Tesla renames ‘Full Self-Driving’ to ‘Tesla Assisted Driving’ in Europe
The name change is enough for Germany’s transport minister to start advocating for Europe-wide adoption of the driver assistance software.
Transportation
Surveillance company Flock cuts staff as privacy backlash grows
Flock would not say if CEO Garrett Langley would take a pay cut following the reduction in workforce.
Waymo locks in $5B loan from Blackstone, PIMCO to fuel robotaxi expansion
This is the first time the Alphabet-owned company has turned to debt financing.
Uber and China’s Pony.ai plan to launch robotaxis in London
The two companies said on Thursday that they would begin testing Pony.ai’s Gen-7 robotaxis in London in the coming weeks.
Bloom raises $3.6M to become the ‘Alibaba’ of American manufacturing
The Detroit startup has widened its scope beyond mobility to help drone and robotics companies find U.S. based manufacturers, shippers, and more.
SpaceX alumni nab $100M to rethink shipping with autonomous freight trains
Parallel Systems raised $100M to scale production of its autonomous electric rail vehicle, which can shuttle thousands of pounds of freight up to 500 miles.
Uber is spending $2.3B to get into catering
It’s the latest in a string of deals meant to grow Uber Eats into a food delivery behemoth.
Flai’s AI dealership software is booking 50,000 appointments per month
Flai’s revenue has grown 20x in a year, and the company just closed a $27 million Series A funding round.
Lucid Motors’ EV output falls to lowest level in almost two years
The company is deliberately limiting production after years of struggling to find mass-market demand for its EVs.
TechCrunch Mobility: Reining in robotaxis
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, the role AI is playing in it.