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 and welcome back to The Station, a weekly newsletter dedicated to all the ways people and packages move (today and in the future) from Point A to… Continue reading The Station: Aurora gets closer to a SPAC deal, Spin’s new strategy and Waymo One app numbers
Author: Tech Crunch Online News
4 women in engineering discuss harassment, isolation and perseverence
Women engineers often face workplace and career challenges that their male colleagues don’t because they remain a minority in the profession: Depending on how you count, women make up just 13% to 25% of engineering jobs. That inequity leads to a power imbalance, which can lead to toxic working environments. One of the more infamous… Continue reading 4 women in engineering discuss harassment, isolation and perseverence
Elon Musk officially hits the brakes on Tesla Model S Plaid+
Tesla CEO Elon has made it official and publicly cancelled plans to produce the Model S Plaid+, a supercharged version of the upcoming Plaid version of the electric vehicle that will be delivered to the first customers this month. Musk’s reason: Plaid is so good that another variant isn’t needed. “Model S goes to Plaid… Continue reading Elon Musk officially hits the brakes on Tesla Model S Plaid+
Cruise can now give passengers rides in driverless cars in California
Cruise, the autonomous vehicle subsidiary of GM that also has backing from SoftBank Vision Fund, Microsoft and Honda, has secured a permit that will allow the company to shuttle passengers in its test vehicles without a human safety operator behind the wheel. The permit, issued by the California Public Utilities Commission as part of its… Continue reading Cruise can now give passengers rides in driverless cars in California
Autonomous vehicle startup Aurora in final talks to merge with Reid Hoffman’s newest SPAC
Autonomous vehicle startup Aurora is close to finalizing a deal to merge with Reinvent Technology Partners Y, the newest special purpose acquisition company launched by LinkedIn co-founder and investor Reid Hoffman, Zynga founder Mark Pincus and managing partner Michael Thompson, according to several sources familiar with the talks. One of the sticking points is the… Continue reading Autonomous vehicle startup Aurora in final talks to merge with Reid Hoffman’s newest SPAC
Rebranded Toyota Ventures invests $300 million in emerging tech and carbon neutrality
Toyota AI Ventures, Toyota’s standalone venture capital fund, has dropped the “AI” and is reborn as, simply, Toyota Ventures. The fund is commemorating its new identity by investing an additional $300 million in emerging technologies and carbon neutrality via two early-stage funds: the Toyota Ventures Frontier Fund and the Toyota Ventures Climate Fund. The introduction… Continue reading Rebranded Toyota Ventures invests $300 million in emerging tech and carbon neutrality
Ford-owned Spin shakes up scooter business with new CEO, e-bikes and city strategy
Spin, the Ford-owned micromobility operator, has added a new CEO, launched a new strategy to capture market share and announced a plan to get back into bike share, although this time with an electric twist. The flurry of moves suggest that Spin is still trying to figure out the best path forward to push past… Continue reading Ford-owned Spin shakes up scooter business with new CEO, e-bikes and city strategy
Aurora brings in outsiders to boost safety efforts, public trust of driverless vehicles
Aurora, the autonomous vehicle company that acquired Uber ATG last year, has assembled a team of outside experts, shared new details about its operations in a self-assessment safety report and launched a website as part of a broader effort to win over consumers wary of the technology that they may someday share the road with, or… Continue reading Aurora brings in outsiders to boost safety efforts, public trust of driverless vehicles
Waymo’s driverless taxi service can now be accessed on Google Maps
Waymo One, the ride-hailing service that uses driverless vehicles in the suburbs of Phoenix, can now be accessed and booked through Google Maps. This will be the first fully autonomous ride-hailing option available in the app, which will roll out first to Android users, Waymo said Thursday. The team-up not only brings together two Alphabet… Continue reading Waymo’s driverless taxi service can now be accessed on Google Maps
Ford officially adds Maverick, a compact pickup truck, to its lineup
Ford is adding a new entry-level truck called Maverick to its lineup as the automaker seeks to offer pickups at every price level in this increasingly competitive market. The company said Thursday it will debut the vehicle June 8, including on its new Tiktok channel. The automaker tapped actress Gabrille Union to do the official… Continue reading Ford officially adds Maverick, a compact pickup truck, to its lineup