Welcome back tThe TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and information about the future of transport.
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EV launch Fisher He laid off more employees to “conserve cash” as bankruptcy looms. riding company All cut about 180 jobs and ousted its chief executive, Hemant Bakshi, just four months after he was appointed to the position. and the lidar company Illuminated cut its 700-strong workforce by 20% as part of a restructuring to adopt an “asset-light” business model.
Oh, and then there was Tesla CEO Elon Musk, which shut down the automaker’s global Supercharger network team. This complicated decision comes just as non-Tesla EV drivers gain access to the grid.
This is not to say that the entire transport sector is surrounded by financial storm clouds. There were brighter moments. Let’s go check it out!
A little bird
In the aftermath of Tesla’s massive Supercharger massacre, we spoke to several a little bit birds, including those who were laid off and people working at other car companies. As I mentioned above, Elon Musk destroyed Tesla’s global Supercharger organization of about 500 people. Experts at several different automakers — all of which adopt Tesla’s charging technology — said they don’t see it coming. “Shocked” and “stunned” were the most common phrases I heard.
On the employee front, there was a lack of communication from HR in the hours following the mass layoffs. Some told me that they and their former colleagues had not received information about layoffs and that communication had completely stopped. Some of those people had received layoff emails by Friday. Everyone I contacted still struggled to understand why Musk would cut the Supercharger team — an organization that is fundamental to Tesla and its EV sales. Others assumed only Elon and perhaps the former head of the Supercharger team, Rebecca Tinucciwould i ever know the answer.
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Agreements!
It’s been a minute since we’ve heard of an autonomous vehicle startup raising a significant amount of money — or raising any money at all. That all changed this week when Kinetic scored a substantial multi-million dollar win thanks to him Hyundai.
Hyundai’s total commitment is $1 billion, but there are important details. Here’s how it breaks down. Hyundai invested $475 million directly in Motional as part of a broader deal that includes the acquisition of joint venture partner Aptiv. Hyundai is spending another $448 million to buy 11% of Aptiv’s common stock in Motional.
The quick story: Motional was created in 2019 as a $4 billion joint venture between Hyundai and Aptiv. Motional has devoted the last few years to its autonomous vehicle technology, working to launch a robotaxi service using Hyundai Ioniq 5 driverless vehicles in 2024. As Motional and Hyundai grew closer — the companies announced plans in November to jointly develop ready production versions of the all-electric Ioniq 5 robotaxi — it appears that Aptiv is beginning to understand its own financial limitations. By January, Aptiv President and CEO Kevin Clark indicated that the company would reduce its ownership interest in Motional and stop allocating capital to the venture due to the high cost of commercializing a robotaxi business and the long road to profits.
The decision, while not particularly surprising to the industry insiders I spoke to, still puts Motional and Hyundai in a sticky spot. Would Hyundai step up? Will outside investors step in? Hyundai answered the call.
My question is, will Motion, with Hyundai’s blessing, seek other investors? This will all depend on how much capital Motional spends and whether it continues to pursue the same robotaxi goals. If so, it looks like the company will eventually need more capital.
Other offers that caught my eye…
LiNova Energya California-based startup developing cathode polymer batteries, raised $15.8 million in a Series A funding round led by Catalus Capital, with participation from Saft, an affiliate of TotalEnergies, Chevron Technology Ventures and a syndicate of investors.
Rivian was awarded an impressive $827 million stimulus package from the state of Illinois, funds that will be used to build production lines for its next-generation EV, the R2.
Viking Holdingsthe luxury cruise operator backed by private equity firm TPG and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board; raised $1.54 billion in its public registration.
X Shorea Swedish electric boat manufacturer founded in 2016, raised 8.5 million euros in new funding from several anonymous existing backers, including founder Konrad Bergström.
Notable reads and other items
ADAS
The National Road Safety Agency opened an investigation for of Ford hands-free driver assistance system, BlueCruise, after it was found to be active during two recent accidents that killed multiple people.
NHTSA made another big move in the industry and finalized a new one Federal motor vehicle safety standard which will do automatic emergency braking, including the ability to automatically detects and brakes for pedestrians, standard on all passenger cars and light trucks by September 2029. The agency said the safety standard is expected to significantly reduce rear-end and pedestrian crashes. Now, NHTSA does not choose the technology that automakers must use. A number of computer vision and lidar companies have contacted me to note how it could be beneficial to their business models.
Autonomous vehicles
TC factor Tim Stevens takes us behind the scenes of the first Autonomous Racing League event in Abu Dhabi that pitted a self-driving car against a Formula 1 driver. His take? Yes, there were struggles. also saw great progress.
Electric vehicles, charging & batteries
Remember last year when Henrik Fischer proudly debuted two prototypes designed to launch his eponymous EV startup into the mainstream? TC reporter Sean O’Kane has learned that the engineering company that helped develop these vehicles is suing Fisker for $13 million in damages. Read more to learn about this treatment and many others.
This week’s wheels
Image Credits: Emma Hall
I turned the wheel to the TC partner Emma Hall this week for a test drive of the new all-electric Acura ZDX Type S. You can read the full review here, plus I recommend it see her video of the advanced hands-free driver support system in the vehicle. For those who want a sneak peek before committing to the longer read, here’s the gist.
The hall awaited joy and delight. On the contrary, it was more. Here’s one of the reasons why. The Type S weighs over 6,000 lbs. Even if the weight is evenly distributed front-to-rear, that’s a lot of weight to get through a corner. She liked the heavy steering, but there wasn’t much to comment on.
“The torque is always there coming out of the corner and the body roll is kept under control, yet I don’t feel the enjoyment,” he wrote, adding that the 275/40 Continental Premium Contact 6 summer tires on the Type S offered plenty of grip, but the low-profile sidewall combined with the harder tire compound meant the ride was just a touch harsh.
Hall’s pursuit of an electric SUV that’s fun to the twists and turns continues.
