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come on Tesla The earnings were made this week – and yes, that was it very. A lot of them, you ask? A lot of the same promises and hand-waving we’ve seen before, but just wrapped in slightly different packaging. The stakes this time remind me of Tesla’s pre-profit era circa 2018.
Now, to be clear, Tesla has been enjoying profitability since 2020. But it’s facing downward pressure on its bottom line — the company saw profits drop 55% year-over-year — and an aging portfolio of its highest-volume vehicles. (And yes, we covered the new Model 3 Performance variant. I’m talking new mass-market models here.)
CEO of Tesla Elon Musk it must generate new sources of revenue. And quickly. The company can’t wait two years or more to launch a new platform to offer a sub-$25,000 EV.
So Musk modified that plan, from what we know so far. Which isn’t much. During the first-quarter earnings call, Musk laid out an opaque plan with few details to launch several cheaper electric vehicles in 2025 (and perhaps even as late as 2024).
Musk understands that the market has rewarded him in the past for being a thinker and an innovator — even if those plans don’t materialize. So Musk also pulled that futuristic lever, promising greater levels of automated driving in FSD driver assistance software and a robotaxi (again). Lest you forget, Musk announced during the company’s Autonomy Day in 2019 that Tesla was going to launch a robotaxi network by next year. Musk has talked about the Tesla network and his ambitions to allow owners to put their vehicles on the ride-hailing app since 2016.
Shareholders happily responded because the future is now, or maybe next year. Okay, maybe at the end of the decade? Anyway, it’s exciting.
On an unrelated note, the recently departed high-profile Tesla executive Drew Baglino sold approximately 1.14 million of its shares value $181.47 million. The filing described it as an exercise of stock options.
Let’s go!
A little bird
ONE little bird pointed out to me that Valeo CTO Geoffrey Bouquot is leaving the company after eight years. For those unfamiliar, Valeo is a French auto parts supplier that has moved into electric vehicles and automated driving. The company even has an AI research center dedicated to automotive applications.
This EV segment has been promising for Valeo, but this recent quarter reflects what’s happening in the rest of the segment. The company posted lower sales in the first quarter after sales of its high-voltage power system nearly halved. Valeo is now adaptation to automotive industries it needs aka hybrids.
Do you have a tip for us? e-mail Kirsten Korosech at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com, Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com or Rebecca Belan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, click here to contact uswhich includes SecureDrop (instructions here) and various encrypted messaging apps.
Agreements!
Who has deals? Doing. Here are a handful that stood out.
Chemixa company using AI to accelerate the development of next-generation EV batteries; raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by Ibex Investors. Other participants included Mayfield Fund, Berkeley SkyDeck and Urban Innovation Fund, as well as strategic investors BNP Paribas Solar Impulse Venture Fund, Global Brain’s KDDI Open Innovation Fund III and Porsche Ventures.
LanzaJet, a sustainable fuel technology company and fuel producer, has received an undisclosed investment from Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund. ONE reference to Axios Pro says the company is raising $100 million and expects to close this quarter.
Outpostan Austin, Texas-based startup that operates a network of semi-truck parking facilities; raised $12.5 million in a Series A funding round led by GreenPoint Partners. The newly branded company, established in 2021 as Semi-Stow, also received backing from Speedwagon Capital Partners.
Radical, a Seattle-based startup developing autonomous, solar-powered, high-altitude aircraft has raised $4.5 million in a seed round led by Scout Ventures, with additional funding from investors Inflection Mercury Fund and Y Combinator, among others.
Solerathe data and software-as-a-service car company is evaluating an initial public offering that could raise more than $1 billion; Bloomberg reported.
Intense Futurea Spanish startup that makes electric off-road motorcycles, has been developed 25 million euros from Big Bets. The company will use the funds to expand production capacity of the Stark VARG electric off-road motorcycle.
Notable reads and other items
ADAS
The National Road Safety Agency closed a long-running investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot driver assistance system after looking into hundreds of crashes involving its misuse, including 13 that were fatal and “many others with serious injuries.” Tl;dr: The agency called Tesla’s driver engagement system “weak” and said it was “not suitable for Autopilot’s permissive operating capabilities.”
Autonomous vehicles
TC reporter Rebecca Belan monitors legislative activity in California — one of the hotbeds of AV activity. Get the latest on four bills being considered by the state legislature and how one in particular could put cities in a stronger position.
Electric vehicles, charging & batteries
Faraday Future about to booted from the Nasdaq stock market — a stock market tier for lower-value companies — because its stock price was too low, for too long.
Fisher is planning more layoffs less than two months after cutting 15% of its workforce. The company expects to file for bankruptcy protection within the next 30 days if it can’t come up with that money, according to a regulatory filing.
Mercedes gave us a sneak peek at what’s to come fully electric G-Class — the “Birkin bag” of the automotive portfolio. Read more about how it compares to the natural gas version.
Rivian is offering up to $5,000 in rebates on its electric vehicles — and a year of free charging — to customers willing to trade in eligible gas-powered trucks and SUVs. These eligible vehicles, which include the Ford F-150, reveal the customers Rivian is targeting.
The future of flight
Amazon terminated Prime Air’s drone delivery operations in Lockeford, California. The Central California city of 3,500 was the company’s second aircraft delivery location in the US, after College Station, Texas.
Joby Aviationthe California-based company that develops electric aircraft has signed a memorandum of understanding with three Abu Dhabi government departments to create electric air taxi service ecosystem.
Zipline passed a major milestone this week. One of its autonomous drones, called “Zips,” carried two bags of IV fluid from Zipline’s distribution center in Ghana’s Western North Region to a local health facility. the company’s millionth delivery.
Car technology
Here’s a nerd I liked. Car electronics supplier Elektrobit announced EB corbos Linux for Security Applications. What do these words even mean? Ars Technica has one nice explainer, but basically Elektrobit developed an open source based automotive operating system that has been certified for automotive safety compliance. If you’re interested in “software-defined vehicles”, this matters!
This week’s wheels
Image Credits: Kirsten Korosec
The 2024 Lexus LC 500h it is not an EV. But here at TC, we’re into hybrids too! Plus, it’s been a minute since I’ve spent some time exploring the many offerings under the Lexus brand. The Lexus LC 500h starts at $101,250, but the version I drove went up to $113,350 thanks to a few additional top-of-the-line touches, including an upgraded sound system, folding fender, and carbon fiber roof.
The Lexus LC 500h is not a vehicle you see every day or even year. I guess it’s because coupes aren’t that popular these days – crossovers rule the roost – although I quite like the looks and proportions of the Lexus LC 500h and its twin V8 engine.
This vehicle comes with a 3.5-liter six-cylinder hybrid engine that produces 354 horsepower thanks to the addition of an electric motor that sends power to the rear wheels. Another electric motor is the one that charges the vehicle’s battery.
The strange thing is that this vehicle has a multi-stage transmission. So basically what this means is that Lexus took the existing electronically controlled continuously variable transmission and then added another gearbox (a four-speed gearbox) behind it. The thinking is that this gives drivers a sportier experience and 10 different gear options via the paddles behind the steering wheel when the vehicle is in manual mode. Lexus’ multi-stage hybrid system has been around for years, but I had yet to really play with it.
My take: After some time in manual mode, I found myself putting it back into “drive” and letting the vehicle do the work for me.
