Autonomous – Page 2544 – I wish I had more to offer

Aurora and FCA US to collaborate on self-driving commercial vehicle platforms

Aurora and FCA US to collaborate on self-driving commercial vehicle platforms Aurora TeamBlockedUnblockFollowFollowing Jun 9 Automakers are an important partner to Aurora as we develop the Aurora Driver and the products and services it will power. Our work with them focuses on preparing their vehicles with the interfaces the Aurora Driver requires to safely operate… Continue reading Aurora and FCA US to collaborate on self-driving commercial vehicle platforms

On the road to self-driving trucks, Starsky Robotics built a traditional trucking business

More than three years ago, self-driving trucks startup Starsky Robotics was founded to solve a fundamental issue with freight — a solution that CEO Stefan Seltz-Axmacher believes hinges on getting the human driver out from behind the wheel. But a funny thing happened along the way. Starsky Robotics started a regular ol’ trucking company. Now,… Continue reading On the road to self-driving trucks, Starsky Robotics built a traditional trucking business

GM executive: Electric pickup will be built on EV-specific platform

General Motors president Mark Reuss confirmed Thursday that the company has an all-electric pickup in development and says it will be based on the company's BEV3 platform, expected to debut in a new Cadillac SUV sometime after 2023.

That chassis will be similar to the “skateboard” chassis that GM developed for its Autonomy concept car back in 2002, which included batteries and electric motors on a platform chassis that could accept a variety of car body styles.

Reuss made the comments at the UBS Global Industrials and Transportation Conference on Thursday, according to a report in WardsAuto. “We will have a complete electric lineup, including a pickup truck that’s in development,” he said.

“We can build everything on this (platform) from just three drive units: front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive or e-all-wheel drive. This architecture is the canvas on which we will paint a profitable EV program,” he said.

Also Reuss stopped short of saying whether the pickup itself would be built using the same skateboard platform in a traditional sense (of body, and frame, and suspension), the statements confirm that the company is seeking to use the same battery technology and power units across its range.

GM is scrambling to keep up with the likes of startup automaker Rivian—which has revealed an all-electric pickup it is developing to go on sale in 2021 with 400 miles of range and potentially more with optional range-extending auxiliary batteries—and with cross-town rival Ford, which announced a few months earlier that it also developing an all-electric F-150, and which bought a $500 million stake in Rivian after a potential deal for GM to invest in the startup fell through. Ford has said its electric F-150 will be separate from the Rivian program.

Reuss expressed optimism about electric cars, saying the cost of building them will reach parity with internal combustion cars sooner than most people expect. “We’re going to reach parity a lot sooner than people think. (Internal combustion engine) compliance will become expensive. All these things and more will lead to greater consumer acceptance of EVs,” he said. “Plus, they are going to be great cars.”

At the Detroit auto show in January, Reuss announced that GM will shift the focus of its electric car efforts from Chevrolet to its luxury Cadillac brand with the BEV3 platform. The company's hope is to be able to charge more for electric cars to make them profitable. With Cadillac the focus of GM's electric car sales starting around 2023, it's not clear how long after that an electric pickup might follow, since it would likely be badged a GMC or a Chevrolet. At the earliest, it seems GM's electric pickup might appear in 2024.

In the meantime, GM is developing a new SUV based on the current Chevy Bolt EV, on GM's BEV2 platform, which will see it through at least 2022.

Startup Unveils Freakish-Looking Flying Car With Folding Wings

Turning Heads On Friday, CNET published an exclusive first look at startup New Future Transportation’s flying car, and it is wild. In driving mode, the Aska looks something like what might happen if the Batmobile and a Delorean had a baby. But when it’s time to fly, the car gets even weirder — by unfolding… Continue reading Startup Unveils Freakish-Looking Flying Car With Folding Wings

Hyundai Mobis Expands Its Global Base for Open Innovation

SEOUL, South Korea–(BUSINESS WIRE)–On the 4th, Hyundai Mobis (KRX:012330), which is strengthening its open cooperation with other entities in preparation for a paradigm shift to future vehicles, announced the launch of M. Cube in China’s Shenzhen, a mecca for Chinese start-ups. M. Cube is the name of Hyundai Mobis’s open innovation center intended to discover… Continue reading Hyundai Mobis Expands Its Global Base for Open Innovation

Cohda Wireless and Sasken partner to accelerate the adoption of V2X in connected vehicles

Cohda Wireless, a Connected Autonomous Vehicles technologies provider, and Sasken Technologies Ltd, an engineering and digital transformation services provider, announced a strategic technology partnership to accelerate the adoption of V2X (vehicle-to-anything) in the connected vehicles space utilizing either cellular or DSRC (dedicated short range communication) technologies. The companies have come together to create a complete TCU… Continue reading Cohda Wireless and Sasken partner to accelerate the adoption of V2X in connected vehicles

Ford proposing autonomous mail truck tech to the USPS

Ford is one of the finalists vying for a $6.3 billion contract to build the next generation U.S. Postal Service delivery truck, and it’s already thinking about taking them to the next level.The USPS recently launched a two-week trial of a self-driving semi-truck developed by TuSimple that made five deliveries between its processing centers in Phoenix and Dallas.As far as the conventional trucks are concerned, Ford has partnered with Oshkosh on a Ford Transit-based vehicle to replace the iconic Grumman LLV, but is keeping details close to the vest, as are the other four bidders.

