\nElon goes to China, Rivian is selling stock for $3 billion, and Fiat\u2019s cutest tiny EV<\/br>
\n2023-06-04 21:34:42<\/br><\/p>\n
Welcome back to The Station, your central hub for all past, present and future means of moving people and packages from Point A to Point B.<\/p>\n
Rebecca Bellan here, and yup, I\u2019m still steering the ship.<\/p>\n
The biggest news this week has been Elon Musk\u2019s visit to China<\/a>, a move that has the potential to strengthen Tesla\u2019s ties with the world\u2019s largest auto market. It\u2019s Musk\u2019s first visit since the COVID-19 pandemic, and his commitment to China isn\u2019t surprising given how much China\u2019s vehicle sales carry the automaker\u2019s global sales. In Q1, China accounted for over half of Tesla\u2019s deliveries.<\/p>\n Even though Twitter is banned in China, Musk has still managed to make himself something of a legend to the Chinese people, reports Rita. The CEO has over 2 million followers on Weibo, where Musk shares his admiration for China, his opposition to cutting off supply chains and his plans to expand his business in China.<\/p>\n \u201cThe China space program is far more advanced than most people realize,\u201d wrote Musk<\/a> on Weibo.<\/p>\n His sweet-talking has earned him the nickname \u201cIron Man.\u201d<\/p>\n The pieces of Musk\u2019s visit to China are still falling, and we\u2019ll keep updating, but here\u2019s what we know so far. Musk kicked off his trip by dining with Zeng Yuqun, chairman of CATL, one of the largest battery manufacturing companies. There have been talks lately of CATL and Tesla partnering to build cheaper batteries<\/a> in the U.S., but there\u2019s nothing solid yet.<\/p>\n Musk also paid a visit to the Shanghai Gigafactory, where he met the staff behind Tesla\u2019s popular Model 3 and Model Y.<\/p>\n We\u2019re keeping our eyes out for more news of Musk\u2019s happenings in China. And with that, onto the rest!<\/p>\n Want to reach out with a tip, comment or complaint? Email Kirsten at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com<\/a>. You also can send a direct message to @kirstenkorosec<\/a>. Or you can reach Rebecca at rebecca.techcrunch@gmail.com<\/a> or follow her at @rebeccabellan<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Reminder that you can drop us a\u00a0note at\u00a0tips@techcrunch.com<\/a>.\u00a0If you prefer to remain anonymous<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/em>click here to contact us<\/em><\/a>, which includes SecureDrop (<\/em>instructions here<\/em><\/a>) and various encrypted messaging apps.<\/em><\/p>\n Cake<\/strong> is expanding into India<\/a> via a partnership with Pepfuels<\/strong> under the brand name CollarEV.<\/p>\n Cowboy<\/strong> is being sued<\/a> by eBikeLabs<\/strong>, a French startup that builds embedded software for e-bikes, for patent infringement and copying eBikeLabs\u2019 tech in its latest feature, AdaptivePower. Cowboy has refuted the claims and accused eBikeLabs of running a smear campaign. As Romain Dillet reports, \u201cThis is a messy story about a business relationship that fell apart between a small startup that doesn\u2019t have deep pockets and a popular consumer brand that wants to protect its reputation.\u201d<\/p>\n Zoomo<\/strong> will start offering Urban Arrow<\/strong>\u2019s electric cargo bikes on its e-bike subscription platform.<\/p>\n Residents of Santa Barbara<\/strong> can check out e-bikes on a weekly basis from a new e-bike lending library.<\/a><\/p>\n Honda<\/strong> filed patents<\/a> for two new moped-style electric scooters called Dax:e and Zoomer:e. Both are poised to enter the Indian market.<\/p>\n Zeus<\/strong> launched a solar panel charging pilot program in Regensburg, Germany. Under the pilot, scooters parked at the company\u2019s three \u201cZolar stations\u201d will get a charge from the sun. Maybe they should be called Helios stations, amiright?!<\/p>\n Porsche <\/strong>has launched two new e-bike<\/a> cross-performance models that look like they can absolutely shred mountains.<\/p>\n On June 7, TechCrunch is going to (virtually) be in Atlanta. We have a slate of amazing programming planned, including the mayor himself,\u00a0Andre Dickens<\/a>. If you are an early-stage Atlanta-based founder,\u00a0apply to pitch<\/a>\u00a0to our panel of guest investors\/judges for our live pitching competition. The winner gets a free booth at TechCrunch Disrupt this year to exhibit their company in our startup alley.\u00a0Register here to tune in to the event.