Bolt Mobility, a micromobility company co-founded by Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt, has launched an in-app navigation system for its e-scooters dubbed “MobilityOS.” To make this feature easy to use, Bolt’s next generation of scooters, the “Bolt Two,” allows a rider’s smartphone to be mounted to, and charged by, the scooter. The simple act of adding […]
Tesla has 150,000 cars using its safety score tool
Nearly 150,000 Tesla cars are using the company’s new “safety score,” a tool rolled out last month to determine whether owners can access the beta version of its “Full Self-Driving” software, executives said during its third quarter earnings call. While 150,000 cars are now part of the Full-Self Driving (FSD) beta enrollment program, a fraction of drivers have […]
Elon Musk’s Boring Company gets initial OK to expand Loop under Las Vegas Strip
Elon Musk’s Boring Company received Wednesday the initial approval required to build a transportation system that would shuttle passengers in Tesla vehicles via a network of tunnels under Las Vegas. The approval by Clark County officials of a special use permit and franchise agreement would allow the Boring Company to expand its Vegas Loop system […]
Tesla will only use iron-based batteries for standard model EVs
Tesla said Wednesday it will use iron-based batteries for its standard Model 3 and Model Y models across global markets. The update, provided in the company’s third-quarter earnings report, confirmed hints that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been dropping for months about the cheaper battery chemistry’s growing role in the company’s product line-up. Lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) […]
Tesla charges forward with a record quarterly profit of $1.6 billion
Tesla continued its profitability streak, reporting Wednesday net income of $1.62 billion in the third quarter, a nearly fivefold increase from the $331 million it earned in the same period last year. The record-setting profit came thanks to record sales and despite a global chip shortage and supply chain constraints that have affected the industry. […]
Buttigieg defends safety agency appointment after Musk claims ‘bias’
Elon Musk voiced concerns on Twitter over the recent appointment of Missy Cummings to a key advisory role at the country’s top traffic authority, but U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg suggested the Tesla CEO speak to him directly about any concerns instead. “He’s welcome to call me if he’s concerned,” Buttigieg told reporters at an […]
SoftBank-backed Flock Freight is the freight industry’s newest unicorn
The global shipping and freight industry has never been more in the spotlight, as the pandemic and other disruptions have led to enormous supply chain bottlenecks. While trucking logistics company Flock Freight can’t solve the global supply chain crisis, it could help get goods to their destinations faster and with less waste. Less than a […]
TechCrunch+ roundup: Automattic TC-1, federal startup grants, ‘getting s*** done day’
Our latest longform look at a notable tech company examines Automattic, “the leading commercial complement to the open-source WordPress publishing platform.”
Meet the startups changing mobility for emerging middle classes
In emerging economies, where spending billions to build public transit infrastructure can be out of reach, startups are using technology to meet the mobility needs of a rising urban middle class. Swvl, Treepz, Jatri, SafeBoda, Urbvan, Chalo and Buser are just a few of the startups that have popped up in Africa, Asia, the Middle […]
Reliable Robotics lifts $100M to take autonomous cargo planes where none have gone before
When flying cargo from one part of the world to another, you typically need a pilot for two parts: The take-off and the landing. As so elegantly outlined in the 1980 Jim Abrahams movie !Airplane — the rest of the time, you’re pretty much on instruments. Reliable Robotics is aiming to solve that pesky needing-to-have-a-pilot-in-the-plane […]