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Hey all, I’m back after a trip that mostly involved getting around on my own two feet. But one little, perhaps somewhat obvious observation from my time in Tanzania: Two-wheelers and three-wheelers known as bajaji rule the roads. And while most are powered by fossil fuels, I did spot some electric-powered three-wheelers, including ones made by TRI.
In other news, TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 kicks off Monday at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Please reach out if you will be there; I would love to meet you. There will be loads of investors and startup founders in attendance, plus a number of transportation-related events. Don’t miss our interviews with GM CEO and chairman Mary Barra, Rivian chief software officer Wassym Bensaid, and Zoox co-founder and CTO Jesse Levinson.
A little bird
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Deals!
Adden Energy, a solid-state battery startup that spun out of Harvard, raised $15 million in Series A funding led by At One Ventures. Primavera Capital Group, Rhapsody Venture Partners, and MassVentures also participated.
Beacon AI, a startup developing an AI co-pilot for flight decks, raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Costanoa Ventures with participation from Scout Ventures. Sam Altman and JetBlue Ventures also participated.
Frontier Airlines is looking into making a renewed bid for Spirit Airlines, the WSJ reported, citing anonymous sources.
Fluid Truck recently laid off 30% of its staff, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and found a potential buyer to take on the business, pending court approval, according to bankruptcy filings and information from a former employee.
Nevoya, a startup that has billed itself as the “first zero-emissions technology and trucking platform” in the U.S., raised $3 million in a seed round led by Third Sphere and RedBlue Capital, with Necessary Ventures, Ciri Ventures, and Never Lift coming aboard as well.
Pony.AI, the Toyota-backed autonomous vehicle company, joined the list of Chinese firms going public on the U.S. stock market after a multi-year ban from Beijing on offshore capital raising. Here are four takeaways from its IPO filing.
Universal Fuel Technologies, a sustainable fuel aviation startup based in Silicon Valley, raised $3 million in a seed round led by TO VC. Alchemist Accelerator, Claire Technologies, and World Star Aviation also joined the round.
Notable reads and other tidbits
ADAS
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a new investigation into Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” software after four reported crashes in low-visibility situations — including one where a pedestrian was killed.
Autonomous vehicles
A J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Mobility Confidence Index (MCI) Study found small gains of consumer confidence in fully automated self-driving vehicles. The index score for consumer automated vehicle (AV) readiness increases 2 points to 39 (on a 100-point scale), which is where it was in 2022. Caveat: Overall confidence remains low.
Remember Wayve, the buzzy U.K. self-driving startup that raised $1 billion earlier this year? It’s jumped the pond and is testing its tech in San Francisco. It also opened an office in Silicon Valley.
Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries
Amazon is giving Prime members a 10 cents per gallon discount on gas at thousands of stations across the U.S. and plans to roll out a similar program for EV drivers next year.
TechCrunch global managing editor Matt Rosoff spent a week in the Chevrolet Equinox EV.
Tesla released its Q3 earnings, and there were a few takeaways worth noting, beyond the straight revenue ($25.2 billion) and profit ($2.2 billion). For instance, the Cybertruck, which has been a polarizing vehicle, still managed to become the third bestselling EV in the United States.
Also, the company’s energy business continues to expand; Supercharger stations continue to grow (20% YoY), but at a slower pace than in previous quarters; and CEO Elon Musk noted that Tesla employees in the Bay Area have been able to hail autonomously operated Tesla vehicles via a prototype ride-hailing app. One thing to note, though: Safety drivers are behind the wheel.
I am highly skeptical of the timeline that Musk laid out, but for the record he said the company will “have driverless Teslas doing paid rides next year, sometime next year” in California and Texas.
“I mean, I’d be shocked if we don’t get approved next year, but it’s just not something we totally control. But I think we will get approval next year in California and Texas, and towards the end of the area will branch out beyond California, Texas,” Musk said during the earnings call.
Future of Flight
The Federal Aviation Administration published a ruling that clears the path for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft to share U.S. airspace with planes and helicopters. This is a big win for the industry and specifically for startups like Joby and Archer.
Wisk Aero signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Airservices Australia, a government-owned organization that provides air traffic management and associated services in Australia. The MoU lays the foundation for incorporating safe, autonomous air taxi travel into Australia’s airspace, according to the two companies.
Ride hailing
Lyft is working on a “service animal opt-in feature” for passengers.
This week’s wheels
Yup, nothing this week, as I was traveling. But we do have a few EVs and e-bikes in the queue, including more time in the next-gen Rivian R1S.
What is “This week’s wheels”? It’s a chance to learn about the different transportation products we’re testing, whether it’s an electric or hybrid car, an e-bike, or even a ride in an autonomous vehicle.