Self-driving delivery van startup Gatik AI comes out of stealth with Walmart partnership

Gatik AI, an autonomous vehicle startup that came out of stealth Thursday with $4.5 million in funding and Walmart as a customer, is aiming for the sweet middle spot in the world of logistics. The company, which operates out of Palo Alto and Toronto, isn’t deploying autonomous delivery bots built for sidewalks, nor is it… Continue reading Self-driving delivery van startup Gatik AI comes out of stealth with Walmart partnership

GM’s Cruise Is Valued At $19 Billion — Does That Make Any Sense?

Invest
Electric Cars
Electric Car Benefits
Electric Car Sales
Solar Energy Rocks
RSS
Advertise
Privacy Policy

Autonomous Vehicles

Published on June 6th, 2019 |

by Zachary Shahan

GM’s Cruise Is Valued At $19 Billion — Does That Make Any Sense?

Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook

June 6th, 2019 by Zachary Shahan

The self-driving vehicle startup Cruise that GM acquired in 2016 was recently valued at $19 billion after another round of investments.

That puts Cruise’s valuation at more than half the value of Tesla, and 38% the value of GM as a whole (as of this moment).

That implies, of course, that certain portions of the investment world expect a lot from Cruise, and think it is well on its way to a promising future.

I find the whole thing tremendously interesting. I understand that some auto industry players think Cruise as the perfect approach to autonomous driving, but others think it has fatal flaws and will never outcompete what Tesla is developing. Fine and good — there are differences of opinion in the auto world, and more specifically in a burgeoning new new industry that most consider to be the future. But it still blows my mind a little bit that very little money is invested in the idea Tesla is the world’s autonomous driving leader while Cruise is being valued at $19 billion.

First, though, a few more details on the news. GM raised “an equity investment of $1.15 billion from a group comprising institutional investors, including funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and existing partners General Motors, SoftBank Vision Fund and Honda.” The result: “This investment increases Cruise’s post-money valuation to $19.0 billion, inclusive of SoftBank Vision Fund’s previously announced investment commitment. In the last year, Cruise has secured capital commitments totaling $7.25 billion.”

From what I’ve gathered, Cruise’s autonomous driving architecture is much more similar to Waymo’s than Tesla’s. We’ve never done a deep dive on Cruise versus Tesla Autopilot/Full Self Driving, but we have published these comparisons of Tesla’s system with Waymo’s:

Tesla Autopilot Hits 1 Billion Miles! & Why Tesla Autopilot Is The Top Approach To Autonomy
Deep Dive Into Tesla’s Autopilot & Self-Driving Architecture vs Lidar-Based Systems

Aside from those, the following may bring some useful light to the overall story:

Tesla vs. Self-Driving Competition — New MIT Video
Elon Musk Calls Lidar “A Fool’s Errand” … & Other Autonomous Driving Experts Starting To Agree
Tesla Autopilot Miles Soaring
Tesla Autonomy Day: What We Learned
Tesla Autonomy Day Video & Dozens Of Quotes

See more in our Tesla Autonomy Day archives.

Is Cruise worth $19 billion? Well, I certainly couldn’t tell you. Should it be worth $19 billion when Wall Street hardly values Tesla’s autonomous driving leadership? Well, that seems crazy to me, but such is the market today.

About the Author

Zachary Shahan Zach is tryin' to help society help itself (and other species). He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director and chief editor. He's also the president of Important Media and the director/founder of EV Obsession and Solar Love. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, and Canada.

Zach has long-term investments in TSLA, FSLR, SPWR, SEDG, & ABB — after years of covering solar and EVs, he simply has a lot of faith in these particular companies and feels like they are good cleantech companies to invest in. But he offers no professional investment advice and would rather not be responsible for you losing money, so don't jump to conclusions.

Intern OpportunitiesWe Need You! Internship Program Openings
Advertisement

Advertise with CleanTechnica to get your company in front of millions of monthly readers.

CleanTechnica Clothing & Cups

Apple reportedly exploring acqui-hire of self-driving startup Drive.ai

Apple is potentially seeking to acquire Silicon Valley autonomous driving startup Drive.ai, according to a new report from The Information. The report describes the acquisition as in process, and says it will be an “acqui-hire,” which means its primary goal is to bring in the talent of Drive.ai — with presumably special focus on the… Continue reading Apple reportedly exploring acqui-hire of self-driving startup Drive.ai