Not quite a decade ago, two technologies were racing toward an unseen finish line. They weren’t competing with each other — the adoption of one didn’t lock out the other. But to avoid catastrophic climate consequences, the order of the finish mattered. Autonomous vehicles had to lose, and electric vehicles had to win. It wasn’t… Continue reading Autonomous driving’s blunders are good news for the climate
Author: Tech Crunch Online News
BrightDrop expands e-delivery van business to Canada with DHL Express
BrightDrop, General Motors’ electric delivery van subsidiary, added DHL Express Canada to its portfolio of customers, marking the company’s entrance into its first international market. BrightDrop has also started production on its Zevo 600 delivery vans (formerly called EV600) at GM’s CAMI Assembly plant in Ontario, the company said Monday at the plant’s grand opening.… Continue reading BrightDrop expands e-delivery van business to Canada with DHL Express
Loft Dynamics raises $20M to tackle pilot shortage with VR training
Loft Dynamics, a Swiss startup creating virtual reality (VR) simulation technology for helicopter pilots, has raised $20 million in funding from U.S. venture capital (VC) firms including David Sacks’ Craft Ventures, Sky Dayton, and Up Ventures. Alongside the funding, the company is also formally announcing its name-change from VRM Switzerland. Founded out of Zurich in… Continue reading Loft Dynamics raises $20M to tackle pilot shortage with VR training
Apple expands car key sharing, Bird charts out a strategy and layoffs come for Motional
The Station is a weekly newsletter dedicated to all things transportation. Sign up here — just click The Station — to receive the full edition of the newsletter every weekend in your inbox. This is a shorter version of The Station newsletter that is emailed to subscribers. Want all the deals, news roundups and commentary? Subscribe… Continue reading Apple expands car key sharing, Bird charts out a strategy and layoffs come for Motional
Taur’s Carson Brown on why owned scooters > shared scooters
Carson Brown, co-founder and head of product at electric scooter startup Taur, spent four years riding a self-balancing electric unicycle to work. Today, he rides a scooter multiple times a week. As a micromobility user, Brown has thought a lot about the design of light electric vehicles. What elements do they need to have to… Continue reading Taur’s Carson Brown on why owned scooters > shared scooters
Bird’s plan to stay in the shared scooter game
Shared micromobility company Bird has lost nearly all of its value since going public through a special purpose acquisition merger last year, falling from a 52-week high of $9.05 per share to around 23 cents per share this afternoon. In its short life on the public markets, Bird has garnered a reputation for burning through… Continue reading Bird’s plan to stay in the shared scooter game
Tesla reveals long-awaited Semi Truck and begins first deliveries
Tesla delivered Thursday evening the first production versions of its long-delayed electric semi truck five years after CEO Elon Musk revealed the commercial vehicle. The first Tesla Semi trucks were handed over to Pepsi at an event at the company gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada. Pepsi placed an order for 100 trucks back in December 2017, when… Continue reading Tesla reveals long-awaited Semi Truck and begins first deliveries
Boundary Layer pivots from container ships to hydrofoiling personal watercraft
Boundary Layer, which was gunning for local air freight, and announced a slew of launch partners earlier this year, today announced a shift in strategy, with some high-performance foiling personal watercraft. Think low-flying SeaDoo, and you’ve got the right idea. The new product is called Valo, and will be able to carry a couple of… Continue reading Boundary Layer pivots from container ships to hydrofoiling personal watercraft
Hyundai-backed AV startup Motional cuts workforce
Motional, the Aptiv-Hyundai joint venture developing autonomous vehicle technology, cut its workforce this week — the latest example of layoffs in the AV industry and more broadly in the tech sector. Employees were told of the layoffs Wednesday, according to sources who asked not to be named because they are not authorized to speak for… Continue reading Hyundai-backed AV startup Motional cuts workforce
Tesla offers $3,750 discount for Model 3, Model Y deliveries in December
Tesla is offering Model 3 and Model Y buyers in the U.S. a $3,750 credit if they have their vehicle delivered in December 2022, according to an update on the company’s inventory page and several posts on Reddit. Tesla didn’t share the reason for such generosity or publish the news widely — customers received the… Continue reading Tesla offers $3,750 discount for Model 3, Model Y deliveries in December