Latest news with #Cybercab
Mint
15 hours ago
- Automotive
- Mint
AI tracker: Tesla robotaxis hit the road and other AI news
Tesla launches its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, but faces fierce competition from Waymo and Zoox. Meanwhile, Deezer flags AI-generated music to protect artists' royalties, and OpenAI's new hardware venture encounters legal challenges. The race for AI innovation is heating up. Tesla began offering robotaxi services recently in the US city of Austin, Texas. 'Super congratulations to the @Tesla_AI software & chip design teams on a successful @Robotaxi launch!!' Musk posted on X. The kickoff will employ the Model Y sport utility vehicle rather than Tesla's much-touted Cybercab, which is still under development. Tesla is deploying only 10 to 20 vehicles initially, aiming to show its cars can safely navigate real-world traffic. It's not the only robotaxi currently cruising the streets of Austin. Waymo, the driverless-car unit from Alphabet is scaling up in the city through a partnership with Uber, while Amazon's Zoox is also testing there, Bloomberg reported. Music streaming app Deezer French streaming service Deezer is now alerting users when they come across music identified as completely generated by artificial intelligence, AFP reported. Deezer said in January that it was receiving uploads of 10,000 AI tracks a day, doubling to over 20,000 in an April statement—or around 18% of all music added to the platform. The company 'wants to make sure that royalties supposed to go to artists aren't being taken away' by tracks generated from a brief text prompt typed into a music generator like Suno or Udio, the company said. AI tracks are not being removed from Deezer's library, but instead are demonetised to avoid unfairly reducing human musicians' royalties. Albums containing tracks suspected of being created in this way are now flagged with a notice reading 'content generated by AI'. A budding partnership between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and legendary iPhone designer Jony Ive to develop a new artificial intelligence hardware product has hit a legal snag after a US judge ruled they must temporarily stop marketing the new venture. OpenAI last month announced it was buying io Products, a product and engineering company co-founded by Ive, but it quickly faced a trademark complaint from a startup with a similarly sounding name, IYO, which is also developing AI hardware that it had pitched to Altman's personal investment firm and Ive's design firm in 2022.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
TechCrunch Mobility: The Tesla robotaxi Rorschach test and Redwood's next big act
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! Less than a week ago, Tesla robotaxis began rolling out and giving rides to invited customers in Austin. As Sean O'Kane and I wrote this week, the rollout is the first big test of CEO Elon Musk's belief that it's possible to safely deploy fully autonomous vehicles using just cameras and end-to-end AI — an approach that differs from other players in the space, like Waymo. By all accounts (including Tesla's), this is a limited first run. The operating area covers South Austin, the fleet of vehicles is fewer than 20, and there is still a safety 'monitor' sitting in the front passenger seat. That doesn't mean there was a subdued reaction. Social media provided a flurry of video and personal accounts — from riders and onlookers — of the robotaxis milling about Austin. And in numerous cases, the vehicles appeared to be violating traffic laws such as moving across double yellow lines into the oncoming traffic lane and abruptly hitting the brakes in the middle of intersections. The videos prompted federal safety regulators to reach out to Tesla and ask for information on the deployment. The reaction to the Tesla robotaxi rollout — and more specifically, to the videos on social — provided an informative view on just how polarizing the company is. As O'Kane quipped to me the other day, 'It's like a Rorschach test.' Tesla's robotaxi rides are either evidence of the company's hubris and Musk's broken promises on automated driving, or the beginning of the end for Waymo, Uber, and Lyft. Here's what gets closer to the truth: One week in, and we have a lot of noise and very little signal. Let's get into the rest of the news. On the back of a series of executive departures over the past year, we're hearing that Tesla is planning another round of layoffs across the company this month. CEO Elon Musk spent the last year working on politics, which culminated in a dramatic exit from his duties as head of DOGE. Now he's poised to bring that slash-and-burn energy to his own organization and DOGE-ifying the team at Tesla, with low performers on the chopping block, according to one source who is connected to the company. Meanwhile, Tesla is pushing ahead on Cybercab production. One source noted it's created a pressure-cooker environment that has caused some employees to leave the company. Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at or my Signal at kkorosec.07, Sean O'Kane at or Rebecca Bellan at Or check out these instructions to learn how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop. The news cycle this week is giving me 2016 vibes. Take this deal involving Uber co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick. Kalanick is reportedly working with investors to buy the U.S. arm of Chinese autonomous vehicle company Pony AI, and Uber might even help make it happen. That's an interesting move. In 2017, Kalanick was pressured to resign due to reports that he fostered a toxic workplace culture rife with sexual harassment, among other complaints. His resignation came a year after Uber purchased Otto, the self-driving trucks startup co-founded by Anthony Levandowski (CEO Pronto AI), Lior Ron (CEO Uber Freight), Don Burnette (founder of Kodiak Robotics), and Claire Delaunay (former Nvidia, former farm-ng CTO, and current seed investor). That deal, which was absorbed into what became Uber ATG, was controversial from the start and ultimately led to Waymo suing Uber over trade secrets theft. Fast-forward eight years: Waymo and Uber are on friendly business terms, and Kalanick is still wondering, 'What if?' The founder has been pretty vocal about saying Uber would have its own self-driving fleet had he still been in charge. Then there's Pony, which has operations in the U.S. that are at risk due to national security rules. The company has been poised to sell off its U.S. arm since at least 2022. Nascent Materials, a new startup developing cathode materials to drive down the cost of LFP batteries, raised $2.3 million in a seed round led by SOSV. The New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund and UM6P Ventures also participated. Raphe mPhibr, the Indian drone startup, raised $100 million in an all-equity Series B round led by General Catalyst. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sent Ford a lengthy list of questions about its hands-free driver-assistance system BlueCruise as part of an investigation that started more than one year ago following two fatal crashes involving the software. There was a time when AV startups tried to avoid talking about remote driving as a means of supporting its driverless tech. Now companies are openly talking about it. Take self-driving trucks company Kodiak Robotics and Vay, a remote driving startup out of Berlin. The two companies, which announced a partnership this week, have been working together since last year. Waymo and Uber have officially entered another market. The companies, which launched the 'Waymo on Uber' service in Austin earlier this year, are now operating in a 65-square-mile area of Atlanta. On top of that, Uber Eats launched sidewalk delivery robots in Atlanta with Serve Robotics, an Uber spinout that went public last year. The upshot: Momentum seems to be building for all three companies. Uber is turning into the network connector to autonomous tech (it has 18 AV partnerships globally). Waymo is the robotaxi market leader. It provides 250,000 paid robotaxi rides every week across five major cities. With Atlanta joining that list and expansions in its existing markets, that figure has surely exceeded the 300,000 mark. And Atlanta marks Serve's fourth commercial city as it works to scale to 2,000 bots on sidewalks by the end of 2025. Redwood Materials is launching an energy storage business that will leverage the thousands of EV batteries it has collected from its battery-recycling business to provide power to companies. And it's starting with — what else? — AI data centers. Rivian has laid off 140 employees ahead of its launch of the more affordable R2 SUV in 2026. The manufacturing team was hit the hardest. Tesla's top sales executive has reportedly gotten the boot from Elon Musk. Omead Afshar was one of Musk's closest confidants who just this week was posting on X about the 'historic day for Tesla' when the company rolled out its robotaxis in Austin. There was a moment around 2017 when Intel appeared poised to become a dominant player in automotive. The company had acquired Mobileye, and its VC arm was investing millions into the sector. It was part of the future of transportation conversation. Now Intel is saying goodbye to its automotive architecture business — including its AI-enhanced system-on-chip design for vehicles that had been set for production by the end of 2025 — and laying off most of its staff as part of a broader restructure.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tesla's Robotaxi Dream Is Here--But Alphabet May Have Already Won the Race
