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We’re just two days past the election, and there is already a ton of speculation about what another Trump presidency will mean for transportation and tech — as well as adjacent sectors, like energy and climate. It will take months for many of these questions to be answered, and we’ll be watching and reporting on how the future of transportation may be affected.
In these early days, we have produced a few pieces that explore who stands to win or lose and how certain sectors might navigate the change in administration at the executive and legislative branches. TC reporter Tim De Chant provided a bit of analysis on why it might be hard for President-elect Trump to unwind the Inflation Reduction Act, and reporter Rebecca Bellan looked at what the win could mean for Elon Musk and his companies, including Tesla, SpaceX, and X.
A little bird
A little bird told us that Tesla has definitely scrapped its $25,000 EV and replaced it with the robotaxi. The pivot, which happened in April when Musk declared Tesla would unveil its robotaxi this year, came as a surprise to many Tesla employees who had been excited about building a cheaper EV that their kids could one day afford. That shift in strategy, coupled with the mass layoffs earlier this year, led to low morale among staff and even some exits. But our little bird says morale is slowly improving.
In other little bird news …
A few little birds told us that EV startup Canoo was struggling with executives leaving and more furloughs. Days later, and before this newsletter was ready to ship, our information was verified in a regulatory filing: the CFO and general counsel have left, and it furloughed 30 workers, among other troubling moves.
Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at [email protected], Sean O’Kane at [email protected], or Rebecca Bellan at [email protected]. Or check out these instructions to learn how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.
Deals!
Beta Technologies, the startup developing electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, had a doozy of a funding round — 318 million big ones, and yes I mean dollars. The Series C funding round was led by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund. Fidelity, TPG, and United Therapeutics, which is also a customer, joined the round. This pushes Beta’s total funding past $1 billion. No word on the valuation.
As Rebecca Bellan noted in an article earlier this year, Beta doesn’t want to operate its own urban air taxi network. Rather, Beta has positioned itself as the OEM that will sell aircraft and charging solutions to a host of customers. The company has secured customers across defense, cargo delivery, and medical logistics — like United Therapeutics, UPS, Air New Zealand, and the U.S. Air Force — with a plan to launch in those markets by 2025.
Other deals that got my attention …
DeepRoute.ai, the Shenzhen-based autonomous driving technology startup, raised $100 million from Great Wall Motor. Those funds are meant to help DeepRoute get its automated driving systems into as many vehicles in China before Tesla takes off next year.
Last week we reminded you of Waymo closing a $5.6 billion round from parent company Alphabet. Welp, Bloomberg sniffed out the valuation, which is now $45 billion, according to their sources.
Vanguard revised its valuation of Indian ride-hailing startup Ola to about $2 billion as of the end of August.
Xavveo, an autonomous vehicle sensor technology startup, raised $8.6 million in a seed round co-led by Vsquared Ventures and imec.xpand.
Notable reads and other tidbits
Autonomous vehicles
Lyft announced three separate partnerships — with startup May Mobility, automated driving company Mobileye, and smart dashcam firm Nexar — all aimed at establishing a foothold in the emerging autonomous vehicle market. Uber and Lyft making all of these partnerships brings me back to the heady AV hype days of 2017 and 2018.
Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries
Ford said it will pause production of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup starting in mid-November for almost two months as it struggles with decreased demand, increased competition, and losses in its electric vehicle business.
Kia unveiled an EV camper concept that it describes as the “ideal escape pod,” Ars Technica reported.
In-car tech and software
Reporter Sean O’Kane spoke to Rivian’s chief of software Wassym Bensaid on the sidelines of TechCrunch Disrupt and learned he is working on a third-party developer ecosystem that will bring more apps to the vehicle infotainment system.
This week’s wheels
This week I am turning to a handful of TechCrunch staff members who had their first Waymo rides while in San Francisco for Disrupt 2024. I’ve been in loads of autonomous vehicles, including driverless Waymos, so I thought it would be fun to share a first-timer’s view.
Venture reporter Dominic-Madori Davis said, “I thought I would hate the Waymo, but I didn’t. It drove like my mother. Quite cautious, very slow. I felt as safe as I could in a driverless car and frankly loved not having to chat about the weather.”
AI and enterprise reporter Kyle Wiggers said it was “nerve-wracking, especially when other cars would overtake us. Sitting shotgun, the whole experience felt unnerving. I kept expecting the worst.” I asked him if he would take another Waymo and his response was, “Yes, but warily.”
Venture editor Julie Bort went on three rides. She noted that her first ride was a bit scary because it “swerved a bit unsteadily in a tight lane next to a row of parked cars.” It also didn’t turn right on red, which caused some honking from frustrated humans. She also noted that sometimes the prices were far higher than what an Uber would charge and the drop-off spots were odd and around the corner.
“All in all, it was a fun experience, and if the car remains as affordable as other ride-shares, I would do it regularly,” Bort told me. “But, while it solved one safety issue, it introduced others.”
Reporter Amanda Silberling said: “Waymo is like a roller coaster. It’s fun because it feels a little bit dangerous, but like a roller coaster, you know that it’s been tested ad nauseam, so it’s probably fine? If I weren’t on a work trip with a corporate card, I don’t know if I could see myself using it, because in a lot of cases, it was more expensive than an Uber. I am generally surprised by how safe I felt on my Waymo rides, even though when I told my friends I was in a Waymo, they made me promise to text them when I arrived at my destination safely. It’s the same way my friends would react if I were alone on the subway after midnight.”
What is “This week’s wheels”? It’s a chance to learn about the different transportation products we’re testing, whether it’s an electric or hybrid car, an e-bike, or even a ride in an autonomous vehicle.
