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It seems like not a day goes by without Waymo making some sort of expansion announcement. Detroit, Las Vegas, Nashville, San Diego and Washington, DC are just a few of the cities the company plans to bring its robotaxi to in the coming months. But as I’ve argued in this newsletter before, there’s another “extension” that I think is more important.
Motorways.
And now after years of testing and development, the company’s commercial robotaxi service uses freeways around the San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix and Los Angeles.
This is a critical expansion for the company. It’s the connective tissue of concrete and asphalt in sprawling metro areas like the Bay Area. This new freeway access is fueling Waymo’s expansion into this region, which is now 260 square miles and includes Silicon Valley and San Francisco.
Robotaxi routes can also have more efficient routes. Waymo told me it will cut drive times by up to 50%.
And freeway use is also necessary for Waymo to offer rides to and from the San Francisco airport, a location the company is currently testing.
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This highway-to-airport moment will be the big unlock for Waymo. But will it be enough to help push it into the black? Until someone throws me their balance sheet, I can’t say. It will definitely be a popular choice for travelers. This does not mean that the finances will clear up.
Read on for more news, including of Einride SPAC offering, offerings for Precursor and Teradaras well as how Via posted its first earnings and an imminent close for Rad Power Bikes. Plus! Scroll down to get the Tesla poll results.
A little bird
It’s been almost nine months since then Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson resigned suddenly, leaving the company without a permanent replacement. That may be about to change, though.
A couple of little birds told us that Lucid Motors has zeroed in on a candidate for the top role. It’s expected to be someone from outside the organization, which is perhaps no surprise. Back in August, we shared here that the company and the executive recruiting firm it uses had cast a very wide net and even cold-blooded some candidates. That would probably mean that Mark Winterhoffwho was serving as interim CEO, will return to the COO role he held before Rawlinson left.
Do you have a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07 or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.
Offers!
Another SPAC has entered the AV world! Mergers with specialty acquisition companies may not be officially back, but they’re certainly popular among autonomous vehicle companies.
Einridethe Swedish electric and autonomous truck startup plans to go public through a merger with a special-purpose buyout firm, just six weeks after raising $100 million from investors. The SPAC’s merger with Legato Merger Corp. values Einride at $1.8 billion in equity.
Einride generates revenue, which may sound obvious, but there have been many pre-revenue transportation companies that have done SPACs in recent years.
Currently, its main source of revenue comes from its software-as-a-service product and a fleet of 200 heavy-duty electric trucks used by companies such as Heineken and PepsiCo. The unusual autonomous pod-type trucks are still in pilot mode.
The merger is expected to close in the first half of 2026, with Einride debuting on the New York Stock Exchange.
Other deals that caught my eye this week…
Forterraa company developing autonomous technology for defense; raised $238 million in equity and debt financing. Moore Strategic Ventures led the equity financing, while Crescent Cove provided the debt financing.
Gopuffthe start of express delivery, raised $250 million in a round led by Eldridge Industries and Valor Equity Partners. Baillie Gifford, Robinhood, Equalis Capital, George Ruan, Yakir Gabay and the co-founders of Gopuff. The funding reported a valuation of $8.5 billion, according to Bloomberga significant decrease from its last increase in 2021.
Precursorthe Los Angeles-based electric truck startup has raised $160 million in a Series C funding round led by FedEx. As part of the investment, FedEx ordered 53 Harbinger electric truck chassis.
Octopus Electric Vehiclesa UK-based electric vehicle leasing business, has struck a deal with lenders including Lloyds Banking Group, Morgan Stanley and Credit Agricole to raise its total funding to £2 billion ($2.6 billion). Sky News reported.
Teradara Boston-based startup developing a solid-state sensor has raised $150 million in a Series B funding round from investors Capricorn Investment Group, Lockheed Martin’s venture arm, mobility-focused firm Ibex Investors and VXI Capital, a new defense-focused fund led by the former US military CTO of Innovation Defense.
Upwardsan e-bike refurbishing startup, raised $60 million in a Series C funding round led by AP Moller. Galvanize, Ora Global and Sequoia Capital also participated. The company has raised more than $125 million since its inception in 2021.
Wowa German startup piloting car rentals to customers has announced a $60 million investment from Singaporean tech heavyweight Grab. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close by the end of the year, may be followed by “an additional $350 million as common milestones are achieved within the first year.”
Notable reads and other items
Passage extends its availability BlueCruise hands-free highway driving technology in Europe. The automaker will make the system available in several vehicles, including the Puma, Puma Gen-E, Kuga and Ranger PHEV 5 models from spring 2026.
Joby Aviation made its first flight turbine electric, autonomous VTOL aircraft. This demonstrator is not to be confused with its all-electric air taxi, although it was built from this platform. This aircraft has a hybrid turbine propulsion system and is designed for defense applications.
Lyft has partnered with Curba transportation platform for licensed taxis. Under the deal, Lyft riders will be connected to Curb’s network of drivers through an integration with the Curb Flow platform, which is already in Los Angeles. Other cities will soon follow.
Rad Power Bikesone of the most popular e-bike companies, may not be too late for this world. The company told its employees that it will shut down in January if it can’t find new funding or make an acquisition, according to an internal staff email seen by TechCrunch.
Tesla can bring Apple CarPlay to its electrics. But at this point, should I? Meanwhile, the company’s energy storage division is dealing with an extensive recall of its consumer-based Powerwall 2 product after reports of fires.
THE Boring Companyan Elon Musk company, is back under control. This time due to reports that firefighters conducting a safety drill at one of The Boring Company’s construction sites in Las Vegas suffered burns from chemicals used in the tunneling process. And the controversy doesn’t stop there.
Toyota started production in new $13.9 billion battery plant in North Carolina. While Toyota has several facilities in the US, this is its first battery plant to be built outside of Japan. And it’s not done investing in the U.S. The company said it plans to invest up to $10 billion more than previously expected over the next five years.
Uber has quietly started piloting in-app video recording for its drivers in India. The ride-hailing company is also looking for more premium customers through new efforts like Uber Skiwhich allows riders to pre-schedule a ride to nearly 40 popular ski destinations in North America and Europe, including Vail in Colorado and Park City in Utah.
Via he had his own the first profits since becoming a publicly traded company and, well, losing money. The technology transit software company reported a loss of $36.9 million in the third quarter, a 73% increase over the same period last year. Its revenue rose to $713 million, up 11% year over year.
One more thing…
Remember the poll in last week’s newsletter? I asked what the goal of the product is Tesla most likely to be achieved by 2035? The options are based on actual targets set out in Musk’s $1 trillion compensation package:
- 20 million Tesla vehicles delivered
- 10 million active Full Self-Driving subscriptions
- 1 million robots delivered
- 1 million robotaxis in commercial operation
- None of these will be achieved
And you’re split between two options: Tesla to deliver 20 million vehicles, which received 34.7% of the vote, and “None of these will be achieved,” which received 32% of the vote.
The one thing you seem to agree on is that Tesla is unlikely to achieve the other three goals. About 9.5% of readers chose the 1 million robots option, 12.6% chose 10 million active fully self-driving subscriptions, and 10.5% chose 1 million robotaxis in commercial operation within 10 years.
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