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Robotic Automations

Feds add nine more incidents to Waymo robotaxi investigation | TechCrunch

May 24, 2024 10:58 PM0


Federal safety regulators have discovered nine more incidents that raise questions about the safety of Waymo’s self-driving vehicles operating in Phoenix and San Francisco.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened an investigation earlier this month into Waymo’s autonomous vehicle software after receiving 22 reports of robotaxis making unexpected moves […]

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Software Development in Sri Lanka

Robotic Automations

Motional delays commercial robotaxi plans amid restructuring | TechCrunch

May 15, 2024 12:11 PM0


Motional, the autonomous vehicle startup borne out of a $4 billion joint venture between Hyundai and automotive supplier Aptiv, will pause its commercial operations and delay plans to launch a driverless taxi service as it undergoes a restructuring, TechCrunch has learned. The aim is to make progress on the core technology and the business model, […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.


Software Development in Sri Lanka

Robotic Automations

Tesla drives Luminar lidar sales and Motional pauses robotaxi plans | TechCrunch

May 10, 2024 12:36 AM0


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! Tap, tap. Mic check. Check 1, 2, 3. This thing on? Hey hey, yup, it’s the same TechCrunch Mobility newsletter you love, but on a different day. […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.


Software Development in Sri Lanka

Robotic Automations

Hyundai is spending close to $1 billion to keep self-driving startup Motional alive | TechCrunch

May 2, 2024 10:47 PM0


Hyundai has agreed to spend nearly $1 billion on Motional, an investment that will give the automaker a majority stake while providing the self-driving startup with the necessary capital to keep operating.

The Korean automaker invested $475 million directly into Motional as part of a broader deal that includes buying out joint venture partner Aptiv. As part of the deal, Hyundai will spend another $448 million to buy 11% of Aptiv’s common equity interest in Motional, according to information revealed Thursday in Aptiv’s first-quarter earnings report.

Aptiv also shared that it expects to reduce its common equity interest in Motional from 50% as of March 31 to about 15%, leaving Hyundai with the remaining 85% control. Aptiv Chairman and CEO Kevin Clark flagged in January that the company would reduce its ownership interest in Motional. The company said at the time that it would stop allocating capital towards Motional due to the high cost of commercializing a robotaxi business and the long road ahead to profits.

Aptiv on Thursday reduced its full-year net sales forecast for 2024 to be between $20.85 billion and $21.45 billion, down from between $21.3 billion to $21.9 billion.

Motional confirmed the new funding round and increased stake from Hyundai. The company did not respond to TechCrunch’s inquiry regarding the accuracy of Aptiv’s figures. Hyundai could also not be reached for confirmation.

Image Credits: Aptiv investor relations

Motional started as Boston-based autonomous vehicle startup nuTonomy in 2013, before being acquired by Delphi for $400 million. Delphi would later split it’s business with the Aptiv unit absorbing nuTonomy. The entity became Motional under a $4 billion Hyundai-Aptiv joint venture in 2019. While it’s clear from Aptiv’s earnings report that the company is trying to manage risks and optimize finances amid a less positive outlook, the company’s retreat, and Hyundai’s step forward, raises questions about Motional’s future.

In March, TechCrunch reported that Motional secured a bridge loan for an undisclosed amount as a lifeline while the AV startup secured its next round of longer-term funding. While it’s likely that this funding round from Hyundai fits that bill, Motional has not responded to TechCrunch’s request for more information about whether it will need to acquire more investors in the future.

Motional has been testing its autonomous vehicles with a safety driver behind the wheel in Boston, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Singapore. The company’s go-to-market strategy involves partnering with existing ride-hail platforms like Uber, Lyft and Via to give customers rides. Motional has stated its goal of launching a robotaxi service using driverless Hyundai Ioniq 5 vehicles in 2024.

Motional and Hyundai announced plans in November 2023 to co-develop production-ready versions of the all-electric Ioniq 5 robotaxi at the automaker’s new innovation center in Singapore, the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore (HMGICS). During CES 2024, Motional also announced plans to work with Kia on a next-generation vehicle that will enter commercial operations later this decade, with initial development stages beginning this year.

