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I kicked off my week at UP.Summit, an invite-only event that was held this year in Bentonville, Arkansas, to meet up with founders and investors focused on the future of transportation.
UP.Summit has always celebrated U.S. innovation and this year was no different, but there was more of an urgent and existential undertone this year. And with it an even bigger embrace of dual-use technology — meaning tech like software, autonomous vehicles, and aviation used for both civilian and military purposes. Defense tech is hot these days, and conversations (both on and off the stage) at the UP.Summit reflected this broader trend.
Oh, before I forget, if you want to follow my work but are more of a listener than a reader, may I suggest the Equity Podcast or The Autonocast? I’m on both! And this week, I popped over to TechCrunch’s Found podcast to talk to the co-founder of Motorway, a startup that connects car owners with dealers looking to buy and resell their vehicles.
A little bird
Remember all of the deals and partnerships a few years ago surrounding electric semitrucks?
Major corporations like PepsiCo, which operates its own fleet, and Coca-Cola bottlers were keen to try out and eventually bring electric semitrucks manufactured by Tesla, Daimler’s Freightliner eCascadia, Nikola, and Kenworth into their transportation networks. A couple of little birds recently told me the on-the-road results have these corporations rethinking what they’re getting and how much value they provide. Specifically, that EV tractors with real loads (not demos) are yielding 50% to 75% of the “claimed” range.
Does that mean these companies will scrap the programs? Probably not. But it may mean a slower-than-expected rollout.
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Deals!
Joby Aviation has bagged another $500 million investment from Toyota, bringing the automaker’s total capital injection into the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) company to $894 million. It’s either a signal that Toyota believes in Joby’s ability to get its eVTOLs certified and passengers flying commercially by its previously announced deadline of 2025, or it’s a sign that Toyota is falling prey to the sunk-cost fallacy. A classic weighing of the scales in the world of investing in frontier tech.
Joby plans to use the funds to get to the end of its lengthy Type 2 certification process with the Federal Aviation Administration and ramp up production of its eVTOL. Toyota’s engineers have been helping with Joby’s production; they work side by side with the Joby team in California to help the startup develop a manufacturing method and tooling design.
A couple other notable deals…
EVgo has secured a $1.05 billion conditional loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to accelerate the expansion of its nationwide fast charging network. EVgo is trying to build out about 7,500 new chargers.
J.B. Hunt and UP.Labs are working together on a logistics and freight venture lab that will launch up to six startups over the next three years. It’s a smart move for J.B. Hunt, a legacy logistics company that recognizes that startups will be the ones solving the freight problems of the future.
Numa, a company developing advanced AI agents to automate customer interactions for auto dealerships, raised $32 million in a Series B funding round co-led by Touring Capital and Mitsui & Co. Existing investors Costanoa Ventures, Threshold, and Google’s AI-focused venture fund, Gradient Ventures, also participated.
Notable reads and other tidbits
ADAS
Ford is cutting down the subscription cost of its hands-free driver-assistance feature BlueCruise to $49.99 per month or $495 annually, down from $75 per month and $800 per year. The discount comes after BlueCruise came under federal scrutiny after two fatal crashes this year.
Tesla has begun rolling out its Supervised FSD software to certain Cybertruck owners. Superfans get the tech first.
Autonomous vehicles
Bot Auto, the new AV trucking startup from TuSimple co-founder Xiaodi Hou, hopes to ride the wave of the AV 2.0 era, where startups are able to take advantage of recent AI advancements — from transformers to open source data cloud storage tools — to grow cheaply and quickly.
Cruise has to pay a $1.5 million fine to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after omitting key details of a pedestrian crash — like that its robotaxi dragged the pedestrian for 20 feet after running her over.
Uber is on a mission to snatch up as many autonomous vehicle partnerships as possible. Its latest tie-up is with Avride, the Yandex spinout that’s pursuing both sidewalk delivery robots and autonomous cars.
Waymo has begun offering robotaxi rides in Austin to certain members of the public who have expressed initial interest. The rides will be free for now as Waymo gears up for a commercial launch in partnership with Uber in 2025.
Waymo has also come under the public eye after one of its robotaxis stalled in front of Vice President Kamala Harris’ motorcade in San Francisco. Oh, and there was also that case of a robotaxi stopping and low-key trapping a passenger inside while some guys outside the car harassed her for her number.
