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Robotaxis are right here! And but, they’re not.
That contradiction neatly captures Waymo’s present actuality. Anybody strolling round San Francisco might fairly declare that robotaxis have arrived. However arrival, even at scale, doesn’t assure permanence. Such is the dogged risk hanging over each firm attempting to commercialize autonomous automobiles.
Waymo paused operations in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio as a result of its robotaxis are struggling to take care of heavy rain and flooded roads — and particularly figuring out when to not enter them. As I ready to ship this article, we discovered the corporate prolonged that to Austin and Nashville as properly. It’s been a persistent drawback for Waymo, which prompted the company to subject a recall final week.
In the identical week, Waymo halted robotaxi operations on freeways in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami as it really works to enhance efficiency in development zones.
For now, the arrival of robotaxis is conditional. That doesn’t imply this conditional standing will final perpetually, but it surely’s a reminder that launching commercially is just not mission completed. Waymo — arguably the chief in industrial robotaxi ridership and fleet dimension — is within the thick of that course of. For each new metropolis it enters or functionality it unlocks, a brand new edge case is found.
Situationship or corporationmaxxing?
I’m ditching my “Little hen” part this week to dive into SpaceX, its IPO, and the situationship within the Elon Musk enterprise universe.
I usually don’t dedicate an excessive amount of house on this publication to house. Heh. However the SpaceX IPO filing dropped this week, and the person at its helm can also be deeply tied to Tesla. So, right here we’re, speaking about house and, extra particularly, how Elon Musk makes use of assets from one firm to service one other.
The interconnected nature of Tesla and SpaceX isn’t a secret; Tesla is a publicly traded firm and does disclose monetary transactions with different Musk-affiliated entities. This new IPO submitting does the identical and with a bit extra element. And now that Musk’s firm xAI has merged with SpaceX, the IPO places all of those transactions underneath one firm.
For instance, SpaceX bought $506 million of Tesla’s industrial vitality storage merchandise, referred to as Megapack, in 2025 — almost a threefold improve from the earlier yr. SpaceX additionally purchased $131 million of Cybertrucks final yr. SpaceX paid Musk’s infrastructure agency, The Boring Firm, $1 million to assemble tunnels in Bastrop, Texas. Musk’s social media firm X, which was acquired by xAI final yr and has since merged with SpaceX, additionally spent $1 million leasing house from The Boring Firm.
Then there may be Tesla’s funding in xAI. Following SpaceX’s acquisition of xAI, that funding was transformed into an fairness curiosity in SpaceX.
These prices will seemingly be eclipsed by two future SpaceX-Tesla initiatives: constructing Terafab, a chip-manufacturing facility, and Macrohard, an AI platform the 2 firms are creating that may use autonomous brokers to reinforce the work of people.
All of this results in my query for you. Will SpaceX and Tesla merge?
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For different SpaceX protection, take a look at these tales:
Everything in the SpaceX IPO filing
A breakdown of how Elon Musk increased his power
Who will benefit most?
xAI burned through $6.4B last year
xAI keeps turning to gas turbines to power data centers
Offers!
Aboard, a Southern California-based startup creating extended-range electrical journey trailers, raised $13 million in a pre-Sequence A spherical led by Ondine Capital and Llama Ventures. Enjoyable truth: The corporate employed Richard Kim — an automotive designer identified for his work on the BMW i3 and i8 and as co-founder of the defunct EV startup Canoo — as a marketing consultant.
Quartermaster, an Arlington, Virginia-based startup creating a distributed sensing community for ships, raised $43 million in a Sequence A funding spherical co-led by First Spherical Capital and Quiet Capital.
Could Mobility, an autonomous car know-how startup, fashioned a strategic agreement with Ecarx, an automotive tech firm backed by Geely founder Li Shufu. Underneath the deal, Ecarx will provide Could Mobility with hundreds of purpose-built robotaxi automobiles. The businesses plan to associate with a 3rd get together to initially deploy the AVs subsequent yr and scale to commercialization by 2028. The overall worth of the challenge is estimated to be about $750 million over its whole length.
Scapia, an Indian journey reserving startup, raised $63 million in a funding spherical led by Normal Catalyst, with present buyers Peak XV Companions and Z47 additionally collaborating.
Uber elevated its stake and now owns 19.5% of German meals supply firm Supply Hero, Bloomberg reported.
Notable reads and different tidbits
Bryan Reimer, a analysis scientist at MIT, shared his recent presentation on AI and the way its future is determined by human habits, governance, and belief.
The global EV economy is K-shaped, and that is the nation that’s being left behind.
Lyft published a blog that lays out the corporate’s place on autonomous automobiles. In its view — and one that’s just like rival Uber — a ride-hailing service requires human drivers and robotic ones. This is sensible politically; Lyft doesn’t need to rattle its human gig employees. It additionally displays the realities of the place robotaxis are, when it comes to scale. The upshot: Robotaxis will not be part of each day life for most individuals in america.
Self-driving tech startup Nuro employed Michael Mancini as its chief financial officer. Mancini was beforehand CFO at Vitality Restoration, Astranis Area Applied sciences, and Aerion Supersonic.
Stellantis, the automaker behind the Jeep and Ram manufacturers, has tapped self-driving startup Wayve to deliver hands-free driving to its automobiles in 2028. In the meantime, Stellantis unveiled its $70 billion turnaround plan, which incorporates 11 new fashions for North America — and even some Chryslers!
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) driver-assistance software program is now out there in Lithuania. That is the second European nation to approve its use. Reminder: Making FSD out there in Europe is vital to Tesla’s and CEO Elon Musk’s ambitions. It’s additionally financially essential for Musk, whose $1 trillion pay package is tied to hitting plenty of product targets, together with hitting “10 million lively FSD subscriptions” by 2035.
A San Francisco physician who sued Waymo as a result of its identity-verification system misidentified him as a terrorist dropped the lawsuit after the corporate resolved the problem.
Another factor …
The final time I used to be in a Nissan Leaf was two years in the past after I check drove a 2024 Nissan Leaf SV Plus, which value $37,815 (together with the vacation spot payment). And on the time, I described the expertise as a combined bag. I not too long ago obtained again in a single, this time a 2026 Nissan Leaf Platinum+, priced at $42,635, together with vacation spot costs and a few particular add-ons like two-tone paint and the ground mat bundle.
This mannequin, the third technology of the Leaf, had an improved EPA estimated vary of 259 miles (and a few variations go above 300 miles). However that wasn’t the primary improve I observed. This new Leaf had a lighter, extra trendy, dare I say upscale, inside cabin. I gained’t fairly say “modern,” but it surely was gratifying and a notable improve. (Discover the cool lighting at evening within the image above?) My model, which must be famous was the highest trim, got here with a wi-fi phone-charging pad, dimming panoramic roof, a heads-up show, and an extended, curved 14.3-inch central display.
Final time, I complained in regards to the lack of tech for a car priced above $30,000 — like a backup digicam with excessive decision. There are a number of notable enhancements that come commonplace and proper my earlier criticism, together with a 360-degree digicam, wi-fi Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, and adaptive cruise management. This time round, I used to be glad to get again in a Nissan Leaf.
Acquired a tip for us? Electronic mail Kirsten Korosec at [email protected] or my Sign at kkorosec.07, or e-mail Sean O’Kane at [email protected].
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