Motional’s financial shifts come as the robotaxi industry continues to face uncertainty. The startup has been inching slowly towards commercialization, launching pilots in at least five cities. Crucially, Motional has not yet begun charging for rides or deliveries yet. Meanwhile among the competition, Waymo continues to expand its fully driverless, paid robotaxi service in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix, with plans to hit Austin later this year. GM’s Cruise is still mainly off the streets after an incident in October 2023 that left a pedestrian stuck under and dragged by one of its robotaxis, but the company has begun mapping again in Phoenix as part of a slow, deliberate reintroduction to public roads.

Then there’s Tesla. CEO Elon Musk has shaken up his company, laying off thousands and increasing investment into AI, in a stated goal to go “balls to the walls for autonomy” and deliver a robotaxi in August.


Software Development in Sri Lanka

Robotic Automations

Tesla earnings week spotlights EV price cuts, 'balls to the wall' autonomy push | TechCrunch

April 23, 2024 10:16 PM0


Tesla investors, still digesting a 43% drop in share price since the beginning of the year, are gearing up for what will likely be unimpressive financial results for the first quarter and a shift in priorities for CEO Elon Musk, who is making more moves to go “balls to the wall for autonomy.”

Tesla is expected to report earnings after markets close Tuesday. The company’s earnings call is scheduled for 5:30 pm ET.

Tesla shares rose Tuesday morning more than 2% ahead earnings, a brief rosy sign amid an otherwise downward trend that’s accelerated since early March. The falling share price comes as Musk pushes forward with a renewed focus on automated driving on two fronts: selling more customers on its advanced driver assistance system known as “Full Self-Driving,” or (FSD) and a moonshot effort to bring a robotaxi to market.

Over the weekend, Tesla dropped the price of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) advanced driver-assistance system to $8,000, down from $12,000. That price cut is in addition to last week’s drop of the FSD monthly subscription to $99, down from $199. The push to get FSD into more cars could be a bid to collect more data as Tesla works to boost the neural networks that will power fuller-scale autonomy. FSD today can perform many driving tasks in cities and on highways, but still requires a human to remain alert with their hands on the wheel in case the system requires a takeover.

Tesla faces narrowing profits as it places a major and expensive bet on autonomous driving technology. Last week, Tesla laid off 10% of its staff in a move to reduce costs in preparation for the company’s “next growth phase,” per an email Musk sent to all employees.

Earlier this month, Musk abruptly announced on X that Tesla was pausing the development of its $25,000 electric vehicle in favor of a robotaxi that he promised to reveal in August. Sources within Tesla have confirmed to TechCrunch that they didn’t have prior warning from Musk on this sudden shift and that internal restructurings reflect a new ethos that puts robotaxi development at front and center.

All of this is happening as Tesla zigzags on its EV pricing strategy.

Last week, Tesla ditched EV inventory price discounts, but over the weekend slashed prices on the Model 3 and Model Y by as much as $2,000 in the U.S., China and Germany. As we saw during the first quarter of 2023, those price cuts are taking their toll on Tesla’s income and margins.

The company will need to convince investors that its shift in priority to autonomous vehicles is a silver lining in the cloud of declining margins, rather than just smoke and mirrors.

What to expect at Tesla’s Q1 2024 earnings

Tesla’s lower first-quarter delivery figures combined with price cuts are ingredients for a smaller profit pie. And analysts seem to agree.

Analysts polled by Yahoo Finance expect a profit of $0.48 per share on $20.94 billion in revenue. As a reminder, Tesla generated $25.17 billion revenue in Q4 and $23.3 billion in the first quarter of 2023.

Tesla delivered 386,810 vehicles in the first quarter of 2024, down 20% from the 484,507 it delivered in the final quarter of 2023. It’s worth noting that this wasn’t just a quarter-over-quarter blip. Tesla delivered fewer cars than the first quarter of 2023 — the first year-over-year drop in sales in three years.

Tesla’s Q4 results show a company already grappling with shrinking profit margins due to its price-cutting strategy, rising costs of its Cybertruck production launch and other R&D expenses.

