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Tesla CEO Elon Musk may explain a suboptimal position. He pushed shareholders vigorously to see Tesla as an AI and robotics company, not EVS manufacturers. Still, the company’s most visible product that generates a large portion of its revenue is electric vehicles.
Yes, Tesla EVs are making progress, especially when it comes to the underlying vehicle architecture and software. And the driver assistance system known as a fully autonomous driving supervision that can be used on highways and city streets requires you to hold your hands on the wheels. But for Musk, the ultimate illustrations of the AI and robotics company are self-driving cars and humanoid robots. And today neither of these exists on any scale.
The first notable step towards that goal for Tesla was in June when it launched its limited Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. Robotaxi branded vehicles that have invited customers can be called through the app, allowing Tesla employees to sit in the passenger seat. But that’s still far from the original vision of Mask, “a general solution” that allows Tesla owners to make money by renting cars as Robotaxi services.
The clock is ticking every moment, and musks need to show more progress. Or at least bullying upcoming releases to keep shareholder content. This is probably why Tesla is embarking on this on-board gambit in California.
Earlier this month, Musk pointed out that Tesla will launch a Robotaki service in the Bay Area “in a month or two.” Regulatory approval is a major hangup.
problem? Tesla has not applied for permission to enable the Robotaxi service to operate. I checked at the California DMV on a Friday morning. This regulates unattended testing, but Tesla has not yet applied to required permits. (The spokesman told me that DMV would meet with Tesla to discuss plans for a company to test self-driving cars in the state.)
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So instead, Tesla began riding services in the Bay Area. Yes, the user keeps calling these robotaxis.
To be clear, people including Musk’s brother and Tesla’s board member Kimbal Musk might call these Robotaxis, but they don’t drive autonomously. (And if that were the case, that would be a violation of current regulations.) Again, Tesla currently does not have permission to do more than pay its employees to use the Fleet of EVs to drive people around the Bay Area. There is no autonomous driving in any way. You can read the recent explanators here, explaining all the various permissions for Tesla needs.
Many people wonder about the launch of this ride, but what do you get? My answer: Optics.
Little bird
Recent chatter between some small birds suggests that the National Automobile Dealers Association is working on direct sales plans for the VW Group Spinout Scout and EV Company. Dealer industry groups have so far opposed the direct sales model. However, unlike direct sales employers Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid, Scouts are attached to legacy automakers with long-term dealer networks.
Any tips for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or send an email to kkorosec.07, sean o’kane (sean.okane@techcrunch.com, or rebecca bellan (rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com).
Great deal!
Remember the fall of 2023. LogisticsCompany Flexport was attracting the attention of Silicon Valley for its fallout with Dave Clark, the exiled CEO of founder Ryan Petersen, and for its acquisition of the convoy, a former freight technology unicorn that had just been closed.
This is the update. Flexport is currently selling its Optimus platform to DAT Freight & Analytics. The company said it provided “a large return on investment for Flexport,” but the terms remained private. A report from Dan Primack of Axios suggests that yes, “large returns” is in fact a proper explanation.
Flexport never disclosed exactly what it paid for convoy technology, but reports at the time had a figure of $16 million. This is part of Unicorn’s previous valuation of $3.8 billion. Primack reported this week that Flexport sold its convoy for $250 million.
Other deals that caught my eye this week…
Air, an Israel-based Startup Development Evtols, raised $23 million in a Series A funding round led by Antrée Capital, with participation from early Mobileye investor Dr. Shmuel Harlap.
LG Innotek, a component and materials subsidiary of South Korea’s LG Group, has invested up to $50 million in AEVA and has acquired approximately 6% stake in the US LIDAR company. The investment is part of a broader manufacturing partnership between the two companies, marking AEVA’s push towards home appliances, robotics and industrial automation.
Notable readings and other information
The boring company, Elon Musk’s tunnel excavator, is set to build a 10-mile “loop” connecting downtown Nashville and its convention center to the airport. Important Side Note: This is funded by a boring company and its unnamed private partner. And this is the beginning of the publishing process to evaluate the route. This means that work won’t start anytime soon.
Ford will reveal more information about future low-cost electric vehicles at an event in Kentucky on August 11th. Also, as senior reporter Sean Okane notes, the company speaks of a very big game.
Joby Aviation has signed a contract with defense contractor L3Harris Technologies to “exploring opportunities” to develop vertical take-off (VTOL) aircraft, particularly new aircraft classes, of gas turbine hybrids, which can fly autonomously for defence applications. The Gas Turbine Hybrid VTOL is based on Joby’s current S4 aircraft platform. This is not a contract. But it shows Joby’s bid progress to go to the markets in the defense and consumer sector.
Uber continues to partner with all self-driving car companies under the sun, but Lyft is about to do its own deal. Lyft said Austrian manufacturer Benteler Group will add an autonomous shuttle to its network in late 2026. Shuttles will be deployed in cooperation with US cities and airports.
Waymo is scheduled to launch its Robotaxi service in Dallas next year, this time partnering with Avis Budget Group to manage the self-driving fleet. In another Waymo event, two of Robotaxis collided with each other in one of the company’s staging lots this week in Phoenix. Waymo says it’s investigating the cause.
China’s AV Company Weride has been granted autonomous driving permit from Saudi Arabia. The company holds similar permits in China, the UAE, Singapore, France and the United States.
The last thing
Waymo Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana will be joining Disrupt Stage for a wide range of conversations where the current state of AVS and where the industry goes from here. TechCrunch Surpt 2025 will be held at Moscone West, San Francisco from October 27th to 29th.
