Notable reads and other tidbits
Autonomous vehicles
Argo AI’s lidar unit, an 80-person team and the lidar tech they developed, is being shopped around by Ford and VW. The two automakers, which plowed $3.6 billion into Argo AI and then abruptly pulled support and shut it down, are looking to squeeze any remaining value out of the AV company.
Aurora said in its Q3 earnings it will have enough money to continue to develop its autonomous vehicle technology until its commercial launch in mid-2024 — an effort to assuage shareholders amid a tightening capital market and a week after competitor Argo AI suddenly shut down. But wait! Aurora said it will have to go raise capital; the company didn’t share when that will need to happen.
Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt tweeted that its driverless robotaxi service is expanding to most of San Francisco. This expanded area is only available to employees for now.
Embark Trucks shared a future coverage map, which includes nine transfer point sites in Dallas, El Paso, Atlanta, and Jacksonville, to accommodate future and planned autonomous freight volume.
Waymo also expanded its robotaxi service in downtown Phoenix to now include pickups and drop-offs at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. (Technically, it’s to the 44th Street Sky Train station, which is the outermost stop on the airport train and brings people directly to terminals) Waymo’s airport rides, which are only open to the “trusted tester” program for now, will initially use a human safety operator.
XPeng received a permit to begin testing its G9 electric SUV as an autonomous vehicle on public roads in Guangzhou. The company will begin testing a small fleet as soon as possible with a human safety operator in the driver’s seat.
Electric vehicles, batteries & charging
Arrival is in the thick of a restructuring — the second in six months — and has received a warning from the Nasdaq Stock Market that it could be delisted.
But that is just the tip of problems at the company, according to a recent piece by the Financial Times that describes a company struggling with setbacks, a recent vehicle fire witnessed by its largest customer, and a distracting side-project to make an electric jet. Morale in parts of the company, writes reporter Peter Campbell, has sunk to “rock bottom.”
Fisker raised its manufacturing forecast two weeks before its first electric vehicle, the Ocean SUV, enters production. The automaker said it plans to produce 42,400 Ocean SUVs by the end of 2023, up from an initial forecast of 40,000, due to strong demand in the U.S. and Europe.
Harbinger Motors, a commercial EV company focused on medium-duty chassis platforms used in the RV industry, has partnered with RV manufacturing giant THOR Industries.
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has formed a joint venture with Foxconn to build and sell EVs. The new brand is called Ceer and will use BMW’s component tech/
In-car tech
Holoride is partnering with Audi to bring in-car VR to select 2023 models, including the Audi A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, Q5, Q7, Q7, Q8, Audi e-tron, Audi e-tron Sportback, Audi e-tron GT. The company said its product is available for purchase now in Germany and will be coming to the US market in early 2023.
Miscellaneous
Elon Musk’s Hyperloop prototype tunnel in Hawthorne, California has been removed at the city’s request.
New York Cruise Lines, in partnership with Green City Ferries, will launch the Beluga24, a high-speed electric passenger ferry, in spring 2024. It can hold 147 passengers and 28 bikes, and will operate under the New York Water Taxi brand running on the Hudson River between Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Weird cars are becoming the new normal, Tim Stevens writes for the Verge.
Ride- hailing
Lyft is laying off 13% of its workforce, or nearly 700 people, as it tries to reduce operating expenses.
Separately, the ride-hailing company said it is partnering with Hertz as part of its third-party rental scheme. Lyft users can now reserve Hertz vehicles at 1,300 locations nationwide from the Lyft app. When they do, they’ll get a $10 Lyft ride credit on for any rideshare, scooter or bike.
Uber’s new advertising division includes in-app ads, which aren’t staying within the app. Users are being inundated with push notifications highlighting ads from other companies.
People
Comma.ai founder George Hotz said he is taking “some time away” from the driver assistance system startup that promises to bring Tesla Autopilot-like functionality to your car. In a lengthy interview, Hotz gave me an update on Comma (which raised $10M last year) and what he plans to do next. He will remain its sole board member and president.
General Motors has named Mike Devereux as its new head of its OnStar in-vehicle safety, security and connectivity business. Devereux, who was one of the company’s top sales and marketing execs in China, is replacing Jeff Massimilla.
Harald Kroeger, former exec at Bosch and Daimler, has taken a post to lead the automotive division at AI company SiMa.ai.
TuSimple co-founder Xiaodi Hou was fired from his CEO, president and CTO posts by the autonomous trucking company’s board. Hou, who co-founded TuSimple in 2015 with Mo Chen, was also removed from his position as chairman of the board and member of the board’s government security committee.
The firing came a day after the WSJ published a report citing unnamed sources that TuSimple was facing concurrent probes by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Securities and Exchange Commission and Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS). The investigation is apparently focused on TuSimple’s relationship with Hydron, a hydrogen-powered trucking company led by TuSimple co-founder Chen and backed by Chinese investors.
Hou took to LinkedIn to defend himself, stating the board voted to remove him without cause.
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