<\/a><\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Bryce Durbin (opens in a new window)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Lucid Group<\/b> plans to raise $3 billion through a stock offering, the majority of which will come from Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund (PIF). PIF already owns more than 60% of the company, and it\u2019s agreed to buy 265.7 million shares in a private placement for about $1.8 billion, which suggests a price of about $6.80 per share. The rest will be raised from a public offering of 173.5 million shares of common stock, according to the company.<\/p>\n Shares immediately dropped 9% after-hours on the news as investors considered how much more money Lucid would need to surmount its rising losses and diminishing available capital. And all of this amid a looming recession, a Tesla-sparked price war, and the aftertaste of large-scale layoffs in March<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sure, Lucid can bring in more cash, but the company really needs to cure its spending problem. In the first quarter<\/a>, Lucid\u2019s cash and cash equivalents dropped to $900 million, down from $1.74 billion at the end of Q4 2022.<\/p>\n Other deals that got my attention this week \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Boeing <\/b>has fully acquired eVTOL startup Wisk Aero<\/b>. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Boeing already owned part of Wisk and had committed $450 million in capital back in January.<\/p>\n A British consortium that includes mining company Glencore<\/b> will invest $9 billion<\/a> in Indonesia\u2019s mining and EV battery sectors. Indonesia has the world\u2019s biggest nickel reserves.<\/p>\n General Motors<\/b> and South Korea\u2019s Posco Chemical<\/b> are getting C$150 million<\/a> from Canada\u2019s federal government and Quebec to build a battery materials facility. The companies aim to have the C$600 million project up and running by 2025.<\/p>\n Loewi<\/b>, a Paris-based e-bike refurbishment startup, raised \u20ac1 million in funding to help it reach 300 refurbishments per month and expand globally.<\/p>\n Ola Electric<\/b>, an Indian manufacturer of electric two-wheelers, is said to be preparing for an initial public offering<\/a> before the year\u2019s end. The company achieved a valuation of $5 billion during its most recent fundraising round in 2022.<\/p>\n A California<\/strong> bill that would require a trained human safety operator to be present anytime a heavy-duty autonomous vehicle operates on public roads passed the state\u2019s Assembly floor<\/a>. It\u2019ll go to the Senate now and, if passed, to the governor\u2019s desk. The AV industry argues the bill stifles California\u2019s competitiveness and defeats the whole purpose of self-driving trucks. The bill\u2019s authors are concerned about safety on highways and job security for truckers.<\/p>\n Cruise<\/strong> is expanding hours of operation in San Francisco for certain riders who have access to its free service. For some, rides will start at 9 p.m. and go until 5:30 a.m.<\/p>\n Einride<\/strong> announced a partnership with the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure to deploy 2,000 EVs, 200 autonomous vehicles, eight charging stations and Einride\u2019s SaaS product Saga across 550 km of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. The partnership is expected to play out over the next five years. Einride did not share the financial terms.<\/p>\n Serve Robotics<\/strong> and Uber<\/strong> have expanded their existing partnership<\/a>. Over the next couple of years, about 2,000 of Serve\u2019s little autonomous sidewalk delivery robots will deliver food via the Uber Eats platform in multiple markets across the U.S.<\/p>\n Arcimoto<\/b> unveiled its new tiny, three-wheeled flatbed truck<\/a> called the MUV. It has a customizable rear storage space, top speed of 75 mph, and about 102 miles of city range. The MUV is available now for $23,500, and Arcimoto is aiming to sell fleets.<\/p>\n Select 2024 Audi <\/b>and other VW Group<\/b> cars will have Webex available to download from the automaker\u2019s in-app car store. Webex is also available on the 2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class and in Ford vehicles.<\/p>\n Fiat<\/b>\u2019s new Topolino tiny EV is so cute we could scream<\/a>. The remade Citroen Ami is a retro-looking quadricycle with a convertible top and ropes instead of doors, and aside from a teaser image, that\u2019s really all we know about it. It probably won\u2019t go any faster than the Ami, which hits around 28 mph, so it\u2019ll be a no-go for the States. Which is sad because, again, it\u2019s super cute and better for the environment and urban landscapes than an electric Hummer.<\/p>\n Ford<\/b>\u2019s CEO Jim Farley said<\/a> the automaker might not break even on its EVs until 2030.