And finally, in our last piece of Waymo news … remember those rumors about Hyundai? Welp, Waymo is going to use all-electric Hyundai IONIQ 5 vehicles in its robotaxi fleet. It’s notable on a few fronts and has me wondering how — and if — this will affect Hyundai-backed Motional.
Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries
Canoo has been slapped with two new lawsuits from suppliers that claim the struggling EV startup owes them money. The complaints come just weeks after Canoo kicked off a major reorganization that included the departure of its CTO.
Tesla has racked up its fifth Cybertruck recall since launching in November 2023. This time, it’s due to a delay in the rearview camera, and Tesla has already done an over-the-air update on the roughly 27,000 Cybertrucks affected. (Side note: The one benefit of a sweeping recall? We get a rough idea of how many Cybertrucks are on the road.)
Cybertrucks are really a theme in this week’s newsletter. Apparently, a Russian warlord has said he wants to take a couple of the trucks into Ukraine. Experts have said, from a warlording perspective, that’s actually unwise.
Future of flight
Beta Technologies has unveiled the next electric aircraft in its lineup, and this one is for the passengers. Beta has made a name for itself building eVTOLs and eCTOLs (electric conventional takeoff and landing) with medical, cargo, and defense applications, but the passenger-carrying vehicle has been in the cards the whole time.
Matternet has launched its first-ever home drone delivery service in Silicon Valley. The company’s been running a pilot since August 30 with its M2 Drones that are equipped with a tether drop system so they can lower packages right onto your doorstep.
Pivotal, the lightweight electric personal aircraft startup formerly known as Opener, shared at the UP.Summit that it has completed delivery of 13 BlackFly aircraft to customers (private owners and the U.S. Air Force) across the country.
Regent, a startup developing and making all-electric seagliders, provided a substantive progress report at UP.Summit. Regent co-founder and CEO Billy Thalheimer, who previously worked at Aurora Flight Sciences, is putting the $60 million of capital it raised last year to work. He told me that engineers are integrating hardware components into a full-scale seaglider prototype called the Viceroy to provide the technical validation of the craft. Regent plans to begin sea trials with humans on board later this year.
Wing CEO Adam Woodworth had a few announcements at the UP.Summit event, including the reveal of a new aircraft and a robot-to-drone delivery pilot in partnership with Serve Robotics. A Serve sidewalk bot will pick up a food order and drop it at a Wing “AutoLoader,” where a Wing drone will scoop it up and deliver it the last mile. What a time to be alive.
Micromobility
Tier has officially merged under Dott in Europe. The two scooter and bike-sharing startups decided it would be better to combine under one brand name, rather than build a conglomerate of micromobility services.
This week’s wheels
I am finally ready to share my thoughts about the 2024 GMC Sierra EV Denali Edition 1, an all-electric truck with an estimated 440 miles of range and a powertrain that delivers 754 horsepower and 784 pound feet of torque.
I should start by sharing that I do like trucks, but these days I have been less keen on them because they keep getting bigger and more expensive. The Sierra EV is in line with this trend and, yep, it’s a bit too big for my taste. However, even with that subjective caveat, let me tell you what GMC’s second electric truck delivered, besides being incredibly quick off the line — zero to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds — despite its size.
If a truck can be luxurious, this is it. And it better be, considering this trim starts at $99,495 before taxes, title, and dealer fees.
The front and backseat cabin is absolutely massive and feels more like a spacious SUV than a truck; plus it has all the posh details and materials that up the luxe appeal. The Denali Edition 1 is the full package — there are no options to add — and that means it has all the tech, including a 16.8-inch center touchscreen and the hands-free advanced driver-assistance system Super Cruise. I used Super Cruise on public highways in and around Detroit. But I also had the opportunity to try the hands-free trailering feature on a closed track. If you’ve ever hauled a boat or trailer, you know how much play there can be; even with my limited time on the track, it was obvious that it lightened my cognitive load.
For those interested in the software, yes, it worked. No buggy moments for me. And despite the truck’s large footprint, it was easy to maneuver in and out of parking spots and other tight areas thanks to the four-wheel steering.
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.
