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It feels like hardly a day passes without Waymo announcing a new area of operation. The company is preparing to launch its robotaxi service in cities such as Detroit, Las Vegas, Nashville, San Diego, and Washington, D.C., in the near future. However, as I’ve mentioned in previous editions, there’s another type of “expansion” that I believe matters even more.
Freeways.
Now, after years of trials and refinement, Waymo’s commercial robotaxi service is operating on freeways in the San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.
This marks a significant step forward for Waymo. Freeways serve as the vital links in large metropolitan regions like the Bay Area. Gaining access to these highways is accelerating Waymo’s growth in the region, which now covers 260 square miles, including both Silicon Valley and San Francisco.
Robotaxi trips can also become more direct. Waymo shared that using freeways could cut travel times by as much as 50%.
Freeway access is also crucial for Waymo to provide rides to and from San Francisco Airport, a route the company is currently piloting.
That airport-to-freeway connection could be a game changer for Waymo. But will it be enough to make the business profitable? Unless someone shares their financials with me, I can’t say for sure. It’s bound to be a hit with travelers, but that doesn’t guarantee the numbers will add up.
Keep reading for more updates, including Einride’s SPAC plans, new investments for Harbinger and Teradar, Via’s first earnings report, and the possible closure of Rad Power Bikes. Plus, scroll down for the results of our Tesla poll.
A little bird
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
It’s been almost nine months since Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson unexpectedly stepped down, leaving the company without a permanent leader. That situation might soon be resolved.
Several sources have indicated that Lucid Motors has identified a leading candidate for the CEO position. The likely pick is someone from outside the company, which isn’t surprising; back in August, we reported that Lucid and its executive search firm were casting a wide net, even reaching out to potential candidates directly. If this hire goes through, Marc Winterhoff, who has been acting as interim CEO, would likely return to his previous role as COO.
Deals!
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
Yet another SPAC has entered the autonomous vehicle sector! While mergers with special purpose acquisition companies aren’t officially “back,” they remain a favored route for AV startups.
Einride, the Swedish company specializing in electric and autonomous trucks, is set to go public through a SPAC merger, just a month and a half after securing $100 million in funding. The deal with Legato Merger Corp. values Einride at $1.8 billion before the merger.
Einride is already generating revenue, which isn’t always the case for transportation startups that have gone public via SPAC in recent years.
Currently, most of its income comes from its SaaS platform and a fleet of 200 heavy-duty electric trucks used by clients like Heineken and PepsiCo. Its distinctive autonomous pod trucks are still in the pilot phase.
The transaction is expected to be finalized in the first half of 2026, with Einride planning to list on the New York Stock Exchange.
Other deals that stood out to me this week …
Forterra, which is building autonomous technology for defense, secured $238 million in a mix of equity and debt. Moore Strategic Ventures led the equity investment, while Crescent Cove provided the debt portion.
Gopuff, the fast-delivery platform, raised $250 million in a round led by Eldridge Industries and Valor Equity Partners. Other participants included Baillie Gifford, Robinhood, Equalis Capital, George Ruan, Yakir Gabay, and the company’s founders. Bloomberg reports the new funding values Gopuff at $8.5 billion, a notable drop from its 2021 valuation.
Harbinger, an electric truck startup based in Los Angeles, brought in $160 million in Series C funding, co-led by FedEx. FedEx also placed an order for 53 of Harbinger’s electric truck chassis as part of the deal.
Octopus Electric Vehicles, a U.K. company specializing in EV leasing, has arranged a funding deal with lenders including Lloyds Banking Group, Morgan Stanley, and Credit Agricole, bringing its total credit line to £2 billion ($2.6 billion), according to Sky News.
Teradar, a Boston startup working on solid-state sensors, raised $150 million in Series B funding from Capricorn Investment Group, Lockheed Martin’s venture arm, Ibex Investors, and VXI Capital, a new defense-focused fund led by a former CTO of the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit.
Upway, a company refurbishing e-bikes, secured $60 million in Series C funding led by A.P. Moller, with Galvanize, Ora Global, and Sequoia Capital also participating. Since its launch in 2021, Upway has raised over $125 million.
Vay, a German startup that remotely delivers rental cars to customers, announced a $60 million investment from Singapore’s tech giant Grab. The deal, pending regulatory approval and expected to close by year’s end, could be followed by an additional $350 million if certain milestones are met in the first year.
Notable reads and other tidbits
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
Ford is broadening the reach of its BlueCruise hands-free highway driving system in Europe. The technology will be available in several models, including the Puma, Puma Gen-E, Kuga, and Ranger PHEV 5, starting in spring 2026.
Joby Aviation has completed the maiden flight of its turbine-electric, autonomous VTOL aircraft. This demonstrator, which is based on its all-electric air taxi platform, features a hybrid turbine powertrain and is intended for defense use.
Lyft has teamed up with Curb, a taxi-hailing platform. Through this partnership, Lyft users will be matched with Curb’s drivers via the Curb Flow integration, which is already live in Los Angeles and will expand to other cities soon.
Rad Power Bikes, a leading e-bike manufacturer, may be nearing its end. According to an internal email seen by TechCrunch, the company has told staff it will shut down in January unless it secures new funding or is acquired.
Tesla could potentially add Apple CarPlay support to its vehicles. But is it the right move at this stage? Meanwhile, Tesla’s energy storage arm is dealing with a larger recall of its Powerwall 2 product for consumers after fire incidents were reported.
The Boring Company, founded by Elon Musk, is facing scrutiny again. This time, reports indicate that firefighters suffered chemical burns during a safety drill at one of the company’s Las Vegas tunnel sites. And that’s not the only controversy.
Toyota has begun operations at a new $13.9 billion battery facility in North Carolina. While Toyota already has several U.S. sites, this is its first battery plant outside Japan. The company also announced plans to invest up to $10 billion more in the U.S. over the next five years than previously planned.
Uber has quietly started testing in-app video recording for drivers in India. The company is also targeting more premium riders with new services like Uber Ski, which allows users to pre-book rides to nearly 40 top ski resorts in North America and Europe, including Vail, Colorado, and Park City, Utah.
Via reported its first earnings since going public, and unfortunately, it posted a loss. The transit tech company lost $36.9 million in the third quarter, a 73% jump from the same period last year. Revenue, however, climbed to $713 million, up 11% year-over-year.
One more thing …
Did you catch last week’s poll? I asked which of these product milestones Tesla is most likely to hit by 2035. The options are based on targets from Musk’s $1 trillion compensation plan:
- Delivering 20 million Tesla vehicles
- 10 million active Full Self-Driving subscriptions
- Delivering 1 million robots
- 1 million robotaxis in commercial service
- None of these targets will be met
The results show a near tie between two choices: 34.7% believe Tesla will deliver 20 million vehicles, while 32% think none of these goals will be achieved.
Most readers agree that Tesla is unlikely to accomplish the other three objectives. About 9.5% voted for the 1 million robots goal, 12.6% for 10 million Full Self-Driving subscriptions, and 10.5% for 1 million robotaxis in commercial use within a decade.
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