Notable news and other tidbits
Tesla needs a Tim Cook
This week, Roberto Baldwin wrote about why Tesla needs a Tim Cook, and the article is worth its own shoutout. Baldwin argues that larger-than-life personalities get seriously disruptive companies, like Tesla or Apple, off the ground and sometimes even into the stratosphere. But when the honeymoon period ends and the business becomes about, well, running a business, the egos that made the company great could very well also dismantle it. Hence the need for a steady captain at the helm. Baldwin writes:
Right now, there is no heir apparent within the Tesla hierarchy. No one is poised to take over if CEO (and Technoking of Tesla) Elon Musk decides to call it quits and focus on some of his other companies or his music career. Tesla is Musk. His hands are in everything.
He dismantled the PR department and is disseminating company news via Twitter. Adding the Falcon Wing doors to the Model X was his last-minute idea. He was adamant that the company could build a car factory that was almost entirely automated. He also implemented the ability to pay with cryptocurrency, then took the option away, and then reintroduced it for Tesla vehicles and services.
Musk admits that he drives most new programs at the company, “not because I want to, but because I have to.” That deep level of involvement early on in a company’s history is helpful. But if the future of the company relies on building quality products, one person ruling over everything can be disastrous.
Autonomous vehicles
Autonomous trucking startup TuSimple switched things up at the executive table. This week, co-founder and CTO Xiaodi Hou succeeded Cheng Lu as president and CEO and succeed Mo Chen as Chairman of the Board. Apparently it’s all part of a planned succession as the company moves to the next phase of commercializing L4 autonomous trucking tech.
In more executive news, Cruise co-founder Kyle Vogt has retaken his spot as CEO of the company follow the unexpected departure of Dan Ammann, who was ousted in December.
Waymo has scored a permit with the California Public Utilities Commission that will allow it to charge riders for drivered (meaning a safety operator is still present) robotaxi rides in San Francisco.
Argo AI has confirmed that it is test driving autonomous vehicles in Nashville — but they’re not driving them in AV mode just yet. For the moment, they’re driving them around for mapping purposes, but mapping is a key step on the way to actual autonomous testing.
Electric vehicles
Rivian angered customers by hiking the price of its electric R1T pickup truck from $67,500 to about $79,000 and R1S SUV from $70,000 to $84,000. The EV company blamed inflation, the increased cost of raw materials and parts and the prolonged chip shortage. Then it sort of walked back on it. CEO RJ Scaringe issued a statement modifying the planned price increase, promising customers who placed their preorder for either vehicle prior to March 1 that their original price will be honored, and offering to restore any preorders from customers who cancelled as a result of the planned change.
Stellantis rolled out a new plan that would see it double its revenue by 2030 while maintaining high profit margins as it starts electrifying its car models. The automaker also revealed its first fully electric version of a Jeep SUV.
Ford is increasing its electric vehicle investment to $50 billion through 2026, up from $30 billion by 2025. The company also announced a restructuring that would see its EV unit run as a separate business than its internal combustion engine unit. The former will henceforth be named Ford Model e, and the latter Ford Blue.
Polestar unveiled its latest EV idea: the Polestar O2 convertible concept, a four-door sports car with an integrated drone so drivers can film themselves for the ‘gram.
Tesla has tapped Panasonic to start mass production of a higher-capacity battery by March 2024.
Lucid Motors held its 2021 Q4 and full year earnings call, which revealed the company is still battling to get its Lucid Air to production. The new 2022 guidance promised a range of 12,000 to 14,000 units produced, which is down from the 20,000 the company had previously promised. Reservations continue to climb, though, with a total of 25,000 to date.
Arcimoto is launching a last-mile delivery pilot program with Directed Technologies in Australia to introduce its ultra-efficient Fun Utility Vehicle and Deliverator vehicles.
Hyundai Motor Company is planning to invest about $79.21 billion through 2030, which includes a $16.1 billion investment towards electric vehicle related businesses.
Struggling EV company Lordstown Motors lost General Motors as an investor when the auto giant pulled its 5% stake in the company, which equates to roughly $75 million. The news followed an unimpressive earnings call for Lordstown.
Volvo is testing wireless EV charging with a small fleet of electric Volvo XC40 Recharge cars that will be used as taxis in Sweden as part of a three-year pilot.
Sony and Honda have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore their intent to build a joint venture focused on the development and sales of new electric vehicles, as well as a new “mobility service platform.”
Miscellaneous
Tortoise, a startup that began in 2019 with a mission to rebalance scooters for shared operators like Spin and shifted last year to robotic last-mile sidewalk delivery, is pivoting yet again in a new direction: mobile smart stores. The startup plans to launch 30 smart stores with SMBs that will function like fancy vending machines and allow businesses to grow their top line revenue easily, with Tortoise taking a 10% cut of gross sales.
Uber has launched a feature in select markets that allows customers to browse and book experiences like dinner reservations or live events through the app, and then be ferried there via the ride-hail service. The aim is to get people riding out more, similar to how Michelin Tires created its restaurant guidebook to incentivize potential car owners to hit the road.
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