Transportation

Billionaire founder of Luminar replaced as CEO following ethics inquiry

Austin Russell, who became a billionaire after his lidar startup Luminar went public, appears to be out as CEO, according to the company’s board. Luminar’s board announced Wednesday — the same day of its first-quarter earnings report — it had replaced Russell and appointed Paul Ricci to the role. Ricci is the former chairman and […]

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Waymo recalls 1,200 robotaxis following low-speed collisions with gates and chains

Waymo issued a software recall on 1,200 self-driving vehicles after some of its robotaxis were involved in minor collisions with gates, chains, and other gate-like roadway objects. The software update, which was first reported by Reuters, was conducted late last year, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Alphabet-owned company

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Uber to introduce fixed-route shuttles in major US cities designed for commuters

Ride-hail and delivery giant Uber is introducing cheap, fixed-route rides along busy corridors during weekday commute hours in major U.S. cities – one solution to a world that feels, for most people, more expensive everyday.  Starting Wednesday, riders in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco will be able to save

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Elon Musk’s The Boring Company might be in line for an Amtrak contract

Federal railroad regulators are in talks with Elon Musk’s tunneling firm, The Boring Company (TBC), over a multi-billion Amtrak project, according to The New York Times.  Citing sources familiar with the matter, the NYT reports that Federal Railroad Administration officials have spoken with TBC to learn whether the Musk-owned company could save the agency money

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Vertical Aerospace has a plan to capitalize on Europe’s defense tech moment

Russia’s war in Ukraine and President Donald Trump’s reluctance to support NATO allies has led to a boost in funding for European defense tech. And across industries, startups are leveraging the opportunity. One such company could be UK-based startup Vertical Aerospace, which is developing eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft mainly for air taxi

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Tesla’s robotaxi plans have the attention of federal investigators

Federal safety investigators have sent Tesla a detailed list of questions on its upcoming robotaxi service as part of an investigation into how the company’s “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” software operates in low-visibility conditions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation wants the additional information about Full Self-Driving (Supervised) — or “FSD” —

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Slate Auto crosses 100,000 refundable reservations in two weeks

Buzzy new EV startup Slate Auto has racked up more than 100,000 reservations for its customizable low-cost electric pickup truck, the company has confirmed to TechCrunch. Slate crossed the milestone over the weekend, just a little more than two weeks after coming out of stealth mode and unveiling the truck at an event in Los

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GM taps Aurora co-founder for new chief product officer role

General Motors has turned to Sterling Anderson, a veteran of the autonomous vehicle industry, to oversee its entire product line of gas-powered and electric vehicles, in a newly created job that will touch nearly every department at the U.S. automaker. The new VP of global product and chief product officer position will cover the entire

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TechCrunch Mobility: Tesla denied ‘Robotaxi’ trademark, Aurora loses a co-founder, and tariffs start to take a toll

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! Remember last week when Aurora met a major milestone — just squeaking by under its own deadline — and launched a driverless self-driving truck service? Welp, this

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Aurora to add night driving, new routes as it ramps driverless trucking

Autonomous vehicle technology company Aurora Innovation plans to expand on the success of its first driverless commercial launch and add night driving to its operations. Aurora said Thursday in the second half of 2025 it will start sending its self-driving trucks out at night and during adverse weather conditions like rain or heavy wind. The

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