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Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and information about the future of transport.
I was in Los Angeles earlier this week where I interviewed Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana on stage at our StrictlyVC LA event. You can see the full interview herewhich covers her views on the Apple Car project, the company’s Los Angeles “community tour,” whether Waymo learned anything (or changed) in the wake of the cruise debacle, and whether it’s committed to staying in San Francisco even if vandalized robotaxis continues.
The next morning (and by complete coincidence), the California Public Service Commission approved Waymo’s application to operate a commercial robotaxi service in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Peninsula and San Francisco freeways. The approval removes the last hurdle for Alphabet to charge for rides in these sprawling areas. Significantly, it breaks new ground for Waymo in one of the nation’s largest cities and unlocks a route to San Francisco International Airport, which is south of the city.
This week’s news also includes Passage giving EV owners access to Tesla Superchargers, the Capital Market Commission charging Lordstown Motors with misleading investors, Toyota he’s practically paying people to buy the Mirai that runs on hydrogen fuel cells and more!
Let’s go!
A little bird
EV start Fisher has been dealing with a lot lately — underperforming its own sales goals, facing quality and customer service issues, and pivoting from a direct sales model to trying to sign up dealer partners.
Last week the company announced that it is to cut 15% of its staff as part of this transition and needs more cash to survive. Reuters reported on Friday that it is in talks with Nissan to collaborate on an electric truck, in a move that could save the startup.
ONE few birds told us that those talks have been going on for more than a year, and that they weren’t the only Japanese automaker to talk to Fisker about a possible partnership — Fisker also had talks with Mazda. But Nissan is the last one standing, and its continued interest comes at a critical time for the troubled startup.
Do you have a tip for us? e-mail Kirsten Korosech at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or Sean O’Kane sean.okane@techcrunch.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, click here to contact uswhich includes SecureDrop (instructions here) and various encrypted messaging apps.
Offer of the week
Northern Star has a little more room now that the Swedish electric vehicle company—owned by China’s Geely Holdings—has secured a $950 million loan from a dozen banks.
Why does it matter? These are critical funds needed to continue Polestar’s plans for electric cars after Volvo decided to withdraw its financial support for the electric car industry. The company had about $770 million in cash at the end of 2023, according to regulatory filings.
However, the funding does not solve all of Polestar’s financial woes. Even with this new capital injection, the company said it will continue to cut costs and seek efficiencies, including layoffs. Polestar, which has cut 10% of jobs from mid-2023, said it plans to cut another 15% this year. The company previously disclosed the 15% job cuts, which will affect around 450 people.
Other offers that caught my eye…
Range energy, the startup developing electric trailers for commercial trucking, has raised $23.5 million in a funding round led by Trousdale Ventures, with participation from UP.Partners, R7 and Yamaha Motor Ventures. Range has raised $31.5 million to date.
Notable reads and other items
Autonomous vehicles
Bye Apple Car; we never met you Yes, that’s right, Apple has ended plans to build and sell an autonomous electric car. Don’t worry, months from now we’ll definitely have rumors that he’s finally back. ;HEY
Journalist Sean O’Kane learned that Apple is likely cutting hundreds of employees from the team and all work on the project has stopped. Some will turn to Apple’s AI manufacturing projects, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the project’s cancellation. Others will have 90 days to find a new assignment in other roles within the company or be let go. The car project still had about 1,400 employees, according to an employee who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about their work. Footnote: here is a timeline of the ten-year project.
GM squirrel away his custom build Robotaxis Cruise Origin at a defunct Michigan plant.
Kinetic has told employees it will cut about 5% of its workforce (fewer than 70 people), TechCrunch has learned. The cuts mainly affect management roles and some employees who work in Boston, one of several cities where it is testing autonomous vehicles. The other very important detail from sources is that the company needs to secure more funding. That will mean either Hyundai will foot the full bill for the joint venture it once shared with Aptiv or find another partner.
Electric vehicles, batteries & charging
Xiaomi presented its first electric car, the SU7, at the Mobile World Congress.
Car technology
Amazon stopped selling it Car camera ring.
This week’s wheels
Image Credits: Allen J. Schaben/Getty Images
I didn’t drive this week. I was riding one without a driver Waymo robot taxi. I’ve taken many Waymo robotaxis rides, but never one in Los Angeles. This trip provided an interesting test piece of how these robotaxis handle unexpected blockades.
Moments after entering Waymo, the vehicle was approaching a stop sign when it encountered a minor collision between two human-driven cars. Funny enough, another driverless Waymo was right in front of me. A postal worker, who was also stuck, ended up in a turning lane and made a U-turn.
My driverless car stayed put and I began to wonder if it would ever move. Soon a message appeared on the touchscreen informing me that “our team is working to get you moving.” A moment later the vehicle reversed a few meters and made the same maneuver as the postal worker. This was likely an incident when remote guidance was provided. About two minutes were added to my journey due to the traffic jam.
We will be posting videos from the ride soon!
