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Okay , okay — rememberlast weekwhen I suggestedTeslawas being a bitextrain its dictation to win over shareholders to vote in favor of relocate the fellowship to Texas and to sanction CEOElon Musk’s$56 billion pay deal ?
I was haywire , y’ all . Or more accurately put , I was premature in my resolve . Because this week Tesla took it to a whole unexampled storey by swing the fortune to win a factory tour with Elon and primary designerFranz von Holzhausen . That ’s right , we ’ve got a sweepstakes - for - votes schema go on . stockholder who vote could get ahead a tour of the Tesla manufactory in Austin and an invitation to the June 13 annual meeting .
What will they provide up next ? Dinner with Elon ? A Cybertruck ? The stake are gamey and the June 13 yearly shareowner confluence is approaching — two ingredients that promise to broil up some entertaining growth .
Before we jump into the news , just a heads - up that I will be handing the steering wheel over to reporterRebecca Bellannext week as I head off for some idle time .
Tomorrow is your last day to save up up to $ 800 on Disrupt pass . Book your early - shuttlecock pass today !
A little bird
So many slight birds came to us — and posted on societal medium — about a new round of layoffs at fight EV startupFisker . found on our accountancy , century of worker were laid off .
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Fisker has been in a tailspin for month and has made several rounds of layoffs . This latest slice is getting close to the off-white . The company use about 1,135 employee as of April 19 . root recount us that after layoff in late April and this new , deep cutting , only about 150 the great unwashed rest at the society .
go a confidential information for us ? Email Kirsten Korosec atkirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com , Sean O’Kane atsean.okane@techcrunch.comor Rebecca Bellan atrebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com . Or see to it outthese instructionsto find out how to touch us via code messaging apps or SecureDrop .
Deals!
Just a good honest-to-goodness - fashioned roundup of deals this workweek . Here ’s where the money is headed .
Orca AI , a London - based startup that exact to have powered the creation ’s first autonomous commercial-grade ship voyage in congested waters , hasraised $ 23 millionin a round lead by OCV Partners and MizMaa Ventures .
Redwood Materialsinked a spate to recycleEV bombardment output scrapfor Ultium Cells , the joint battery fabrication venture between GM and LG Energy Solution .
Relectrify , an Australian inauguration developing an inverter - free battery , heighten $ 17 millionin a round direct by One Ventures . Toyota Ventures , the Australian Clean Energy Finance Corp. , Energy Innovation Capital , GS Futures , Creative Ventures , and NOAB Ventures also participated .
Zypp Electric , the Indian EV fleet inauguration , raised $ 15 millionas part of a Series C troll that its founding father projects will eventually be between $ 35 million and $ 40 million when it closes this summertime . Nipponese oil and energy conglomerate Eneos result the investment funds .
Notable reads and other tidbits
TheU.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administrationhas addednine more incidentsto its investigating into Waymo ’s self-governing vehicle package .
Cylibhas a compelling pitch for auto manufacturer that its founders say will give the Germany - basedbattery recycling startupan sharpness over heavy rivals .
Lucid Motorsannounced it waslaying off about 400 employees , or roughly 6 % of its workforce , as part of a restructuring ahead of the launch of its first electric SUV later this year . The layoff hail a little more than a yr since it curve 1,300 task .
A reader strive out more than a month ago and asked , What happened toOnyx Motorbikes ? technetium reporterRebecca Bellanspent weeksunraveling the storyof what happens when the owner and CEO of a company suddenly perish without a ecological succession plan .
Archer Aviation continues to snap up partners in its bid tocommercialize electric flight . This time , Archer and drive - hailing and parking companyKakao Mobilityhave agreed to work together to bring electric tune taxi trajectory to South Korea start in 2026 .
Appleand the Paris area transportation authority , known asÎle - Diamond State - France Mobilités(IDFM),rolled outsupport for transit passesin Apple Wallet , which will set aside people to use their iPhone or Apple Watch as a Navigo pass to ride the metro , train , tram or bus . This is noteworthy on two fronts : The Apple integration is the result of year of talks between the tech giant and IDFM , and it ’s coming online just two months before millions of multitude are expected to come to Paris this summer for the Olympic Games . And yep , Android users have been able to employ their headphone as a Navigo pass for a while .
Chinese EV makershaven’t made substantial inroad in the U.S. just yet , but that does n’t mean people are n’t worried . U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkinwill bring in a bill to Congress that would limit orban the introduction of unite vehiclesbuilt by Taiwanese companies if they are found to pose a threat to national security .
RememberSpotify’sbig launch into ironware with its Car matter equipment ? It was short - endure . Spotify stopped making the gadget in July 2022 but said it would brook existing owners of the $ 100 gadget . Welp , those day are over . Spotify told customers that theCar affair will stop workingafter December 9 , 2024 .
This week’s wheels
What is “ This workweek ’s wheels ” ? It ’s a chance to learn about the different transportation system products we ’re testing , whether it ’s an electric or hybrid car , an east - bike or even a ride in an self-governing fomite .
This week , TC contributorEmme Hallshared her view — and first - look notion — of the2025 Cadillac Optiq EV . This is the fourth EV that Cadillac has reveal since 2022 , although it should be take down that only one — the Lyriq — is presently for sales event .
Hall decease into depth here , so please curb it out . For those who want the tl;dr : Cadillac clearly wants to draw novel , younger vendee in a bid to breathe Modern spirit into the luxuriousness brand . The Optiq appear to be its solvent — at least for now . As Hall notes , the vehicle is a “ looker ” and is the cheapest EV in the Cadillac lineup . In other words , Cadillac design a thirst trap to hook young buyers . But will it forge ? With so many midsized crossovers on the market today , it ’s tough to stand out and appeal buyers .
