In the two years since Gatik AI came out of stealth, the autonomous vehicle startup has launched pilots with Walmart and Canadian retail giant Loblaw in its bid to prove that self-driving technology combined with box trucks is the secret economic sauce for hauling goods short distances. Now, the company is expanding into Texas — […]
Power Global eyes India’s auto rickshaw industry with swappable battery and retrofit kit
In India, a country that is more densely populated and has lower rates of car ownership, auto rickshaws and other two- or three-wheeled vehicles play a central role. While many auto rickshaws on Indian roads are already electric, they tend to rely on lead-acid batteries that need to be replaced every six to 11 months. […]
Elon Musk’s Loop gets Autopilot — and an intruder
Less than two weeks after its official launch, The Boring Company’s Loop system in Las Vegas had its first security breach. On June 21, the morning of the final day of the International Beauty Show, an “unauthorized vehicle” joined the system’s fleet of Tesla taxis underground, emails between the Loop’s operations manager and a Clark […]
Ideanomics to buy EV fleet maker Via Motors in $450M all-stock deal
Ideanomics, a fintech and electric mobility firm based in New York, has added to its list of acquisitions on Monday to buy commercial electric vehicle manufacturer Via Motors in an all-stock deal valued at $450 million. Ideanomics has been aggressively purchasing mobility businesses this year, as it seeks to build out vertically integrated offerings for […]
The Station: Rivian makes its IPO move, Nuro pushes into Nevada and Waymo scales up in SF
The Station is a weekly newsletter dedicated to all things transportation. Sign up here — just click The Station — to receive it every weekend in your inbox. Hello readers: Welcome to The Station, your central hub for all past, present and future means of moving people and packages from Point A to Point B. I’m […]
HAAS Alert raises $5M seed round to scale its automotive collision prevention system
HAAS Alert says it will use the funding to scale sales and outreach efforts and prioritize R&D with vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) technology partnerships.
China Roundup: Beijing takes aim at algorithm, Xiaomi automates electric cars
Hello and welcome back to TechCrunch’s China roundup, a digest of recent events shaping the Chinese tech landscape and what they mean to people in the rest of the world. The biggest news of the week again comes from Beijing’s ongoing effort to dampen the influence of the country’s tech giants. Regulators are now going after […]
Tesla wants to sell electricity in Texas
Elon Musk’s Tesla is looking beyond electric vehicles, solar panels and energy storage and wants to now supply electricity directly to customers, according to an application filed with Texas electricity regulators earlier this month. Energy Choice Matters first reported on the application. The application, filed with the Public Utilities Commission of Texas on August 16, […]
YC grad Buoyant wants to solve middle-mile delivery with cargo airships
Buoyant says its hybrid design solves the notoriously difficult problem of dropping off cargo – difficult because as airships offload weight, they risk shooting back up into the air.
Cruise is buying solar energy from California farmers to power its electric, self-driving fleet
Cruise, the self-driving car company under General Motors, has launched a new initiative called Farm to Fleet that will allow the company to source solar power from farms in California’s Central Valley. The San Francisco Chronicle was the first to report the news that Cruise is directly purchasing renewable energy credits from Sundale Vineyards and […]