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) just kicked off its robotaxi experiment in Austin. The service runs a handful of Model Y SUVs between 6 a.m. and midnight, priced at just $4.20 per ride. These cars are outfitted with Tesla's latest full-self-driving software, but each one still has a company employee riding shotgun. It's a soft launch, in a small area, for a few handpicked riders. The bigger promisethe Cybercab that Elon Musk unveiled in 2023isn't expected until 2026. Yet, this early-stage rollout sits under a $1.1 trillion market cap and a forward P/E of roughly 150, according to FactSet. For context: that's more than the combined value of the next 20 automakers. RBC's Tom Narayan believes robotaxis account for about 60% of Tesla's valuation. In other words, this bet matters. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 6 Warning Sign with META. But while Tesla grabs headlines, WaymoAlphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOG) self-driving armis already operating in five cities, including a new launch in Atlanta. Its 1,500-vehicle fleet is real, driverless, and growing. A new Arizona plant is set to more than double that by end of next year. Waymo raised $5.6 billion last year at a $45 billion valuation, but analysts are getting more bullish. Raymond James' Josh Beck now pegs Waymo closer to $150 billion, citing a base-case of 129% compound annual growth in gross bookings over five years. A recent Uber partnership could push those numbers even higher. The market might still be fixated on Tesla's bold visionbut Waymo's quietly building a commercial robotaxi empire. Tesla's edge? Its bet on software. Musk is aiming to transform existing Teslas into money-making robotaxis with a simple updateno Lidar, just cameras. It's a cheaper approach, but not without issues. Sunlight glare, social media footage of driving errors, and early questions from regulators have already surfaced. And at $4.20 per ride, the economics don't yet impress. Waymo, meanwhile, is logging real miles, real data, and real revenue. Investors chasing the next big thing might want to look again. Because the under-the-radar AI moonshot may not be Teslait might be hiding inside Alphabet. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
U.S. regulators are circling after Tesla's Robotaxi launch included unexpected behavior and potentially broken traffic laws
Tesla's Robotaxi launch event in Austin Sunday got rave reviews from analysts, but also led to several attendees posting videos of Tesla vehicles behaving unexpectedly. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reached out a day later, and said it 'will take any necessary actions to protect road safety.' The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) contacted Tesla a day after its Sunday Robotaxi launch after videos online showed the company's autonomous vehicles acting erratically and possibly violating traffic laws. The launch, which was mostly limited to invited Tesla investors, analysts, and influencers, gave the public its first look at Tesla's Robotaxi technology, which is an 'unsupervised' version of its already available Full Self-Driving (Supervised) tech. Tesla first revealed the company's Cybercab and larger Robovan in a splashy event at the Warner Bros. studio in Burbank, Calif. last October. But Sunday's launch in Austin, Texas, was the biggest development in nearly a year (and arguably a decade) of Tesla CEO Elon Musk touting Tesla's Robotaxi ambitions, reportedly despite internal warnings claiming the Cybercab may never be profitable. The event garnered rave reviews by some Tesla analysts, including Wedbush's Dan Ives. 'Going into it, we expected to be impressed but walking away from it, all there is to say is that this is the future,' he wrote in a note. Still, videos taken by attendees Sunday showed Tesla's vehicles driving erratically and in some cases violating traffic laws and safe traffic practices, despite the presence of a 'safety monitor' in the front seat. In one video taken by Tesla investor Rob Maurer, the vehicle he is traveling in hesitates at an intersection and enters a lane meant for cars traveling in the opposite direction. The car then appears to break traffic laws by crossing a double solid yellow line before entering a left turn lane. A honk can be heard in the video. In another video posted to YouTube by Ed Niedermeyer, author of Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors, one of the Robotaxis 'brakes hard' after passing stopped police vehicles that weren't in its immediate path. 'The fact that it came nearly to a stop twice on public roads is downright unsafe,' wrote Niedermeyer in the video description. These incidents, along with others posted to social media, led the NHTSA to reach out to Tesla Monday, the federal agency confirmed. 