI and robotics firm, not a maker of EVs. And but, the corporate’s most seen merchandise, which generate the majority of its revenues, are its electrical vehicles.
Sure, Tesla EVs are superior, significantly in terms of its underlying automobile structure and software program. And its driver-assistance system often known as Full Self-Driving Supervised, which can be utilized on highways and metropolis streets and requires fingers on the wheel and the motive force to be able to take over, is taken into account among the many most succesful available on the market as we speak. However to Musk, the last word illustration of an AI and robotics firm is self-driving vehicles and humanoid robots. And as we speak, neither of them exist at any scale.
Tesla’s first notable step towards that objective was in June when it launched a restricted robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. These Robotaxi-branded automobiles, which invited prospects can hail by way of an app, have a Tesla worker sitting within the entrance passenger seat. Nevertheless it’s nonetheless removed from Musk’s authentic imaginative and prescient of a “general solution” that might enable a Tesla proprietor to earn cash by renting out their automobile as a robotaxi service.
The clock is ticking and Musk wants to indicate extra progress — or on the very least tease upcoming launches to maintain antsy shareholders content material. Which is maybe why Tesla is embarking on this ride-hailing gambit in California.
Earlier this month, Musk famous that Tesla can be launching a robotaxi service within the Bay Space “in a month or two” — regulatory approvals being the first hang-up.
The issue? Tesla hasn’t even utilized for the permits that might enable it to function a robotaxi service. I checked Friday morning with the California DMV, which regulates driverless testing, and Tesla has not but utilized for the mandatory permits. (A spokesperson did inform me the DMV met with Tesla to debate the corporate’s plans to check autonomous automobiles within the state.)
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So, as a substitute Tesla has launched a ride-hailing service within the Bay Space. And yeah, customers maintain calling these robotaxis.
To be clear, whereas of us — together with Musk’s brother and Tesla board member Kimbal Musk — could refer to those as robotaxis, they don’t seem to be driving autonomously. (And if they’re, it might be a violation of present laws.) Once more, Tesla doesn’t at present have the permits to do something past pay its personal staff to make use of its fleet of EVs to drive folks across the Bay Space. No autonomous driving in any means, form, or kind. You possibly can learn a current explainer right here that can take you thru all the numerous permits Tesla wants.
This ride-hailing launch has many people questioning, what offers? My reply: optics.
Just a little fowl
Current chatter amongst some little birds means that the Nationwide Vehicle Sellers Affiliation is focusing its efforts on VW Group spinout Scout and the EV firm’s plans for direct gross sales. The dealership business group has opposed the direct gross sales mannequin earlier than. However in contrast to direct-sales adopters Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid, Scout is connected to a legacy automaker with a long-established supplier community.
Received a tip for us? Electronic mail Kirsten Korosec at [email protected] or my Sign at kkorosec.07, Sean O’Kane at [email protected] or Rebecca Bellan at [email protected].
Offers!
Suppose again to the autumn of 2023. Logistics firm Flexport had captured the eye of Silicon Valley, partly due to founder Ryan Petersen’s fallout with ousted CEO Dave Clark and due to its acquisition of Convoy, the previous freight tech unicorn that had simply shut down.
Right here’s an replace. Flexport has now bought the Convoy platform to DAT Freight & Analytics. The phrases had been undisclosed, though the corporate mentioned it had delivered a “massive return on investment for Flexport.” Reporting from Axios’ Dan Primack means that, sure, certainly “massive return” is an applicable description.
Flexport by no means disclosed precisely what it had paid for Convoy’s tech, though reporting on the time put the determine at $16 million — a fraction of the unicorn’s earlier valuation of $3.8 billion. Primack reported this week that Flexport bought the Convoy platform for $250 million.
Different offers that obtained my consideration this week …
AIR, an Israel-based startup creating eVTOLs, raised $23 million in a Sequence A funding spherical led by Entrée Capital, with participation from present backer Dr. Shmuel Harlap, an early investor in Mobileye.
LG Innotek, the elements and supplies subsidiary of South Korea’s LG Group, is investing as much as $50 million in Aeva, buying an fairness stake of about 6% within the U.S. lidar firm. The funding is a part of a broader manufacturing partnership between the 2 corporations and marks Aeva’s push into client electronics, robotics, and industrial automation.
Notable reads and different tidbits
Elon Musk’s tunnel-digging firm The Boring Firm plans to construct a 10-mile “loop” that can join Nashville’s downtown and its conference middle and airport. Vital facet notes: This can be funded by The Boring Firm and its personal companions, which aren’t named. And that is the beginning of a public course of to guage routes, which suggests work gained’t be beginning immediately.
Ford plans to disclose extra details about its upcoming low-cost electrical automobiles at an occasion in Kentucky on August 11. And, as senior reporter Sean O’Kane notes, the corporate is speaking a really large sport.
Joby Aviation has signed an settlement with protection contractor L3Harris Applied sciences to “explore opportunities” to develop a brand new plane class — particularly, a gas-turbine hybrid vertical take-off and touchdown (VTOL) plane that may fly autonomously — for protection functions. The gas-turbine hybrid VTOL can be based mostly on Joby’s present S4 plane platform. This isn’t a contract, per se. Nevertheless it does mark progress in Joby’s bid to go to market within the protection and client sectors.
Whereas Uber continues to accomplice with each autonomous automobile firm underneath the solar, Lyft is making an attempt to make its personal offers. Lyft mentioned it’s going to add autonomous shuttles made by Austrian producer Benteler Group to its community in late 2026. The shuttles can be deployed in partnership with U.S. cities and airports.
Waymo plans to launch a robotaxi service subsequent yr in Dallas, and this time it’s partnering with Avis Price range Group to handle its fleet of autonomous automobiles. In different Waymo happenings, two of its robotaxis crashed into one another at one of many firm’s staging tons in Phoenix this week, proving that the corporate’s fast enlargement into new cities doesn’t imply it has ironed out all of the kinks. Waymo says it’s investigating the trigger.
Chinese language AV firm WeRide obtained an autonomous driving allow from Saudi Arabia. The corporate holds related permits in China, the UAE, Singapore, France, and america.
One very last thing
Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana will be part of the Disrupt Stage for a wide-ranging dialog on the present state of AVs — and the place the business goes from right here. TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 can be held October 27–29 at Moscone West in San Francisco.
