Sean Duffy, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. Department of Transportation, thinks owners of electric vehicles should pay to use roads.  “How to do that, I think, is a little more challenging,” Duffy said at his confirmation hearing Wednesday before the Senate Commerce Committee.  The former Republican lawmaker is correct that it would […]

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The U.S. Department of Commerce announced a final rule Tuesday that would ban the sale or import of connected vehicles from China and Russia due to national security concerns. The rule would also bar Chinese car companies, such as WeRide and Pony AI, from testing self-driving cars on U.S. roads.  “China is trying to dominate […]

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Aurora Innovation is taking federal safety regulators to court in a case that could have far-reaching implications for self-driving truck companies operating in a regulatory environment designed around humans. The fight centers around the rather commonplace practice of placing physical warning triangles around semi trucks stopped along highways. The court denied Aurora’s request to be […]

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Even before CES 2025 kicked off a few trends began to emerge — or more accurately, some gaps appeared.  All U.S. and some European automakers that have helped turn CES into an auto show were absent. Several Chinese automakers filled that void, notably Zeekr, the EV brand owned by China’s Geely Holdings. Wey, a premium […]

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In the wake of Meta’s decision to remove its third-party fact-checking system and loosen content moderation policies, Google searches on how to delete Facebook, Instagram, and Threads have been on the rise. People who are angry with the decision accuse Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg of cozying up to the incoming Trump administration at the expense […]

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Google searches for how to cancel and delete Facebook, Instagram, and Threads accounts have seen explosive rises in the U.S. since Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company will end its third-party fact-checking system, loosen content moderation policies, and roll back previous limits to the amount of political content in user feeds.  Critics see […]

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A Delaware judge has approved a settlement that will see Tesla directors — including Chair Robyn Denholm, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Kimbal Musk, and James Murdoch — return up to $919 million to the automaker, officially resolving allegations that they overpaid themselves, per Reuters.  The settlement concludes a 2020 lawsuit by the Police and Fire […]

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A month ago, a video circulated around social media of a Waymo robotaxi stuck in a roundabout loop – an isolated incident with no passengers in the vehicle, according to Waymo. Apparently, it wasn’t a one-time thing. Around the same time, in another Waymo robotaxi headed for the Phoenix airport, Mike Johns, founder and CEO […]

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Uber announced during CES 2025 a multi-year exclusive partnership with Delta Air Lines that allows SkyMiles members to earn miles when they ride with Uber or order delivery through Uber Eats in the United States. The deal means an end of Delta’s partnership with Lyft. The Uber partnership will launch in the spring, giving Uber […]

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into 2.56 million Tesla vehicles after several crashes involving the automaker’s “Actual Smart Summon” remote parking feature. Tesla released Actual Smart Summon, or ASS for short, via software update in September. It allows Tesla owners to use their app to command the vehicle drive itself […]

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Xpeng Aero HT, the aerospace company under Chinese EV startup Xpeng, unveiled at CES 2025 its “modular flying car,” the Land Aircraft Carrier. It’s essentially an electric minivan with a small folding eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) vehicle tucked in the back, which can be rolled out and launched into flight.  The company says […]

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Uber will use Nvidia’s new generative world model simulation tool, Cosmos, and cloud-based AI supercomputing platform, DGX Cloud, to support the development of autonomous vehicle technology, the companies announced at CES 2025. Cosmos is being marketed to robotics and autonomy companies as a tool that generates physics-based videos from a variety of inputs, including 9,000 […]

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Nvidia and Uber-backed Serve Robotics has raised $80 million via a direct offering of 4.2 million shares of common stock. The fresh cash will help the company extend its runway through 2026 and scale its fleet from the 100 robots on the streets of Los Angeles today to the 2,000 Serve hopes to deploy by […]

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Micromobility giant Segway launched two new e-bikes at CES 2025 that are designed to make the experience of riding a bike easier, safer, more convenient, and more accessible.  The new bikes – the Xyber that’s giving dirt bike energy, and the classic-looking Xafari – are available for pre-order now, with expected delivery in February, according […]

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May Mobility, an autonomous vehicle technology startup, unveiled at CES 2025 the next vehicle in its portfolio: an electric, autonomous minibus made in partnership with European electric bus manufacturer Tecnobus.  Ann Arbor-based May Mobility offers on-demand and fixed-route autonomous shuttles on campuses and in planned communities. Today its fleet consists of 40 Toyota Sienna minivans that […]

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Toyota announced at CES 2025 that its next-generation vehicles will have automated driving capabilities powered by Nvidia’s Drive AGX Orin supercomputer and safety-focused operating system, DriveOS. DriveOS is the operating system for Nvidia’s autonomous vehicle platform that promises safe, real-time AI processing and integration of advanced driving and cockpit features. TechCrunch has reached out to […]

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Tom Vice, the CEO of private space technologies company Sierra Space, has left the company, according to a CNBC report.  Vice held the position for three and a half years, overseeing the VC-backed company’s $290 million fundraise at a $5.3 billion valuation in 2023 and securement of a military satellite contract in early 2024.  Despite […]

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Flying Flea is the latest electric two-wheeler manufacturer to embrace the connected vehicle trend. At CES 2025, Flying Flea shared plans to integrate some of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon products into its upcoming line of motorcycles, bringing connected capabilities like voice assistance, smartphone-enabled keys, and customizable ride modes.  Indian motorcycle manufacturer Royal Enfield introduced the Flying Flea […]

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Agriculture, which consumes about 70% of global freshwater, is grappling with increased water scarcity and inefficient irrigation systems. Traditional methods of irrigation not only lead to wasted water and nutrients, but also contribute to lower crop yields, food insecurity, and unnecessary carbon emissions.  Hong-Kong based agriculture technology startup Full Nature Farms thinks there’s a better […]

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Luxury electric vehicle startup Lucid produced and delivered a record number of electric vehicles in the fourth quarter and full year of 2024.  Lucid produced 3,386 vehicles and delivered 3,099 in Q4. On a full-year basis, the company produced 9,029 vehicles and delivered 10,241 vehicles in 2024, meeting its previously announced target to produce roughly […]

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