'NHTSA is aware of the referenced incidents and is in contact with the manufacturer to gather additional information. NHTSA will continue to enforce the law on all manufacturers of motor vehicles and equipment, in accordance with the Vehicle Safety Act and our data-driven, risk-based investigative process,' the agency wrote in a statement to Fortune. The agency clarified that it does not 'pre-approve new technologies or vehicle systems,' but rather certifies that vehicles meet its safety standards and follows up on possible safety defect incidents. 'Following an assessment of those reports and other relevant information, NHTSA will take any necessary actions to protect road safety,' the agency wrote. The NHTSA has a separate existing investigation open into crashes involving Tesla vehicles using Full Self-Driving (Supervised) technology. Tesla did not immediately respond to Fortune's request for comment. Tesla has not responded publicly to the Sunday incidents, but prior to the launch, Tesla responded to NHTSA's questions about its Robotaxi program, reported electric transportation and sustainable energy outlet Electrek. The company has reportedly asked the NHTSA to keep its responses confidential, according to the outlet. The NHTSA's most recent reach out to Tesla does not mean it has opened an investigation, said Jason Turchin, a Florida-based product liability lawyer who has previously worked with vehicle cases. Still, the company should be on alert following the incidents. If the issue escalates further, Turchin said the NHTSA has broad authority to enforce a recall or impose fines on the company. 'What it sounds like is that they're in the phase right now, of like, 'we're watching you. We're aware of this potential, and we need reassurance that this is not the case,'' he told Fortune. Turchin said he hopes the NHTSA and federal government take advantage of the recent Tesla incidents as well as the general increase in self-driving vehicles to craft regulations that deal with their production and use. Still, Craig Melrose, a former vehicle production engineer at Toyota and now global managing partner of advanced technologies and mobility at consulting agency HTEC, said the NHTSA reach out to Tesla may be a positive development. 'Regulatory agencies like NHTSA exist to ensure standardization and the adoption of best practices across the industry, so their involvement can be a positive signal, especially if this is simply a proactive review,' Melrose told Fortune. This story was originally featured on
Business Insider
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Business Insider
Tesla's long-awaited robotaxi rollout faced bumps in the road
Good morning. An American moved to France expecting the workplace dynamics to resemble those back home — they were wrong. For one, they had grown used to friendly yet professional office interactions with clear boundaries. Paris was different, they said. Workplace relationships felt far more personal. In today's big story, Tesla's long-awaited robotaxis were rolled out in Austin. What's on deck Markets: From interviewing past midnight to scrambling to sign an offer, a PE professional shared his stressful on-cycle recruitment experience. Business: Homebuyers can't afford to ignore the fight between Zillow and Compass anymore. But first, there's a driver who won't judge your playlist. If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. The big story Tesla's $4.20 robotaxi ride Joel Angel Juarez/REUTERS There were some bumps in the road. After a decade of waiting, Tesla launched a limited self-driving car service in Austin. The first Tesla robotaxi rides were available on Sunday to a small group of invited users for a flat fee of $4.20 (surely not a coincidence). For now, the service is geofenced to avoid Austin's more challenging intersections. The cars came with a passenger already buckled in — a Tesla employee as a safety precaution. In footage seen by BI, there appeared to be no significant intervention from the supervisor. The vehicles did several things right, but the rollout wasn't without its hiccups. One video showed a passenger being driven across double yellow lines into the wrong lane, prompting a car behind to honk at it. During the same ride, the robotaxi also exceeded the 35-mph speed limit on multiple occasions. While the rollout used the current Tesla Model Y, sources told BI the company is building a modified version of the car for its robotaxi fleet. The project, internally referred to as "Halo," involves cars with self-cleaning cameras and extra protection for the cameras to prevent damage and debris, one insider said. The rollout came at a turbulent time for Musk. At the end of March, Tesla capped its worst quarter since 2022 amid protests at its showrooms. Then, earlier this month, Tesla stock plummeted more than 14% following a very embittered, very public falling out between Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump. Competition is also fierce. Waymo has such cabs in several cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Austin. They