The automaker reported net income, on a GAAP basis, of $7.9 billion in the fourth quarter — an outsized number caused by a one-time, non-cash tax benefit of $5.9 billion. The company’s operating income and its earnings on an adjusted basis provided a clearer picture of its financial performance.

Tesla reported operating income of $2.06 billion in the fourth quarter, a 47% decrease from the same year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $3.9 billion, a 27% drop from the same period last year.

The question is whether Tesla can prevent that profit pie from shrinking to profit muffin.

Since Tesla reported its Q1 2024 production and delivery numbers, the company has continued to pull various financial levers aimed at attracting new buyers and inducing existing customers to pay for FSD — all while reducing costs and maintaining profit margins.

Those opposing goals coupled with Musk’s “wartime CEO mode” status are bound to make the Q1 earnings call entertaining. Beyond that potential theater, there are pressing long-term questions about how Tesla delivers on autonomy and if it will be enough to convince investors that it can still lead and innovate.




Software Development in Sri Lanka

Robotic Automations

Tesla earnings week spotlights price cuts, Elon's 'balls to the wall' autonomy push | TechCrunch

April 23, 2024 1:10 AM0


As Tesla gears up to report what will likely be unimpressive financial results for the first quarter on Tuesday, the company is making more moves to go “balls to the wall for autonomy,” as CEO Elon Musk put it last week in a post on X. 

Over the weekend, Tesla dropped the price of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) advanced driver assistance system to $8,000, down from $12,000. That price cut is in addition to last week’s drop of the FSD monthly subscription to $99, from $199. The push to get FSD into more cars could be a bid to collect more data as Tesla works to boost the neural networks that will power fuller-scale autonomy. FSD today can perform many driving tasks in cities and on highways, but still requires a human to remain alert with their hands on the wheel in case the system requires a takeover. 

Tesla faces narrowing profits as it places a major and expensive bet on autonomous driving technology. Last week, Tesla laid off 10% of its staff in a move to reduce costs in preparation for the company’s “next growth phase,” per an email Musk sent to all employees. 

Earlier this month, Musk abruptly announced on X that Tesla was pausing the development of its $25,000 electric vehicle in favor of a robotaxi that he promised to reveal in August. Sources within Tesla have confirmed to TechCrunch that they didn’t have prior warning from Musk on this sudden shift, and that internal restructurings reflect a new ethos that puts robotaxi development at front and center. 

All of this is happening as Tesla zigzags on its EV pricing strategy. 

Last week, Tesla ditched EV inventory price discounts, but over the weekend slashed prices on Model 3 and Model Ys by as much as $2,000 in the U.S., China and Germany. As we saw during the first quarter of 2023, those price cuts are taking their toll on Tesla’s income and margins. 

Tesla is scheduled to report earnings after markets close April 23. Musk has previously said that without autonomy, Tesla is “basically worth zero.” 

The company will need to convince investors tomorrow that its shift in priority to autonomous vehicles is a silver lining in the cloud of declining margins, rather than just smoke and mirrors. 

Since Musk laid off staff and announced that Tesla would be going hard on autonomy, Tesla’s share price has dropped almost 10%. Shares have fallen over 42% since the start of the year.

What to expect at Tesla’s Q1 2024 earnings

Tesla’s lower first-quarter delivery figures combined with price cuts are ingredients for a smaller profit pie. And analysts seem to agree. 

Analysts polled by Yahoo Finance expect a profit of $0.48 per share on 20.94 billion in revenue. As a reminder, Tesla generated $25.17 billion revenue in Q4 and $23.3 billion in the first quarter of 2023. 

Tesla delivered 386,810 vehicles in the first quarter of 2024, down 20% from the 484,507 it delivered in the final quarter of 2023. It’s worth noting that this wasn’t just a quarter over quarter blip. Tesla delivered fewer cars than the first quarter of 2023 — the first year-over-year drop in sales in three years.

Tesla’s Q4 results showed a company already grappling with shrinking profit margins due to its price cutting strategy, rising costs of its Cybertruck production launch and other R&D expenses. 

