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Less than a week ago, Tesla Robotaxis started circulating and giving rides to invited customers at Austin. As Sean O’Kane wrote this week, growth is CEO ELON MUSK’s first major trial of belief that it is possible to safely grow fully autonomous vehicles using only cameras and AI-end ai-a approach that differs from other players in the field, as well as Waymo.
With all accounts (including Tesla’s), this is a limited first run. The operating area covers South Austin, the vehicle’s fleet is less than 20 and there is still a safety screen in the passenger seat.
This does not mean that there was a sluggish reaction. The social media provided a video of video and personal accounts – by riders and spectators – of the robe that it was for Austin. And in many cases, the vehicles appeared to violate traffic laws, such as moving into double yellow lines in the upcoming lane and abruptly hitting the brakes in the middle of the intersections.
The videos prompted federal security regulators to reach Tesla and request development information.
The reaction to Robot Tesla Robotali – and more specifically to social videos – gave an informative view of how polarized the company is. As O’Kane told me the other day, “It’s like a Rorschach test.”
Tesla’s robes are either proof of the company’s Hubris and the broken promises of Musk for automated driving, or for the beginning of the end for Waymo, Uber and Lyft.
Here is what is approaching the truth: a week in, and we have a lot of noise and a very small signal.
Let’s get to the rest of the news.
A little bird
At the back of a series of executive departures in the past year, we hear that Tesla is planning another round of layoffs throughout the company this month. CEO Elon Musk spent last year worked in politics, which culminated in a dramatic exit from his duties as head of Doge. He is now ready to bring this energy and burn to his team and offset the team at Tesla, with low performers in the fragment of cutting, according to a source connected to the company.
In the meantime, Tesla promotes the production of Cybercab. A source noted that it has created a pressure-kitchen environment that has caused some employees to leave the company.
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Offers!
The news cycle this week gives me 2016 vibes. Get this agreement that includes Bery Co -founder and former CEO Basal.
Kalanick is working with investors to buy the US arm of the Chinese autonomous Pony AI vehicle and Uber can even help happen.
This is an interesting move. In 2017, Kalanick was pressured to resign because of the reports that he had promoted a toxic culture in the workplace with sexual harassment, including complaints. His resignation came a year after bought Otto, the sticker truck founded by Anthony Levandowski (CEO Pronto AI), Lior Ron (Managing Director Uber Freight), Don Burnette (founder of Robotics Kodiak) and Claire Delaunay He was absorbed in what became Uber Atg, was controversial from the beginning and eventually led Waymo to sue Uber for theft of commercial secrets.
Fast forward eight years: Waymo and Uber are in friendly business terms and Kalanick still wonders: “What if?” The founder was vocal enough to say that Uber would have his own fleet self-guiding if he was still responsible.
Then there is pony, which has businesses in the US that are at risk due to national security rules. The company was ready to sell its US arm from at least 2022.
Other agreements worth noting…
Budding materialsA new start -up that develops descent materials to reduce the cost of LFP batteries, brought $ 2.3 million to a seed -led SOSV. New Jersey Innogreen Evergreen Fund and UM6P Ventures also participated.
Aphe mphibrThe Indian drone start, raised $ 100 million in a round of the B series of all chapters led by General Catalyst.
Notable reading and other tidbits
Adas
THE National Traffic Security Service are sent Passage A long list of questions about the driver’s system without BlueCruise hands as part of a survey that began a year ago two deadly software crashes.
Autonomous vehicles
There was a time when the newly formed AV companies tried to avoid talking about remote driving as a means of supporting technology without a driver. Now companies are talking openly about it. Get self-driving Company trucks Robotics Kodiak and Jigglea remote start from Berlin. The two companies, which announced a partnership this week, are working together since last year.
Diameter and Bery have officially entered another market. Companies, which started the “Waymo On Uber” service at Austin earlier this year, are now operating in an area of 65 square miles in Atlanta.
Over it, Uber eats Started a sidewalk delivery robot in Atlanta with Serve roboticsA Uber Spinout that took place public last year.
UPSHOT: The momentum seems to build for all three companies. Uber turns into a network connection to autonomous technology (it has 18 AV corporate relationships worldwide). Waymo is the leader of the Robotaxi market. Provides 250,000 Robotaxi walks paid in five major cities each week. With Atlanta joining this list and extensions to its existing markets, this number has certainly exceeded the 300,000 sign. And the fourth commercial city of Atlanta is serving as it works to escalate at 2,000 bots on the sidewalks by the end of 2025.
Electric vehicles, batteries and charging
Redwood materials It launches an energy storage business that will use the thousands of EV batteries it has collected from the battery recycling business to provide energy to companies. And starts with – what else? – AI Data Centers.
Rivia It has fired 140 employees before the release of the most affordable R2 SUV in 2026. The production team was hit the most difficult.
Tesla‘small The top sales manager has taken the boot from Elon Musk. Omead Afshar was one of Musk’s closest confidentialists who just this week was the publication on X about “Historic Day for Tesla” when the company started its robot in Austin.
Technology in the car
There was a moment about 2017 when Information He appeared ready to become a dominant player in the automotive industry. The company had acquired Mobileye and its ARM VC invests millions in the sector. It was part of the future of the transport conversation. Now, Intel is saying goodbye to the car industry’s architecture-including the design of the AI-strengthened chip system for vehicles set for production by the end of 2025-and attribute most of its staff as part of a wider restructuring.