don't require human supervisors to be present, and their service range in Austin is about twice the size of Tesla's current operating limits. Their technology differs, too. Tesla relies on a set of cameras mounted on its vehicles, rather than expensive radar and lidar sensors used by Waymo. This is in part why Musk expects Tesla's purpose-built Cybercab to sell for less than $30,000. Waymo, meanwhile, retrofits existing vehicles with its technology, which can result in a list price as high as $70,000. Although the robotaxi arrived years later than promised, Tesla's rollout was a critical step for Musk's ambitions to make an Uber-like network of autonomous vehicles. The company's stock price leapt 8% when the markets opened on Monday, causing Musk's net worth to jump by $19 billion. 3 things in markets 1. Inside private equity's recruiting nightmare. The industry's process for hiring junior talent is notoriously competitive and chaotic. One PE professional shared his recruiting experience with BI, detailing how he interviewed until 2:30 a.m. with one firm and hid in the bathroom to call headhunters during interviews with another. 2. More Fed officials are calling for rate cuts. Three top officials appear to be on the same page as President Donald Trump after the Fed decided to hold interest rates steady last week. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell defended the central bank's patient approach in his testimony to Congress on Tuesday. Here's what the Fed officials are saying. 3. Tariff worries could soon make a comeback. July 9 is the end of the 90-day pause on Trump's tariffs. Markets are in relief mode now over Israel and Iran's ceasefire, but Morgan Stanley laid out three reasons why tariff anxiety could take center stage again. 3 things in tech 1. How AI data centers are deepening the water crisis. Large AI data centers each guzzle up millions of gallons of fresh water a day — enough for tens of thousands of Americans. Despite drought deepening, a BI investigation found that Big Tech companies have put nearly half of these centers in the most water-stressed areas of the US. 2. Why does Apple keep pulling its ads? The iPhone maker used to be infamous for its ad campaigns, but now Apple is becoming more known for yanking them. Its latest ad vanished from YouTube and Apple's site a few days ago, and BI's Peter Kafka doesn't get why. 3. What we know about the mystery device from OpenAI and Jony Ive. Or rather, what it won't be. Tang Tan, cofounder of Ive's io, revealed in legal filings that the highly anticipated AI device doesn't go in your ear and isn't a wearable. 3 things in business 1. Homebuyers are caught in the middle of an ugly real-estate fistfight. Compass and Zillow have been trading blows over who gets to see the houses for sale in America and where buyers will have to go to find them. Everyday consumers can't afford to ignore it anymore, writes BI's James Rodriguez. 2. The vibes are rank in HR right now. Nonstop layoffs, RTO mandates, AI training demands, not to mention concerns over immigration raids in the workplace — it's all piling up on HR workers. They told BI about the parts of the job that are getting downright ugly. 3. Disney's tough June. The company laid off workers for the second time this month, this time in product and technology. The layoffs affected under 2% of the group, according to a person with direct knowledge. In other news Tech stocks power Nasdaq 100 to a record high as markets celebrate the Israel-Iran ceasefire. Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's wedding guest list: A-listers arrive in Italy to celebrate. Bombings set back Iran's nuclear program, but likely didn't kill it. Logan Paul's Prime sales plummet in a key market as the once-popular drink has growing pains. Chase Sapphire Reserve's changes are making some people furious. I'm finally vindicated. The American dream used to be owning a home — now it's just finding one to rent. The massive heat wave, stretching from Maine to Texas, is slowing commuters down and making their waits miserable. Gamers are loving Nintendo's Switch 2 — and investors are loving the stock. Meet 19 startups in social networking, dating, and AI that investors have their eyes on. Buy now, pay later loans will soon hit credit scores — and experts think Gen Z could be at risk. The price of your regular Starbucks order could be about to change — if you load up on add-ons like syrups or matcha. What's happening today Fed Chair Jerome Powell presents semiannual monetary policy report to the Senate Banking Committee. Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York (on parental leave). Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Meghan Morris, bureau chief, in Singapore. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Akin Oyedele, deputy editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London.