The automaker reported net income, on a GAAP basis, of $7.9 billion in the fourth quarter — an outsized number caused by a one-time non-cash tax benefit of $5.9 billion. The company’s operating income and its earnings on an adjusted basis provided a clearer picture of its financial performance.

Tesla reported operating income of $2.06 billion in the fourth quarter, a 47% decrease from the same year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $3.9 billion, a 27% drop from the same period last year.

The question is whether Tesla can prevent that profit pie from shrinking to profit muffin. 

Since Tesla reported its Q1 2024 production and delivery numbers, the company has continued to pull various financial levers aimed at attracting new buyers and inducing existing customers to pay for FSD — all while reducing costs and maintaining profit margins. 

Those opposing goals coupled with Musk’s “wartime CEO mode” status are bound to make the Q1 earnings call entertaining. Beyond that potential theater, there are pressing long-term questions about how Tesla delivers on autonomy and if it will be enough to convince investors that it can still lead and innovate. 




Software Development in Sri Lanka

Robotic Automations

Seven Waymo robotaxis block traffic to San Francisco freeway on-ramp | TechCrunch

April 18, 2024 4:05 AM0


Seven Waymo robotaxis blocked traffic moving onto the Potrero Avenue 101 on-ramp in San Francisco on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m., according to video of the incident posted to Reddit and confirmation from Waymo.

While routing back to Waymo’s city depot that evening, the first robotaxi in the lineup came across a road closure with traffic cones. The only other path available to the vehicles was to take the freeway, according to a Waymo spokesperson. California regulators recently approved Waymo to operate its autonomous robotaxi service on San Francisco freeways without a human driver, but the company is still only testing on freeways with a human driver in the front seat. Waymo told TechCrunch it is first prioritizing a safe and gradual scale of rider-only freeway operations in Arizona before advancing in California.

After hitting the road closure, the first Waymo vehicle in the lineup then pulled over out of the traffic lane that was blocked by cones, followed by six other Waymo robotaxis. Human-driven cars were then stuck behind some of the robotaxis; a video posted online shows fed-up drivers getting out of their cars to physically move the cones out of the way so they could pass both the road closure and the stalled Waymos.

Waymo told TechCrunch it immediately dispatched its Roadside Assistance team to manually retrieve the vehicles, and that the whole event lasted no longer than 30 minutes.

It’s not the first time Waymo vehicles have caused a road blockage, but this is the first documented incident involving a freeway. Cruise, GM’s autonomous vehicle subsidiary, has come under scrutiny for multiple cases of its vehicles malfunctioning and blocking traffic, first responders and public transit. Of course, human drivers block traffic all the time, but city officials and first responders in San Francisco have expressed frustration with both not being able to access and move robotaxis when they’re in the way, and also not being able to issue traffic citations to the vehicles. In San Francisco, there must be a driver in the car in order to issue a citation.


Software Development in Sri Lanka

Robotic Automations

Waymo begins robotaxi testing in Atlanta | TechCrunch

April 17, 2024 4:37 AM0


Waymo, the self-driving company under Alphabet, began testing its robotaxis in Atlanta on Tuesday, adding another city to its ever-expanding testing and deployment domain.

Over the next few months, Waymo will deploy a handful of cars driven manually by humans to gather mapping data and get familiar with Atlanta’s environment, Sandy Karp, a Waymo spokesperson, told TechCrunch. Later, Waymo aims to test its robotaxis in Atlanta without the safety driver in the front seat.

Like many other states, Georgia’s regulation of AVs is almost nonexistent, meaning Waymo can technically drop fully autonomous vehicles on the streets today without a safety driver, provided it meets the state’s minimal risk conditions.

Waymo declined to comment on whether it plans to launch commercially in Atlanta, or any of the other cities in which it has started collecting mapping data. Earlier this month, Waymo began mapping Washington, D.C., and in November 2023, the company began winter testing robotaxis in Buffalo.

