Connected and Autonomous Vehicles:
💰 Waymo’s Latest Funding Round Boosts It to a $45 Billion Valuation.
💲 DeepRoute Raises $100 Million in Push To Beat Tesla’s FSD in China. “DeepRoute did not publicly disclose the name of its automaker backer, but reports in the Chinese media, including a press release, point to Great Wall Motor.”
🤞 Mitsubishi, Nissan to Establish JV on Autonomous Driving, EV Batteries, Yomiuri says. “Japan’s Mitsubishi and Nissan have decided to establish a joint venture to provide services related to autonomous driving and using electric vehicle batteries as storage batteries, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Monday. The new company will be launched by March 2025 and equally owned by the two firms, Yomiuri reported.”
😮 Zoox Co-Founder on Tesla Self-Driving: ‘They Don’t Have Technology That Works.’ “Zoox co-founder and CTO Jesse Levinson doesn’t believe Tesla TSLA 2.97%↑ will launch a robotaxi ride-hailing service in California (or anywhere else) next year despite what Elon Musk recently claimed.”
🛺 Is Amazon’s Robotaxi Company Trying To Sidestep Federal Safety Laws? “Zoox has not requested an exemption to safety rules requiring vehicles to have traditional controls like steering wheels and pedals.”
🚘 Ford Unleashes Game-Changing Update to Autonomous Driving System. “The update allows drivers to maintain their speed by automatically changing lanes to pass slower traffic on highways. Although multiple Ford F -1.88%↓ vehicles offer BlueCruise, this newest update will be limited to the newest 2025 Mach-E for now.”
🚌 T-Mobile Deploys Private 5G for Jacksonville Shuttle Service. “Mobile operator T-Mobile TMUS -0.27%↓ has deployed a private 5G network in the city of Jacksonville, Florida, to connect a fleet of autonomous vehicles along the city’s waterfront and urban center.”
😐 Chinese Self-Driving Truck Start-up Autra.tech Scales Down Operations Amid Cash Crunch. “Financing issues and potential U.S. sanctions prompt Autra.tech to cut salaries of staff, cancel new development and suspend delivery orders.”
😉 Forget Tesla, Here’s What’s Real In Moving People Driverlessly. “While Tesla TSLA 2.97%↑ is making dubious assertions about a profitable robotaxi operation run by ‘shepherds’ who own an handful of CyberCabs, May Mobility is much further down this road.”
🤷♂️ Tesla’s Project Rodeo Uses High-Risk Autonomous Vehicle Testing.
