Everyone needs to get around. How we do it will change more over the next decade than it has in the last century. Legacy automakers, like Ford and GM, are scrambling to become technology-savvy companies, and the tech industry is trying to cash in on the change. New players, like Rivian and Tesla, are disrupting the industry and sometimes stumbling. We look at how self-driving hardware and software make the automobile better or, in some cases, deeply flawed. We cut through the hype and empty promises to tell you what's really happening and what we think is coming. Verge Transportation cares about all moving machines and the place they have in the future.
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Tesla delivered fewer vehicles to customers for the second quarter in a row
The company’s quarterly production and delivery figures are down year over year, a sign that its demand crisis hasn’t ended.
Days before Boeing’s deferred prosecution agreement over 737 Max crashes would’ve expired, a door plug blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight, and the case was reopened. Now, attorneys for family members of the crash victims have been told federal prosecutors will seek a guilty plea from Boeing to resolve a criminal fraud charge, which one lawyer called “another sweetheart deal.”
The plea deal would include a $244 million fine, a three-year probation and an independent monitor appointed to oversee the company’s progress on safety and quality improvements.
[The Seattle Times]
The announcement, made in a social media post by Nick Twork, Lucid Motors’ new head of communications, comes over a year after the company added CarPlay support to its vehicles.
The Japanese automaker’s joint venture in China is aiming to launch an EV with a driver assist that’s equivalent to Tesla’s controversial FSD, according to Reuters. That’s especially interesting considering Toyota’s luxury brand Lexus was the only company to pass the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety’s rigorous ADAS test. Not saying there’s a direct connection, but Toyota certainly has the chops.
This report from Reuters looks at how executives from Volkswagen and Rivian courted each other in the run-up to the surprise announcement of the $5 billion joint venture this week. One of things they did to determine whether it would be a good fit was to strip the electronics out of two Audis and replace them with modules and harnesses supplied by Rivian. Later, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe teases the possibility of a Rivian-powered Porsche — which I think I speak for many when I say, sick.
Much like MTV News and its archives, Pimp My Ride is no longer with us, but Netflix’s new car restoration show Resurrection Rides looks like it’ll be the next best thing when it premieres on July 24th.
The compact EV was supposed to go on sale in North America this year, but thanks to the Biden administration’s tariffs on vehicles from China, that won’t be happening. Volvo tells InsideEVs that the EX30’s debut is being pushed to 2025 while it moves production to Ghent, Belgium. The EV is currently being assembled in China, where Volvo’s parent company Geely is based.
Rivian teases five new vehicles, and I have no idea what they are
The mystery vehicles highlight how, despite its financial woes, Rivian is playing the long game.
2019: Rivian raises $700 million in a round led by Amazon.
2019: GM in talks with Rivian, but Ford muscles it out, invests $500 million. Rivian will make an electric truck with Ford.
2020: Ford-Rivian truck canceled because of the pandemic.
2021: Rivian raises $2.5 billion from Ford and Amazon.
2022-23: Ford sells majority stake in Rivian in $7.3 billion write-down.
2024: Rumors circulate that Rivian is in talks with Apple.
Autonomous Cars
Rimac is shifting from electric supercars to robotaxis
Cruise’s new CEO comes from the world of gaming and TVs.
Waymo ditches the waitlist and opens up its robotaxis to everyone in San Francisco
Uber and Aurora announce ‘long-term’ driverless truck deal after successful pilot
Marc Whitten, who ran Amazon’s Fire TV and Kindle divisions and more recently served as president at Unity Create, is stepping into the role left empty by Kyle Vogt, who stepped down after a disastrous response to a driverless car crash incident. The GM-backed robotaxi company has been slowly deploying more vehicles after vacating San Francisco in the wake of the incident in which one of its vehicles dragged a pedestrian 20 feet.
[www.getcruise.com]
“CDK GLOBAL CYBERATTACK” blares the headline on Automotive News’ landing page for all the site’s reporting on the ransomware attack, which is now in its seventh day. The cyberattack against the software provider to nearly 15,000 dealerships across North America has caused a massive outage that could ultimately affect vehicle sales. Naturally, AutoNews has been following the story closely — including this editorial calling for “creative defense strategies” against cyber criminals.
[www.autonews.com]
We learned a lot about the “next generation” Apple CarPlay at WWDC 2024. Now, BlackBoxInfinite has tried rebuilding classic layouts from cars like the Acura NSX and Ferrari Testarossa in Apple’s framework.
This might not change anyone’s feelings about touchscreens replacing hardware in your dash, but it shows where Porsche and the others could take things in the future.
Ride-sharing
Uber and Lyft now required to pay Massachusetts rideshare drivers $32 an hour
Uber will pay you $1,000 to ditch your car for five weeks
Uber and Aurora announce ‘long-term’ driverless truck deal after successful pilot
You can now join the Uber Caregiver waitlist.
How to make an EV tire that won’t pollute the environment
Tire pollution is becoming the front line of our next war on car emissions, and Enso is ahead of the curve.
Said Bugatti CEO Mate Rimac while revealing the 1,800-horsepower Tourbillon, which also has three electric motors and is due in 2026, succeeding the Veyron and Chiron.
So yes, it is crazy to build a new V16 engine, to integrate with a new battery pack and electric motors and to have a real Swiss-made watchmaker instrument cluster and 3D-printed suspension parts and a Crystal Glass center console...Without that kind of ambition, you might create a great hyper sports car, but you wouldn’t create an icon Pour l’éternité’.
Systems that support sales, service, and inventory for more than 15,000 dealerships have been shut off since June 19th in the wake of two separate cyberattacks.
After some dealers resorted to pen and paper to keep going amid reported negotiations between CDK and the BlackSuit ransomware group, Reuters reports restoration work has begun but that it may take “several days.”
With electric vehicle investments, that is, according to this nifty visualization by Bloomberg. Of $206 billion in federal funding for environmental projects, 80 percent is going toward EV and battery manufacturing. And the vast majority of those projects — $161 billion — will be located in Republican districts. It puts Republicans in a weird — one could say intensely hypocritical — place of rallying against EVs while quietly raking in the investments and jobs.
Last month, we reported that Tesla had purchased $2 million worth of lidar sensors from Luminar, a surprising deal given Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s very public disparagements of autonomous vehicle companies that partly rely on the laser sensor. This week, a reader sent us this photo of a Tesla Model Y with Luminar’s Hydra sensors mounted on the roof. The back of the vehicle says “Engineering Vehicle,” which could mean the company is using lidar to validate its self-driving software (although Musk has claimed that wasn’t necessary “anymore”).
Have we been overthinking EV sounds?
EVs are required to emit a sound at low speeds to alert pedestrians. So far, most sounds could best be described as “flying saucer hums.” But are there better options?
Maybe that’s a hard “I,” but as Electrek notes, naming a $1,699 e-bike built for the US market shouldn’t be this difficult.