The same story has played out for decades. A startup blossoms and thrives under the leadership of a larger-than-life personality. A plateau soon follows. The company’s focus moves from introducing an endless string of new products to making sure what it is building meets the demands of customers. The honeymoon period ends and a new… Continue reading Elon Musk and Tesla need a Tim Cook
Author: Tech Crunch Online News
Waymo to begin charging for robotaxi rides in San Francisco
Waymo, the self-driving unit of Alphabet, has scored a permit with the California Public Utilities Commission that allows it to charge riders for ride-hailing trips in its autonomous vehicles in San Francisco. A human safety operator must be present, though, per the permit’s stipulations. Securing this permit from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is… Continue reading Waymo to begin charging for robotaxi rides in San Francisco
Lucid rolls back production goals even as demand for luxury EV rises
Earnings season rolled along today with notes from Lucid Motors’ fourth-quarter results. The company, like other electric vehicle (EV) companies, is nascent in revenue terms, albeit further along than some. The company publicly debuted as a SPAC company in July last year after merging with Churchill Capital IV. The company’s value has had a turbulent… Continue reading Lucid rolls back production goals even as demand for luxury EV rises
Cruise co-founder Kyle Vogt retakes CEO spot after GM exec’s sudden departure
Kyle Vogt, who co-founded Cruise and ran the startup for years following GM’s acquisition in 2016, is back in charge. Vogt made the announcement Monday via a tweet. The formal announcement comes more than three months after Cruise CEO Dan Ammann, a longtime executive at GM who had been tapped as CEO in 2018, suddenly… Continue reading Cruise co-founder Kyle Vogt retakes CEO spot after GM exec’s sudden departure
Motional and Via launch free autonomous ride-hail service in Las Vegas
Motional, the Aptiv-Hyundai joint venture aiming to commercialize autonomous driving technology, has launched a new robotaxi service in Las Vegas with on-demand and transit tech service Via. The two companies, which first announced a partnership back in October 2020, will provide free rides in autonomous vehicles to members of the public in downtown Las Vegas.… Continue reading Motional and Via launch free autonomous ride-hail service in Las Vegas
Singapore-based micromobility startup Beam secures $93M Series B, enters new markets
Beam, a Singaporean shared micromobility operator, announced today that it has raised $93 million in a Series B round to accelerate growth into new countries in Asia. The fresh capital, which brings its total funding raised to $135 million, was led by Affirma Capital, with participation from Sequoia Capital India, Hana Ventures, ICT Capital, EDB… Continue reading Singapore-based micromobility startup Beam secures $93M Series B, enters new markets
Carvana acquires Adesa US auction business for $2.2B to jump-start used car sales
Carvana, the online used car marketplace, has agreed to buy Kar Global’s Adesa U.S. auction subsidiary for $2.2 billion in cash, an acquisition aimed at adding another revenue stream as well as a network of physical sites that could help bolster operations. The acquisition announcement, which was made alongside a fourth-quarter earnings report, marks a transition… Continue reading Carvana acquires Adesa US auction business for $2.2B to jump-start used car sales
Nikola reports EV truck progress, stiff losses as it closes out turbulent 2021
Nikola Corp., the electric truck startup that went public via a SPAC, is coming closer to commercial activity after a history of over-promising, missed deadlines and investigations into its founder for lying to investors. In its fourth-quarter earnings report released Thursday, Nikola ticked off a number of recent milestones and, critically, its plans to begin… Continue reading Nikola reports EV truck progress, stiff losses as it closes out turbulent 2021
Waymo to keep robotaxi safety details secret, court rules
Waymo, the autonomous driving arm of Alphabet, was granted a win on Tuesday when a California court ruled it could keep certain details regarding its AV technology secret. The company filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Motor Vehicles in late January in order to keep some information about its autonomous vehicle deployment permit,… Continue reading Waymo to keep robotaxi safety details secret, court rules
To combat chip shortage, Bosch to invest $296M to produce semiconductors
Bosch is increasing its previously stated investment in semiconductor production in order to stay on top of the ongoing chip shortage. The company is adding an additional $296 million, on top of the $473 million Bosch already pledged to spend in 2022 last year, to new manufacturing facilities. Most of last year’s capital was earmarked… Continue reading To combat chip shortage, Bosch to invest $296M to produce semiconductors