The accelerator is on the ground for self-driving vehicles

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Another week, another round of announcements about robotaxis being launched or planned in cities.

Let’s take stock. Waymo It has begun testing its self-driving vehicles (with a safety monitor) in Philadelphia and will begin manual driving to collect data in Baltimore, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh; Uber and Afried Launched a robotaxi service in Dallas that will initially include a human safety operator behind the wheel; and California Department of Motor Vehicles It issued revised rules that would allow companies to test and eventually deploy self-driving trucks on public highways in the state.

Self-driving vehicle technology is expanding and the pace is accelerating. But should it?

As autonomous vehicle technology spreads across the city landscape, criticism and challenges grow with it. Two recent incidents illustrate this point.

the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Waymo has requested more information about its self-driving system and operations after reports from the Austin School District that its robotaxis illegally overtook school buses 19 times this year. The agency has already opened an investigation into Waymo’s performance on school buses.

Then there’s Kit Kat, the bodega cat who died after being run over by a Waymo robotaxi on October 27. The company was already facing criticism over the event. And now the matter may escalate thanks to a new video. The New York Times tracked down a surveillance video showing a woman sitting next to Waymo trying to pull the KitKat to safety before the car suddenly pulled over.

birdie

There have been a lot of changes in Lucid Motors Recently, according to some small birds.

As many of you know, the company has lost a number of key executives, including former CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson and more recently chief designer Eric Bach. Lucid, which is in the middle of ramping up production of its Gravity SUV, has patched some of those vacancies with a mix of internal promotions and outside hires.

And the changes are continuing. A few birders told us this week that more or less senior managers on the software and electrical teams have been let go, including two senior managers who started with Lucid about a decade ago.

Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosek at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com Or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.

Offers!

Electric aircraft manufacturer Beta Technologieswhich went public last month, is creating a nice little supply business for itself. Which is fitting considering the Vermont-based company aims to become an original equipment manufacturer for the aerospace sector.

The company has struck a deal to supply air taxi company Eve Air Mobility with its electric propulsion engines. PETA says the agreement represents a potential 10-year, $1 billion opportunity.

Of course, “potential” is an important hedge. That $1 billion is not guaranteed, even if shareholders translate it that way (shares rose 8% on the news). However, Beta is finding a revenue path in the near term as it continues to work toward commercial certification of its electric aircraft with the FAA.

The company also announced third-quarter earnings this week. Beta saw its revenue more than double to $8.9 million compared to the same quarter last year. Its net losses also increased. Beta reported a net loss of $452 million in the third quarter, a more than five-fold increase from the same period last year.

Other deals that caught my attention…

Automatic linea Palo Alto-based startup developing “air traffic control” for autonomous vehicles, has raised $7.4 million in a round led by venture capital firms Draper Associates and Hyperplane.

Fleet management of itemsa fleet manager, has acquired San Francisco-based connected vehicle payments company Car IQ. Terms were not disclosed, but sources with information about the deal told TechCrunch that the acquisition price was $80 million. History lesson: In 2024, Canada-based Element Fleet Management acquired fleet optimization software startup Autofleet for $110 million.

Explomara China-based developer of electric boat propulsion systems, has raised $10 million in a Series A round. This investment was jointly led by private equity funds and a Chinese-listed company (undisclosed), with existing shareholders DCM Ventures continuing to participate.

Heaven Erotica startup developing hydrogen-powered drones, has raised $100 million in a Series B round led by US quantum computing company IonQ. The company’s post-cash valuation now stands at more than $1 billion. Texas Venture Partners also participated.

WIFIA British self-driving startup backed by Microsoft, Nvidia and SoftBank Group has acquired German startup QualityMatch, which analyzes data used to train artificial intelligence models for automated driving. The conditions were not disclosed.

Notable Readings and Other Stories

Amazon It is considering ending its long-term contract with the United States Postal Service and building its own competing nationwide delivery network.

Tesla Owners can text and drive using the latest version of the company’s full self-driving (supervised) driver assistance software, despite the fact that it’s illegal to do so in most states.

Grand theft auto online It added a robo-taxi from a fictional but familiar company dubbed “KnoWay,” whose sole purpose appears to be to cause chaos.

Nvidia The company announced Alpamayo-R1, an open logical vision language model for autonomous driving research.

Europe-based TechCrunch reporter Anna Heim provides an inside look at Finland’s drone delivery partnership.

the Trump administration It said it would lower fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks sold in the United States, arguing it would make the vehicles more affordable. There is a trade-off, though. Consumers may end up paying more for gas.

Downsizing is essentially making vehicles for less than they actually make. The proposal would increase fleet-wide fuel economy to 34.5 miles per gallon for model year 2031 vehicles. The previous fuel economy standard, put in place under the Biden administration, mandated fuel economy of 50.4 mpg by 2031. In 2024, automakers had to average 30.1 mpg across their fleets, which they beat, offering 35.4 mpg, according to CAFE calculations.

Another thing…

Before Thanksgiving, we conducted a poll in the Mobility Newsletter asking, “When do you expect robotaxis to reach a tipping point of mass adoption that will impact how people get from point A to point B?” Most readers chose “Before the End of the Decade,” which received 47.2% of the vote, followed by “The 2030s.” Based on your votes, there seems to be low confidence that 2026 will be the turning point year.

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