Notable reads and other tidbits
ADAS
Tesla shareholder and advocate Ross Gerber along with critic Dan O’Dowd recorded video of a ride in a Model S using its so-called Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta software. The plan, I presume, was for Gerber to convince O’Dowd, a billionaire who has called for a ban on the product, that FSD was safe. Welp, in this video you can see that didn’t happen and now it’s making its way around Twitter and other social media.
Specifically, the vehicle runs a stop sign and Gerber takes over, preventing a crash with another vehicle (and please readers, as someone who has repeatedly tested FSD, don’t try and argue it wasn’t engaged. It’s clear).
My question: will this video add momentum to efforts to regulate or restrict the use of FSD or will it simply fade into the ether?
Autonomous vehicle tech
Cartken says its sidewalk bots have surpassed more than 25,000 monthly deliveries. The company also said that it has reached new levels of autonomy that require “basically no intervention” and that make robot delivery profitable.
Cruise developed (and now launched) an Android app to support its robotaxi service. Apparently, more than 20% of people on its waitlist are Android users.
Kodiak Robotics signed a deal with Loadsmith, a marketplace that connects shippers and carriers, to put 800 Kodiak-equipped trucks on its platform. Reminder: In May 2022, Loadsmith secured 350 autonomous trucks through TuSimple, but canceled its order a few months later.
Parallel Domain, a San Francisco-based startup, launched a new API called Data Lab that gives machine-learning engineers control over dynamic virtual worlds to simulate any scenario.
TuSimple keeps ramping up in China. The company said it completed a series of fully autonomous semi-truck runs on public roads in China without a human present in the vehicle and without human intervention.
Electric vehicles, batteries & charging
China’s CATL signed a deal with Bolivia to tap the country’s lithium reserves.
Helixx is using Siemens’ open digital platform to design a highly-automated ‘factory in a box’ that can be built anywhere to assemble smaller, low-cost EVs, starting in large Asian cities. Careful, Helixx. Sounds a bit like Arrival’s microfactory plan.
Hyundai outlined an updated EV plan during its investor day, including plans to spend about $28.1 billion over the next decade on electrification, including $7.45 billion for batteries. The company also said it will launch a new EV platform that will replace the one currently on the Ioniq 5.
Fisker kicked off deliveries in the U.S. customers by handing over 22 vehicles Fisker Ocean One launch edition vehicles to customers.
Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) is gaining more ground. Rivian became the latest automaker to adopt NACS, following similar moves by Ford and General Motors. State governments are also getting on board. Texas said it will require EV charging companies to include Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) and the Combined Charging System (CCS) standard in order to qualify for a state program to electrify highways through federal funds. And, it looks like Washington might be next.
Volkswagen had a battery breakthrough. TC reporter Tim De Chant digs into the details and explains what it means for the automaker and industry.
Gig economy
Uber is doubling its advertising efforts. The ride-hail giant is partnering with Omnicom Media Group in a data collaboration that combines Uber’s mobility and delivery insights and audience data with Omnicom’s operating system.
In-car tech
Google is facing increased scrutiny in Germany as the country’s antitrust watchdog considers banning the company’s automotive services unit from bundling navigation and other in-car services.
OK, Forcite isn’t working on “in-car” tech, per se. But the startup has developed a smart helmet that integrates with an app and someday maybe even the motorcycle itself. Contributor Tim Stevens has the inside story on the company and how it’s seeking the success that one-time Indiegogo darling Skully squandered.
Polestar formed a joint venture with Xingji Meizu, a mobile phone and consumer electronics company, to build an operating system for Polestar cars sold in China. In the rest of the world, Polestar integrated Google’s Android Automotive OS into vehicles to power its infotainment systems.
Stellantis and Hon Hai Technology Group (more commonly known as Foxconn) created a joint venture called SiliconAuto that’s dedicated to designing and selling semiconductors to supply the automotive industry, including Stellantis, starting in 2026.
People
Chemix, the Silicon Valley battery developer, hired Praveen Sharma, a former Tesla operation leader, as its Chief Operating Officer.
Einride hired Henrik Green to head up its autonomous technologies division. Green previously served as chief technology officer and chief product officer at Volvo Cars.
Grant Goodale, who co-founded of trucking marketplace startup Convoy with Dan Lewis, is leaving his executive position and will transition to an advisory role.
Lin-Hua Wu, the former VP of global communications at Google, was hired as senior vice president and chief communications officer at GM.
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