“We’re laser focused on scaling our fully autonomous Waymo One ride-hailing service in the cities where we operate, as we continue safely and responsibly advancing our autonomous technology through road trips to various cities around the U.S.,” said Karp.

Atlanta is just the latest in a string of territorial gains for Waymo over the last few months. Just last week, Waymo officially launched paid robotaxi rides in Los Angeles. In March, California regulators approved Waymo to grow its commercial robotaxi service across the San Francisco peninsula and on San Francisco freeways, which unlocks a route to San Francisco International Airport. Waymo has been offering rides to and from Phoenix’s airport since November 2022, and recently expanded to include curbside dropoff and pickup.

Waymo will start testing robotaxis on Phoenix highways

Waymo also started giving driverless rides to employees in Austin in March and plans to open up the service to members of the public later this year.

Waymo’s recent wins are reminiscent of its erstwhile competitor Cruise’s increased activity last year. By August 2023, Cruise had announced initial data collection in Atlanta, alongside Seattle, Washington D.C., Las Vegas and other cities. Cruise had also begun testing its robotaxis Austin, Houston, Dallas and  Miami and operating a limited robotaxi service in Phoenix.

Cruise’s expansion plans came to a sudden halt after an October 2 incident in San Francisco that led to suspended permits and a decision to ground its entire fleet.  (The California Department of Motor Vehicles tells us Cruise is in the process of trying to get its permits in the state back.)

It’s important to note that Waymo and Cruise are not the same. Cruise has faced scrutiny for its robotaxis malfunctioning in public roads, blocking the flow of traffic, public transit and first responders. Waymo has been touted as a company that has moved slower and broken fewer things, but the company and its tech are not without their faults.

In February, Waymo recalled the software that powers its robotaxi fleet after two vehicles crashed into the same towed pickup truck in Phoenix in December. A Waymo robotaxi also hit and killed a dog in June 2023.




Software Development in Sri Lanka

Robotic Automations

TechCrunch Mobility: Apple layoffs, an EV price reckoning and another Tesla robotaxi promise | TechCrunch

April 16, 2024 6:40 PM0


Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here — just click TechCrunch Mobility — to receive the newsletter every weekend in your inbox. Subscribe for free.

Automakers reported auto sales for Q1 and, welp, turns out that pricing sure does matter if you want to sell EVs. Who would have thought? A recent survey by Edmunds comes to a similar conclusion (at least for American buyers), finding a big gap between what consumers want and what is actually available on the market.

Here’s the crux. According to the Edmunds survey, 47% say they are seeking an EV purchase below $40,000, and 22% are interested in EVs priced below the $30,000 threshold. Today, there are no new EVs priced below $30,000 and only four below the $40,000 mark. The average price of an EV in 2023 was $61,702, while all other vehicles stood at $47,450.

This mismatch of realities is squeezing automakers as they try to move inventory by slashing prices. This downward pressure has forced automakers like Ford to delay future EV launches and put more resources toward hybrids. Even Tesla, a bellwether in the EV world, fell well below analysts’ expectations with deliveries down 20% from Q4 2023. Meanwhile, EV upstart Rivian posted tepid results.

What’s the answer? Well, over at Tesla, it seems the solution is twofold: slash prices again and try to capture revenue through sales of its Full Self-Driving software that costs $12,000 and is currently being offered in a free one-month trial to all customers.

OK, folks, let’s jump into the rest of the news!

A little bird

Founders, investors, engineers, policy wonks and others tell us things. And we’re here to pass along the verifiable information that those little birds have shared with us.

This week, a little bird tipped us on the closure of Ghost Autonomy, which had raised upward of $220 million and recently partnered with OpenAI. A couple of calls, emails and a fresh posting on the company’s website confirmed the tip. About 100 people were affected.

As I noted in my article, Ghost has pivoted a few times since it was founded in 2017. When I asked founder and CEO John Hayes what happened, he said the company had completed a highway driving product and was moving in urban environments through what he described as “last-mile delivery.”

“Ultimately, the years required to bring the product to market could not be financed,” he wrote to me in an email.

Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or Sean O’Kane sean.okane@techcrunch.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, click here to contact us, which includes SecureDrop (instructions here) and various encrypted messaging apps.

