TechCrunch Mobility: The battle over robotaxi rules

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Last week I wrote about it Uber and Waymo And how their partnership seems to deteriorate. I expected the two companies to end up on opposing sides when it comes to autonomous vehicle policy. That wasn’t a guess.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been speaking to sources and researching correspondence that Uber has sent to… DC Councilwhich is evaluating a proposed bill allowing self-driving vehicles to operate in Washington, D.C

What I found: Uber and Waymo are already on opposite sides of the proposal, competing behind the scenes and in public. Uber has made a particularly interesting argument in its efforts to craft rules governing self-driving vehicles.

Uber, which opposes the D.C. bill, says it would replace for-hire human drivers and give Waymo a virtual monopoly. Instead, it lobbied for a system that would require robotaxis to operate on a commuter network alongside human drivers.

Insiders tell me the “hybrid” approach has little chance of becoming law. But if that happens, it will leave autonomous vehicle developers like Waymo with two suboptimal choices: either put their automated cars on ride-hailing apps like Uber or employ human drivers alongside fleets of robotaxis that have taken years and hundreds of millions of dollars to develop.

A D.C. Council hearing on Monday was attended by representatives of Lyft, TeslaUber and Waymo, along with dozens of disability rights and accessibility advocates, local business and industry groups, highway safety organizations, government officials, labor unions, and think tanks.

My understanding — based on the public testimony and the calls and texts I received afterward — is that Waymo is one of the few companies that likes the bill overall. Much of the rest of the industry doesn’t.

Senior Policy Advisor at Tesla, India Herdmanechoed concerns I’ve heard from many AV developers, including objections to mandatory 180-day and 250,000-mile testing requirements; an application fee of $1 million; permit fees of $5 million; And a tax of $0.15 per mile. Tesla, along with other companies, has argued that testing miles accumulated in other jurisdictions should count toward the mileage cap.

Waymo, which has been testing its autonomous vehicles with human safety operators in Washington, D.C., has already exceeded the 180-day and 250,000-mile requirement. This means that if the bill passed as written today, Waymo would enter the market at least six months earlier.

Offers!

Uber It is considered a giant company in the field of passenger transportation and delivery. It is now strengthening this position with a $14.8 billion deal to acquire German company Delivery Hero.

If the deal goes through — and it will take some time to overcome regulatory hurdles — Uber will have access to nearly 100 markets across Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia. The result: Uber’s delivery footprint will double.

Delivery Hero has also entered into a separate agreement to sell its business in 14 markets, where Uber Eats already operates, to New York-based investment firm SSW Partners for $1.6 billion.

Other deals that caught my attention…

Self inspectiona San Diego-based startup trying to disrupt the vehicle inspection process, has raised $10 million in a round led by Sheryl Sandberg’s family office. US tire distributor AutoForce and auto lender Westlake Financial have made strategic investments. Early-stage funds Costanoa Ventures, Rebellion Ventures and BrightCap Ventures also invested.

senra, A startup that is modernizing how wires are manufactured has raised $65 million in a Series B round co-led by Lowcarbon and Interlagos with participation from General Catalyst, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Founders Fund, among others.

ZeptoThe Indian express delivery company is seeking an IPO valuation well below the peak of $7 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources.

Notable Readings and Other Stories

Chip MotorsA Miami-based startup has unveiled a small, low-speed electric car designed for short errands and families, with some automated driving capabilities.

the Los Angeles Police Department A US company is reportedly ending its deal with Flock Safety, a surveillance company that helps law enforcement track vehicles using thousands of license plate cameras located across the US.

Lucid Motors It retracts — and forcefully — a report claiming the electric car maker was considering whether to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company’s communications team, its CEO, and a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission all say the same thing: The rumors are false. The initial report sent the company’s shares falling more than 50% on Tuesday, the largest intraday decline on record. The stock has since recovered and is now trading 28% higher than it was before the big drop.

Lyft CEO David Risher He says it’s “Good Uber” for every wired person.

Manual or standard transmission vehicles The breed is dying, according to preliminary government data showing that only 0.6% of new vehicles made for the U.S. in 2025 will undergo static conversions, the Washington Post reported. I own two manual cars. Does that make me a car-driving unicorn?

the National Transportation Safety Board Driver A said Tesla The one that crashed into a house in June applied 100% of the throttle, bypassing the company’s fully (supervised) self-driving program.

San Francisco mayor Daniel Lowry Waymo urged state regulators to tighten rules around self-driving vehicles after a Waymo robot car became unable to move in heavy traffic on July 4, ran out of power, and shut down major streets, worsening gridlock. In a letter (parts of which are excerpted here) Lurie outlined four basic requirements that he would like to see enacted to ensure robotics companies can “perform reliably” during extraordinary events.

SpaceX The second attempt to launch its upgraded Starship rocket system was suddenly aborted on Thursday, just moments after the rocket ignited at the company’s complex in South Texas.

Zoox A company issued a software recall after one of its robotic cars became disoriented by smoke coming from the site of an emergency fire in June.

Another thing…

Uber Chief Product Officer Sachin Kansal Speaking to TechCrunch EIC Connie Louisos About travel, AI agents and playing both sides of the robot race, in the latest episode of the Strictly VC podcast. If you’d rather read the interview, check out the Q&A.