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As I mentioned last workweek , this is still your key hub for news program and insights on the future of transportation ! This week , interpret about howMercedesmistakenly exposed its origin code , the latest in theCruise - GMsaga , Tesla’sEV sale monition and more .
Let ’s go !
A little bird
Economic headwind might be easing a bit , but troupe are still getting extort . self-governing vehicle and EV startup — even those that have since go public — are assay to cut costs in hopes of protract their capital letter runway . Aurora Innovation , for example , repose off about 3 % of its men ; EV companyPolestarconfirmed to TechCrunch it has also cut about 15 % of its global workforce;Flexportis reportedly looking to axe another20 % of jobs;and software delivery company Veho said that itlaid off 19%of its corporate / exempt employee head count .
Now , a few little bird are telling us thatCanooandFaraday Future — both EV startups that went public via merger with particular purpose acquisition companies — are either reducing salaries or furloughing employee . Faraday has confirm it has shrink salaries and lay off employee without ply more detail . Sources tell us that Canoo is also furlough workers .
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Deal of the week
Over at the TC climate desk , newsperson Harri Weber spoke toArcTernManaging PartnerMurray McCaigabout its third ( and recently closed)$335 million fund .
ArcTern plans to pump this capital into climate - focused startups that can deliver crack fast coming back . Specifically , the Toronto - based house is focus on startup that use proven tech in new style . And his bet ? Decarbonizing mobility . Though galvanising vehicle sale have slowed of late , McCaig sees this as a “ pip . ”
The VC conceive North America is about to reach a tipping point where EV espousal claim off like a rocket , as it has in Norway .
Other deals that get my attention …
Clearmotionraised an additional $ 4 million , bringing its Series B one shot to about $ 43 million , harmonize to arecent Form D filing .
Corvus Energy , an vigour store and fuel cell systems caller focused on maritime , seaward and port applications , batten down an unrevealed investment from Woven Capital , Toyota ’s growth stock .
Monta , an EV charging computer software startup found in Copenhagen , rear € 80 million($86.9 million ) in a Series B financing round co - led by Energize Capital , GreenPoint Partners and Denmark ’s nation - back Export and Investment Fund .
Sion Power , a Tucson , Arizona - based lithium - metal battery developer , invoke $ 75 millionfrom battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution , mathematician and investor Jim Simons ’s Euclidean Capital and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt ’s fellowship office management fellowship Hillspire LLC .
Vroomisshutting downits online used car marketplace and shifting all of its imagination and cap into two business units focused on auto funding and AI - powered analytics . About 800 employee , or 90 % of its workforce , will recede their chore as a result .
Notable reads and other tidbits
Autonomous vehicles
Theinternal reviewofCruiseand the October 2 outcome that led to theGMsubsidiary losing its permits to run robotaxis in California ultimately dropped . The tl;dr via the report lead byQuinn Emanuel : Cruise did n’t advisedly misdirect regulators . So what went wrong at Cruise ? A deficiency of judgement , missteps by leadership , an “ us versus them ” family relationship with governor and a fixation on correct the inaccurate media narrative that the Cruise AV , not the human - driven Nissan , had get the accident were all contributing factors to the company ’s trouble .
Cruise also revealed that theDepartment of Justiceand theSecurities and Exchange Commissionhave also opened investigations into the party . Pretty much every agency you could think of is now see into the incident , including the California Department of Motor Vehicles , the California Public Utilities Commission and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration .
Finally , the 195 - page report also include in its appendix a hard redacted report by Exponent that looked into the expert problems on October 2 , specifically why the robotaxi initiated a slipover maneuver that then dragged the walker who was trapped underneath . More to fall on that front .
Electric vehicles, batteries & charging
Porschetook the wraps off of two random variable of theMacan EV , a long - delayed project that will test whether consumers still have the effort to give for an galvanic fomite that costs more than $ 78,000 .
Teslakicked offearnings seasonwith a bit of a lemon . Yes , the company delivered a record 1.8 million eV in 2023 , but profits suffered ( specially when depend at its engage income ) due to its price stinger that squeezed margins as well as in high spirits R&D expenses and the cost of bring the Cybertruck into product . While solar deployment turn down , energy storagewas one of the rosier surface area , with 125 % growing yr - over - yr .
Software and other in-car tech
Mercedes - Benzaccidentallyexposed a trove of intimate dataafter leave a private tonality online that give “ unrestricted access ” to the companionship ’s source code .
Teslaplans to drop $ 500 million to build one of its so - called“Dojo ” supercomputersat its Buffalo , New York manufacturing plant , the body politic ’s governor Kathy Hochul announced during a Friday news conference , just day after CEO Elon Musk called the undertaking a “ long shot . ” Musk also made an interesting comment on social sensitive that downplayed the investment funds , noting the party would expend far more money on Nvidia ironware in 2024 .
This week’s wheels
This week ’s wheels comes from TC editor Devin Coldewey who lately purchase the Ride1Up 700 Series eastward - bike .
I waver for a few months on buying a newfangled e - bike , trying to line up the correct balance between mope - style gas and traditional pedal assist . Ultimately , I went with theRide1Op 700 Series , which offer a variety of software system deal ( at a Black Friday price ) that meant a lower limit of dither for a maximum of utility program . Fenders , stand , lights , all in the bargain .
While assembly was a minute involved ( do n’t try if you have n’t put a cycle together before ) , the last ware is — now that I have put some miles on it — pretty solid . Some of the ergonomics could be effective and the custom rack does n’t fit any of the panniers I wanted ; however , the boastful self-colored chassis and oversize wheel are reassuring on the route and the gas pedal is first-class for navigating both Seattle pitcher’s mound and Seattle drivers .
It ’s on the heavier side — 62 pound — so I would n’t take the air it up any stair or hang up it from an average wheel hook . But it ’s already open up a dissimilar “ zona ” in my mind for become around the city : too far to conveniently walk , too nigh to justifiably drive and too mountainous to pedal . Turns out that ’s a lot of Seattle !
This definitely wo n’t be my last e - bike , but I ’m pleased with it as my first . If I had to do it again , I might have opted for the light LTD with its torque sensing foot pedal assist , but hey .
