TechCrunch Mobility: Tesla’s Gambit

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Managing Director of Tesla Elon Musk It is in what one can describe an underlying position. It has pushed hard to get shareholders to see Tesla as a company AI and robotics, not as a UN manufacturer. And yet, the company’s most visible products, which produce most of its revenue, are its electric cars.

Yes, the Tesla EVs are advanced, especially when it comes to the underlying architecture and software of the vehicle. And the driver’s disposition system known as the complete self-supervising self-driving, which can be used on city highways and roads and requires hands on the steering wheel and the driver is ready to take over, is considered one of the most capable in the market today. But in Musk, the final depiction of a AI company and robotics are self-guidance cars and humanoid robots. And today, none of them exist on any scale.

Tesla’s first remarkable step towards this goal was in June, when a limited robot service started in Austin, Texas. These romance vehicles, which invite customers to be able to spoil through an application, have a Tesla employee sitting in the front passenger seat. But he is still far from Musk’s original vision of a “general solution” that would allow a Tesla owner to make money by renting his vehicle as a robot service.

The clock fits and the Musk has to show more progress – or at least tease the upcoming launches to maintain the contents of Antsy shareholders. This is probably the reason why Tesla starts this gambit that beats in California.

Earlier this month, Musk noted that Tesla will launch a robot service in Bay Area ‘In a one or two months’ -The regulatory approvals are the main hang-up.

The problem? Tesla has not yet applied for licenses that would allow him to take advantage of a robot service. We checked on Friday morning with the DMV of California, which regulates the driver -free tests and Tesla has not yet applied for the necessary licenses. (A spokesman told me that DMV met with Tesla to discuss the company’s plans to test autonomous vehicles in the state.)

So, instead, Tesla started a ride service in the Gulf area. And yes, users continue to call these robots.

To be clear, while the peoples – including his brother Musk and the member of the Board of Directors of Tesla Kimbal Musk – may refer to them as robberyThey do not lead autonomously. (And if it is, it would be a violation of today’s regulations.) Again, Tesla has no licenses at present to do anything beyond the payment of her own employees to use the EVS fleet to drive people around the Gulf area. There is no autonomous driving in any way, shape or form. You can read a recent explaner here that will lead you to all the various licenses Tesla Reages.

This ride launch has wondered many peoples, what does it give? My answer: Visual.

A little bird

Recent conversation between some small birds indicates that the National Association of Car Representatives She focuses her efforts on VW Group Spinout Detector and EV’s plans for direct sales. The dealership industry team has opposed the direct sales model before. But unlike direct sellers adopters Tesla, Rivian and Lucid, Scout is linked to a automotive inheritance with a long -term network of delegates.

Do you have a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec to kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my mark on kkorosec.07, sean o’kane to sean.okane@techcrunch.com or Rebecca Bellan in rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com.

Offers!

Consider the fall of 2023. The logistics company Flexport had recorded the attention of Silicon Valley, partly because of the Fallout of founder Ryan Petersen with CEO Dave Clark and because of the acquisition of Convoy, the former Tech Unicorn he had closed.

Here’s an update. Flexport has now sold the escort platform Dat Freight & Analytics. The terms were not known, though the company said it had given a “huge investment return for Flexport”. The reference from Axios’s Dan Primack suggests that, yes, “mass return” is an appropriate description.

Flexport never revealed exactly what it had paid for Convoy’s technology, although the report at that time put $ 16 million – a fraction of the previous $ 3.8 billion Union. Primack reported this week that Flexport sold the escort platform for $ 250 million.

Other agreements that received my attention this week …

AIRAn Israel -based start -up starting Evtols raised $ 23 million in a funding round of Series A led by Entrée Capital, with the participation of existing supporter Dr. Shmuel Harlap, early investor at Mobileye.

Lg InnotekSouth Korea’s LG Group’s ingredients and materials, invest up to $ 50 million ABEThe acquisition of a share capital of about 6% in the US company Lidar. The investment is part of a broader corporate relationship between the two companies and marks AEVA’s impulse into electronic elements, robotic and industrial automation.

Notable reading and other tidbits

Dawn He shared some remarkable progress in the Q2 profit report. The autonomous vehicle technology company has three self-driving trucks commercially operated between Dallas and Houston, recording over 20,000 miles without a driver until the end of June. It is a pilot truck without a driver on a 15 -hour route from its Fort Worth, Texas terminal, at a new Phoenix terminal and operates at night. CEO of Chris Urmson told me what it is Then on the list of.

Elon Musk’s tunnel company The boring company He plans to build a 10 -mile “loop” that will connect the center of Nashville and his conference center and the airport. Significant side notes: This will be funded by the boring company and its private partners, who are not called. And this is the beginning of a public process for evaluating routes, which means that work will not start immediately.

Passage It plans to reveal more information about the upcoming low -cost electric vehicles at an event in Kentucky on August 11 and, as the senior journalist Sean O’Kane notes, the company is talking about a very big game.

Aircraft has signed an agreement with the defensive contractor L3HARRIS technologies To “explore opportunities” to develop a new category of aircraft-in particular, a hybrid aircraft from vertical vertical and landing (VTOL) that can fly autonomously-for defense applications. The natural gas VTOL hybrid will be based on Joby’s current aircraft platform. This is not a contract, per se. However, it marks progress in Joby’s attempt to move to the market in the field of defense and consumers.

While Bery continues to work with any autonomous vehicle company under the sun, Bent He is trying to make his own offers. Lyft said he will add stand -alone buses made by Austrian manufacturer Benndeler team in its network at the end of 2026. Buses will be developed in collaboration with US cities and airports.

Diameter plans to start a robot service next year in Dallas, and this time she works with Avis Budget Team to manage the fleet of autonomous vehicles. In other events in Waymo, two of her romance crashed into one of the company’s positions in Phoenix this week, proving that the company’s rapid expansion to new cities does not mean that it has ironed all the contractions. Waymo says he is investigating the cause.

Chinese company AV WERIDE received a stand -alone driving license from Saudi Arabia. The company holds similar licenses in China, the UAE, Singapore, France and the United States.

One last thing

Diameter co-director Tekedra Mawakana will participate in Stadium For a wide conversation about the current state of AV-and where the industry goes from here. TechCrunch disturbs 2025 It will take place on October 27-29 at the Moscone West in San Francisco.