Deal of the week

Startup founders, listen up — a new fund just closed. Get your slide decks ready.

Maniv, the Israel and now NYC-based VC firm, raised a $140 million fund with plans to stick to its early-stage investment strategy of backing startups at the intersection between mobility, transportation and energy.

As I noted in my longer feature, the firm’s approach has evolved a bit by expanding geographically and diversifying its investor base. The firm has also largely stopped using the once trendy umbrella term “mobility” (often leaving it out of its original name Maniv Mobility) and has opted instead to talk about deep tech, decarbonization and digitization of the transportation sector.

Investors in the fund are no longer dominated by automakers and Tier 1 suppliers. Instead, Maniv has opened up to a broader swath of strategic and institutional financial investors, including BNP Paribas Personal Finance and the venture arms of Shell and Enterprise Mobility.

The Maniv III fund also includes return investors Valeo and Jaguar Land Rover venture arm InMotion Ventures. Toyota Motor Corp.’s Woven Capital, vehicle leasing company Arval, transportation infrastructure giant Ferrovial, the industrial manufacturing firm ITT Inc., fleet payments business WEX and an unnamed European insurance company also participated in the fund.

Other deals that got my attention …

Alsym Energy, a Massachusetts-based startup developing nonflammable battery chemistry, raised $78 million in a Series C round led by General Catalyst and Tata, the Indian conglomerate, with participation from Drads Capital, Thomvest and Thrive Capital.

BlaBlaCar, the French carpooling and bus ticketing company, secured a €100 million revolving credit facility ($108 million at today’s exchange rate).

Notable reads and other tidbits

Autonomous vehicles

Waymo and Uber expanded on an ongoing partnership that will affect Uber Eats’ customers in the metro Phoenix area. Now when folks order a burrito or a pizza or some other treat through Uber Eats, they may have their meals delivered by a Waymo vehicle. The tie-up will begin with select merchants in Chandler, Tempe and Mesa, including restaurants like Princess Pita, Filiberto’s and BoSa Donuts.

Electric vehicles, charging & batteries

Apple is laying off 614 employees in California after abandoning its electric car project. According to the WARN notice posted by the California EDD, most of the affected employees were working at buildings related to its canceled car project, while others were working at a facility for its next-generation screen development, Bloomberg reported.

Canoo finally reported its Q4 and full-year earnings. Tucked inside the regulatory filing is a nugget regarding the use of CEO Tony Aquila’s private jet — just one of many expenses that illustrates the gap between spending and revenue at the EV startup. Tl;dr: Canoo spent double its annual revenue on the CEO’s private jet in 2023.

Faraday Future narrowly avoided an eviction from its Los Angeles headquarters. The company reached an agreement with the owner of the building, Rexford Industrial, to stay at the facility as long as it meets a few conditions. If Faraday violates any of the terms, Rexford has the right to trigger a 48-hour demand for payment and can boot the startup if it doesn’t pay up. If Faraday Future makes its payments, it can stay in the building until September 2025 when the lease expires.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a third investigation into Fisker’s Ocean SUV, this time centered on problems getting the doors to open.

Tesla is reportedly abandoning its plan to build a lower-cost EV thought to cost around $25,000, according to Reuters, despite that vehicle’s status as a pivotal product for the company’s overall growth. Apparently, Tesla will instead focus on a planned robotaxi that is being built on the same small EV platform that was also supposed to power the lower-cost vehicle. This is where it gets a bit silly. Just hours after Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Reuters was lying, he posted on X that the Tesla robotaxi would be revealed August 8. Go figure.

This week’s wheels

This week’s wheels is taking a one-week hiatus while I enjoy a bit of vacation time. But don’t worry, it’s back next week and I have a few vehicles lined up, including the Mercedes-Benz EQE 350 4Matic sedan, a Lexus LC500 hybrid and a Mercedes eSprinter. Plus, some e-bikes will soon be in the mix.

What vehicles — including the two-wheeled variety — are you interested in reading about? I’ll put them on my list.


Software Development in Sri Lanka

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