TechCrunch Mobility: The virtual reality robotaxi

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Robotaxis is here! And yet, they are not.

That argument works well That’s it modern reality. Anyone walking around San Francisco can clearly tell that robotaxis has arrived. But arrival, even on a large scale, does not guarantee longevity. This is a risk that hangs over any company trying to sell autonomous vehicles.

Waymo suspended operations Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio because his robotaxis is dealing with heavy rain and flooded roads – and especially knowing when to stay out of it. As I prepared to send this letter, we learned that the company has also expanded to Austin and Nashville. It’s been an ongoing problem for Waymo, which he encouraged the company issuing a reminder last week.

That same week, Waymo suspended robotaxi services on freeways in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami as it works to advance construction projects.

For now, the arrival of robotaxis is well worth it. This does not mean that this trend will last forever, but it is a reminder that starting a business is not a done deal. Waymo – arguably the leader in the robotaxi market for passengers and fleet size – is in the middle of this process. For every new city that enters or opens, a new attraction is available.

Situationship or corporation maxxing?

I’m leaving my “Little Bird” column this week to get into it Images of SpaceXIts IPO, and the situation in Elon Musk business world.

I usually don’t give much space in this article to take up space. Heh. But a SpaceX IPO filing is down this week, and the man behind the wheel is also heavily tied up Tesla. So, here we are, talking about space and, in particular, how Elon Musk uses resources from one company to help another.

The joint nature of Tesla and SpaceX is no secret; Tesla is a publicly traded company and discloses financial transactions with other companies affiliated with Musk. The new IPO filing does the same and in more detail. And now Musk’s company xAI has merged with SpaceX, the IPO puts all of these under one company.

For example, SpaceX bought $506 million worth of Tesla’s energy storage products, called Megapacks, in 2025 — nearly three times as much as last year. SpaceX also bought $131 million worth of Cybertrucks last year. SpaceX paid Musk’s company, The Boring Company, $1 million to build a tunnel in Bastrop, Texas. Musk’s social media company X, which was bought by xAI last year and merged with SpaceX, also spent $1 million to lease space to The Boring Company.

So there’s Tesla’s investment in xAI. After SpaceX acquired xAI, the money was converted into an interest in SpaceX.

The investment could be continued with two future projects of SpaceX-Tesla: the construction of Terafab, a chip manufacturing facility, and Macrohard, an AI platform that the two companies are developing that will use autonomous machines to increase human performance.

All of this brings me to my question for you. Will SpaceX and Tesla merge?

To participate in our polls, write here to get TechCrunch Mobility straight to your inbox!

For more information about SpaceX, check out these articles:

Everything in the SpaceX IPO filter
The breakdown of how Elon Musk increased his power
Who will benefit the most?
xAI burned $6.4B last year
xAI turns gas turbines into data centers

Sales!

To rideSouthern California startups develop remote-controlled electric travel trailers, earned $13 million in the pre-Series A round led by Ondine Capital and Llama Ventures. Fun fact: The company has hired Richard Kim — an automaker known for his work on the BMW i3 and i8 and as co-founder of EV relaunch Canoo — as a consultant.

QuartermasterAn Arlington, Virginia-based shipbuilding startup has been promoted $43 million in the Series A funding round led by First Round Capital and Quiet Capital.

Ms. Mobilitythe start of autonomous vehicle technology, he developed a technical cooperation and Ecarxan automotive technology company backed by Geely founder Li Shufu. Under the agreement, Ecarx will supply May Mobility with thousands of robotaxi vehicles. The company is planning to partner with a third party to begin deploying AVs next year and expand to sales by 2028. The total cost of the project is expected to be approximately $750 million over its entire period.

Scapiawhere to start booking tours in india, earned $63 million in the financing group led by General Catalyst, with existing investors Peak XV Partners and Z47 also participating.

Uber increased its stake and now owns 19.5% of German food delivery company Delivery Hero, Bloomberg said.

Popular reading and more

Bryan Reimerresearch scientist at MIT, shared his recent presentation on AI and how its future depends on human behavior, governance, and trust.

The global economy of EV is like Kand this is the world that remains.

Lyft published a blog which shows the company’s position in autonomous vehicles. In his view – they are the same as the competition Uber – the ride-hailing service requires both human and robot drivers. This makes sense politically; Lyft doesn’t want to disrupt its workforce. It also shows the exact location of the robotaxis, depending on the level. The bottom line: Robotaxis is not part of everyday life for most people in the United States.

The introduction of self-driving technology Only he hired Michael Mancini as his own chief financial officer. Mancini was previously CFO at Energy Recovery, Astranis Space Technologies, and Aerion Supersonic.

Starsthe automaker behind the Jeep and Ram brands, has found its first self-driving car Wave to bring driving without hands to its cars in 2028. Meanwhile, Stellantis revealed his $70 billion transformation plan, which includes 11 new models for North America – and some Chryslers!

Tesla is Full Self-Driving (Supervised) driver applications are now available in Lithuania. It is the second country in Europe to approve its use. Reminder: Making FSD available in Europe is important to the ambitions of Tesla and CEO Elon Musk. It’s also financial for Musk, himself $1 trillion payment package it is aligned with hitting several sales goals, including hitting “10 million FSD subscriptions” by 2035.

The San Francisco doctor who sued That’s it because his identity verification system wrongly identified him as a terrorist dismissed the case after the company resolved the issue.

One thing…

The last time I was in a Nissan Leaf It was two years ago when I tried a car 2024 Nissan Leaf SV Pluswhich cost $37,815 (including travel expenses). And at the time, I described the situation as a mixed bag. I recently came back in one, this time a 2026 Nissan Leaf Platinum+priced at $42,635, including destination charges and special extras such as two-tone paint and floor packages.

This model, the third generation Leaf, had a good EPA estimated range of 259 miles (and some versions go over 300 miles). But this wasn’t the first upgrade I’d seen. The new site had a light, very modern, I would say small, interior. I wouldn’t call it “spectacular,” but it was fun and an impressive upgrade. (See the cool night lighting in the photo above?) My model, which should be noted as the top-of-the-range, came with a wireless phone jack, a sunroof, a head-up display, and a long, curved 14.3-inch screen.

Last time, I complained about the lack of tech in a $30,000-plus car — like a backup camera with advanced vision. There are several updates that come standard and improve my previous criticism, including a 360-degree camera, wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, and cruise control. Meanwhile, I was happy to be back in the Nissan Leaf.

Do you have a warning for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.