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Less than a week ago, Tesla robotaxis started rolling and giving rides to invited customers in Austin. As Sean O’Kane and I wrote this week, the rolling is the first big attempt by CEO’s belief Elon Musk, that it is possible to safely deploy fully autonomous vehicles using only cameras and an end-to-end AI approach, which differs from other players in space, like Waymo.
According to all accounts (including Tesla), this is a limited first run. The operating area covers southern Austin, the fleet of vehicles is less than 20, and there is still a safety “monitor” sitting in the former passenger seat.
That does not mean that there was a subdued reaction. Social media has provided a hit of videos and personal accounts – by riders and viewers – from the robotaxis -milling on Austin. And in many cases, the vehicles seemed to violate traffic laws as moving through double yellow lines into the next traffic alley and suddenly hit the brakes in the midst of intersections.
The videos prompted Federal Security Regulators to achieve Tesla and ask for information about the deployment.
The reaction to the Tesla Robotaxi – and more specifically, to the social videos – provided an informative view of how polarizing the company is. While O’Kane exclaimed to me the other day, “It’s like a test of Rorschach.”
Tesla’s robotaxi rights are either evidence of the company’s Hubris and Musk’s broken promises of automatic driving, or the beginning of the end for Waymo, Uber and Lyft.
This is what is approaching the truth: one week in, and we have a lot of noise and very little signal.
Let’s get in the rest of the news.
A small bird
On the back of a series of executive departures over the past year, we hear that Tesla is planning another round of layoffs through the company this month. CEO Elon Musk spent the last year working on politics, which culminated in a dramatic exit from his duties as Doge’s head. Now he is ready to bring that oblique and burning energy to his own organization and Doge-making the team at Tesla, with low performers in the rag block, according to one source, which is connected to the company.
Meanwhile, Tesla pushes Cybercab’s production. One source noted that it created a pressure-cooked environment that caused some employees to leave the company.
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Offers!
The news cycle this week gives me 2016 vibrations. Take this agreement involving Uber Co -founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick.
Kalanick is reportedly Working with investors Buying the US arm of Chinese autonomous vehicle company Pony Ai, and Uber could even help it happen.
This is an interesting move. In 2017, Kalanick was pressed to resign for reports that he has fed toxic work culture with sexual harassment, among other complaints. His resignation came a year after Uber bought Otto, the self-driving truck starting co-founded by Anthony Levandowski (CEO Pronto Ai), Lior Ron (CEO Uber Freight), Don Burnette (founder of Kodiak Robotic CTO), and Claire Devareuny (once NVID Nvidi, once nvidi, former nvidia, and claire). That agreement, which was absorbed in what became Uber ATG, was controversial from the beginning and ultimately caused Waymo to process Uber because of theft of business secrets.
Quickly eight years: Waymo and Uber are with friendly business terms, and Kalanick is still wondering, “What if?” The founder was quite vocal about Uber would have his own self-driving fleet if he still commissioned.
Later there is a pony that has operations in the United States that risk national security rules. The company is ready to sell its US arm since at least 2022.
Other agreements are worth noting …
Giving birth to materialsNew starting developing cathode materials to reduce the cost of LFP batteries, raised $ 2.3 million In a seed circle led by SOSV. The New Jerseyerzeja Innovation Fund Evergreen and UM6P Ventures also participated.
Raphe MPHIBRthe Indian drone starting, earned $ 100 million In an all-equality series B-Circle led by a general catalyst.
Notable readings and other edits
Adas
The National Highway Traffic Security Administration sent Ford a Long list of questions About its handshake driver’s Bluecruise Aid System as part of a survey, which began more than a year ago after two deadly crashes involving the program.
Autonomous vehicles
There was a time when AV starts tried to avoid talking about remote driving as a means of supporting its driver. Now companies talk openly about it. Take a self-driving truck company Kodiak robotics And Get a loanA distant driving start from Berlin. The two companies who announced a partnership This week, collaborated since last year.
Waymo And Uber officially entered another market. The companies that launched the “Waymo on Uber” service in Austin earlier this year, now work in 65 square-mile area of Atlanta.
In addition, Uber eats launched sidewalk delivery robots in Atlanta with Serve roboticsUber -Spinout, which was published last year.
The result: moment seems to be building for all three companies. Uber is converted into the online connector to autonomous Te Techniko (it has 18 AV partnerships worldwide). Waymo is the robotaxi -market boss. It provides 250,000 paid robotaxi rights weekly through five major cities. With Atlanta joining this list and expansions in its existing markets, this figure certainly exceeded the 300,000 brand. And Atlanta Marks Serves serves the fourth business city as it runs to scale up to 2,000 bots on sidewalks in late 2025.
Electric vehicles, batteries and loading
Redwood materials launches Energy -Stock Business This will exploit the thousands of EV batteries it has collected from its battery recycling company to give power to companies. And it starts with – with what else? – AI data centers.
Rivian made out 140 employees Prior to its launch of the more accessible R2 SUV in 2026. The factory team was most difficult.
Teslas Highest sales executive reportedly got the boot of elon musk. Omead Afshar was one of Musk’s closest confidants, who was right this week on X on the “historic day for Tesla” when the company invented its robotaxis in Austin.
In-car technology
There was a moment around 2017 when Intel appeared engaged to become a dominant player in a car. The company acquired Mobileye, and its VC arm invested millions in the sector. It was part of the future of transport conversation. Now Intel says Goodbye to its company on car architecture -Anclusively from its AI-enhanced system-on-chip design for vehicles, which were set up for production by the end of 2025- and laid down most of its staff as part of a wider restructure.
