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In case you missed out, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company plans to unveil a paid ride-hailing service featuring a fleet of autonomous vehicles in Austin this June. For those following along, that’s just five months away. Musk made this revelation during Tesla’s earnings call for the fourth quarter and the entire year.
Details about this new service were scarce, including the specific geo-fencing parameters that will be in place at launch. But perhaps this is part of the strategy: ignite intrigue while diverting attention from Tesla’s somewhat stagnant automotive sector.
I highly recommend checking our live blog for the Tesla earnings report and call, as it contains numerous insights that may have gotten overlooked. Discussions ranged from bitcoin and progress on lithium refineries to the notably absent Dojo and Tesla’s Full Self-Driving training efforts in China. Additionally, Musk acknowledged that existing hardware 3 vehicles will require upgrades to fully enable future capabilities within Tesla’s Full Self-Drive software, which serves as an advanced driver-assistance system.
A little bird
Several insiders have provided updates from Cruise, which we included in a recent piece regarding GM’s anticipated $1 billion savings from halting its robotaxi development program.
Inside that report are some insights from Cruise sources revealing that management initiated retention offers for employees—primarily engineers—starting in mid-January.
“While our plans require Cruise board approval, I wanted to inform you that we completed our initial notifications to those employees we expect will be necessary for the future of Cruise,” CEO Marc Whitten stated in an email viewed by TechCrunch. He further emphasized the need for patience as senior management decides on the next steps while awaiting a decision from the Cruise board.
Whitten mentioned that those who have not received notifications are not necessarily at risk of job loss.
Insiders have indicated to TechCrunch that the board is expected to convene in early February, potentially discussing a plan for the thousands of currently idle and concerned employees.
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Deals!
If you’re not yet familiar with Moove, the African mobility fintech firm that has Uber backing, you might want to start paying attention. The company has experienced remarkable growth over the past five years. Back in 2020, Moove had just 76 vehicles in Lagos, Nigeria, and today it boasts a fleet of 36,000 cars operating in 19 cities across six continents.
You may remember that Moove partnered with Waymo last year for driverless vehicle fleet operations in Phoenix and Miami.
Now, the company is on the path of expansion through acquisitions, having acquired Kovi, a Brazilian urban mobility provider.
While the specifics of the deal remain undisclosed, Moove confirmed that it involved an all-share transaction, resulting in Kovi now being fully owned by Moove. Co-founder and co-CEO Ladi Delano informed TechCrunch that this acquisition increases the mobility fintech’s annual revenue to $275 million.
Here are some other deals that caught my eye…
Angell, a French smart electric bike company, is nearing bankruptcy.
Bonsai Robotics, a California-based startup specializing in autonomous agriculture, secured $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Bison Ventures. Notable participants included Cibus Capital, Acre Venture Partners, Congruent Ventures, Fall Line Capital, E14 Fund, SNR, and Serra Ventures.
TravelPerk, a business travel management platform based in Barcelona, raised $200 million at a substantial $2.7 billion valuation — nearly double its previous valuation of $1.4 billion from last year’s fundraising. The Series E round was spearheaded by European VC Atomico, along with EQT Growth, Noteus Partners, Kinnevik, and General Catalyst among other existing investors. Additionally, TravelPerk announced the acquisition of Swiss startup Yokoy for an undisclosed sum.
UVeye, an Israeli startup known for its vision-based “MRI for cars,” raised $191 million in an extension to its 2023 Series D round, led by Toyota’s Woven Capital growth fund. This funding round includes a blend of $41 million in equity financing, supported by UMC Capital and MyBerg, as well as a $150 million debt facility arranged by Trinity Capital.
Voi, the Swedish micro-mobility titan, reported its first profitable year in 2024 according to preliminary unaudited figures.
Noteworthy reads and tidbits
Autonomous vehicles
GM announced it expects to achieve savings of as much as $1 billion annually by ceasing its Cruise robotaxi development.
Kodiak Robotics delivered two autonomous trucks to Atlas Energy Solutions, aiming for driverless operations in an off-road context within the remote Permian Basin—marking a significant milestone for the startup.
Waymo had a particularly eventful week. A hidden feature within the Waymo app enabled a security researcher to manipulate the characters displayed on the robotaxi’s roof. This same researcher also discovered a new tipping function during her reverse-engineering efforts on Waymo’s Android application.
On the operational front, Waymo announced it will start testing driverless vehicles on freeways in Los Angeles—with employee-only rides for the time being. The company also plans to introduce its robotaxis (in manual mode) to 10 cities across the U.S. this year. Meanwhile, Waymo is ramping up its lobbying in San Francisco, with a focus on gaining access to the airport.
Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries
Lucid Gravity SUV owners will have access to Tesla Superchargers starting Friday. Here’s a roundup of the latest regarding Tesla Supercharger-NACs, highlighting which automakers can now leverage the network.
Tesla will launch its redesigned Model Y SUV across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico come March, with a starting price just under $60,000.
Last month, we reported on a series of lawsuits initiated against Rivian by former employees who claim they experienced harassment by executives. Here are updates on a few of these cases: One lawsuit, filed by former clay sculptor Nathan Facciolla in October 2024 against Rivian and chief designer Jeff Hammoud, is transitioning to arbitration. Another, originating in February 2024 from former color, material, and finish team director Elizabeth Curran against Rivian and Hammoud, is tracking toward a possible September 2025 trial date—though Rivian is advocating for a ruling from the judge prior to that point.
In-car tech
Apple acknowledges that the next generation of CarPlay is delayed, but they assure it is still in the works.
Space and future of flight
Amazon is broadening its drone delivery service to the U.K., commencing in the northern town of Darlington.
Boom Supersonic has achieved supersonic speeds. The startup’s XB-1 demonstrator aircraft surpassed Mach 1 and maintained supersonic flight for approximately four minutes over California’s Mojave Desert.
This week’s wheels
Nothing notable this week, but stay tuned for an update in the next newsletter.
What is “This week’s wheels”? It’s an opportunity to explore the various transportation products we’re testing—be it electric or hybrid cars, e-bikes, or even a ride in an autonomous vehicle.
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