<\/p>\n Geely <\/b>is preparing to enter Thailand\u2019s electric vehicle market<\/a>.<\/p>\n The 2023 Mercedes-Benz <\/b>EQS SUV<\/a> is a practical, luxurious car with top-notch tech in the form of a Hyperscreen and a handful of driver-assist features. It\u2019s great for tech-forward families who like the finer things in life and plenty of space. Only downside? The exterior is a bit meh. As Tim Stevens describes it, \u201cThe result is a bit of a blob that absolutely disappears into any parking lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Polestar<\/b>\u2019s latest software update includes YouTube. Like other similar iterations, users can stream video while stopped, like if they\u2019re waiting for a pickup or charging their vehicles. The Polestar 2 software update also includes an updated version of Apple CarPlay that lets you project Apple Maps onto the instrument cluster.<\/p>\n Rivian<\/b> has teased its smaller, lower-cost R2 SUV design over the Memorial Day weekend during an Instagram Q&A<\/a>. CEO RJ Scaringe stood in front of a clay model of an R2 covered with a black cloth, outlining a boxy-looking compact vehicle.<\/p>\n Tesla<\/strong> says all of its Model 3 sedans now qualify for the full $7,500 EV tax credit<\/a>.<\/p>\n Toyota<\/b> has committed another $2.1 billion<\/a> to its battery factory in North Carolina. The automaker also said its first U.S.-made electric SUV will be built at its Kentucky factory.<\/p>\n Volkswagen<\/strong> has finally debuted its U.S. version of the Volkswagen ID.Buzz minivan after years of teasing. The specs on the U.S. van are, unsurprisingly, much bigger than the European bus<\/a>. The whole feel of it is retro-meets-cool, and indeed, we have ourselves asking, Can VW make minivans cool<\/a>? Once factoring in the nostalgia aspect, the answer is undoubtedly yes. And VW will need that as it coasts into EV-land.<\/p>\n Volvo<\/b> revealed some details<\/a> about the interior of its new EX30. From what we can tell, that good old Scandinavian design is really pulling through to optimize space in the small SUV.<\/p>\n Attending Apple\u2019s<\/strong> WWDC this month? Check out this new website<\/a> from flight tracking tool Flighty<\/strong> to find others who are traveling to the event and connect with them, maybe even en route!<\/p>\n Delta Air Lines<\/strong> is being sued<\/a> in a class action lawsuit for allegedly greenwashing. The company made a $1 billion pledge in 2020 to become carbon neutral, but the plan relied on carbon credits to offset the airline\u2019s pollution.<\/p>\n The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration<\/strong> proposed a new rule<\/a> that would require all new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. to be equipped with automatic emergency braking systems.<\/p>\n Tesla <\/strong>has been given the all-clear<\/a> by NHTSA after the agency closed an investigation into Tesla for allowing in-dash gaming while its vehicles were moving.<\/p>\n Bored of the standard navigation voice on Waze<\/strong>? Now you can have Roger Federer<\/strong> give you turn-by-turn directions<\/a>, because why not?<\/p>\n Wingcopter<\/strong> and Siemens<\/strong> have signed an MoU to develop and roll out an integrated drone delivery solution to transport lab diagnostics and other medical supplies in Africa.<\/p>\n Ford<\/b> launched a new pilot called Ford Drive<\/a> that will give Uber <\/b>drivers in San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles access to flexible leases on Mustang Mach-Es.<\/p>\n Revel<\/b> is diversifying its all-Tesla ride-share fleet with about 50 Kia Niro EVs.<\/p>\n Uber<\/b>, Lyft<\/b>, DoorDash<\/b> and other app-based ride-hail and delivery companies will have to reimburse California gig workers<\/a> potentially millions of dollars for unpaid vehicle expenses between 2022 and 2023. The backpay comes from a provision in Prop 22 that gives low-earning drivers a vehicle reimbursement fee of $0.30 per active mile driven. That fee was meant to increase with the rate of inflation, but for the past year and a half, it has remained stagnant.<\/p>\n
\nMicromobbin\u2019<\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nCity Spotlight: Atlanta<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nDeal of the week<\/h2>\n
![\"money](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/money-the-station.png?resize=1140%2C285&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\nNotable reads and other tidbits<\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nAutonomous vehicles<\/h3>\n
Electric vehicles, batteries and charging<\/h3>\n
Miscellaneous<\/h3>\n
Ride-hail<\/h3>\n