Trucks | FoT: $99 FSD, Platform Sciences, Carrar

FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital 

Notable:

ADAS and autonomy is getting cheaper, illegal, more widespread, more limited, more scrutinized, and enthusiastically paid for -- all at the same time. The following six items highlight the movements of the AV richter scale during just one week:

Tesla drops the price of FSD ADAS to $99 month from $199 in US (link). WSJ: 'we'll know Tesla believes its own 'self-driving' claims when it takes liability for crashes that occur under their control' (link). I expect that eventually Tesla will make their full ADAS/FSD suite compulsory, like they did early on for their telecom plan in order to keep your warranty active. A new era of hardware with 'hard software' rules.

GM's Cruise is back, in limited deployments with human operators in Arizona (link). Up next, a return to SF seems likely (link).

Automated trains delayed: new federal rule says freight trains must keep 2-person crews (link). CATO: this is about union control more than safety (link).

British Columbia bans Level 3 and higher levels of automation (link).

Didi's 2030 goal: 1 million robotaxis on its platform (link).

NTSB takes a closer look at Ford's ADAS system after crashes involving fatalities of drivers in stationary vehicles (link).

A look at Japan's Tier IV automated driving startup (link). Like 'Waymo, Tesla, Mobileye all in one.'

Ok, map-making nerds: where's your revolution? (link).

Video: Porsche motorsports group shows Apple Vision Pro demo (link). Audio: former NHTSA leader Dr Mark Rosekind on the Peter Attia podcast (link). Video: Chris Harris (doesn't) drive his BMW M5 Touring dream car (link). Via Diego. Video: tow truck in San Francisco attempts to hitch a moving vehicle (link). Audio: UM's Greg McGuire talks about the future of M City on the Shift podcast (link). Video: Munro looks at the Cybertruck's battery pack (link). Video: America's big chip-making blunder (link). Video: Tatu Gustafsson’s Weather Camera Self-Portraits (link). Video: Japan's Kasso is like skateboarding's ninja warrior show (link). Video: Gordon Murray on developing his perfect supercar (link). Video: new skateboards at ESK8 convention (link).

Most N.Y.C. drivers who honk are breaking the law, but can they be stopped? (link).

M&A / Deals / Changes:

Logistics startup Platform Sciences raies $125M (link). Led by 8VC, NewRoad Capital Partners, and Prologis Ventures.

Israeli battery management startup Carrar raises $5.3M (link). Led by Salida B.V., OurCrowd, and NextGear.

US DoT plans $830M funding for 80 projects aimed at strengthening infrastructure (link).

Mobile service startup Yoshi raises $26M (link). Led by GM Ventures.

Finnish AR software startup Basemark raises $23.9M (link). Led by ETF Partners.

Porsche signs collaboration agreement with suspension startup ClearMotion (link).

Israel’s Maniv raises its third venture fund (link). We have been longtime friends and partners of Maniv and are very happy to see they have a new fund to back startups across transportation and beyond.

New Stuff:

NYC's new 'windshield boot' aka the Barnacle (link).

Edge Case Research publishes the Open Autonomy Safety Case Framework (link).

GAO's report on Right to Repair (link to PDF).

New CVSA change validates use of automatic tire inflation systems to reduce tire blowouts (link). 'CVSA adopted an amendment to the North American Standard OOSC which allows tires that have a noticeable leak in the tread area to remain in service if they are equipped with an ATIS that maintains the inflation pressure greater than 50% of the maximum inflation pressure on the tire sidewall.'

Driver Technologies and TurnSignl partner on dashcam and legal solutions (link).

Tesla settles claim with the family of the Apple engineer who died in an Autopilot crash (link).

Lyft's Bay Wheels bikeshare expands in San Francisco (link). 'The Bay Wheels regional bikeshare program will add 2,000 next-generation e-bikes and 55 additional docking stations in San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville to increase ridership and lower operating costs.'

India's Exponent Energy and Omega Seiki launch fast-charging 3-wheeler (link).

Patents & Patent Applications:

Ford's patent shows vehicle seat with pet-specific angle and positioning (link).

Featured Jobs:

Director Install Operations at Treehouse in Chicago, IL USA (link).

Senior Manager of FP&A at May Mobility in Ann Arbor, MI USA (link).

MobilityJobs is the No.1 job board for auto & transportation companies (link). If you are a startup you can use the job board for free standard listings — just enter 'Trucks' at checkout.

Statistics / Projections:

BYD probably makes about $1250 profit per vehicle it sells (link).

Tesla's charging business projected to hit $7.4B in revenue by 2030 (link). Via BNEF.

Chicago saw the highest growth in bicycling over the past 4 years among major US cities, with trips up 119% over the same period (link). Via Replica.

Plug-in hybrid drivers tend to drive their vehicles in electric mode less than expected (link). Via MIT Technology Review / European Commission. 'According to the new European Commission report, drivers in plug-in hybrid vehicles produce about 139.4 grams of carbon dioxide for every kilometer driven, based on measurements of how much fuel vehicles use over time. On the other hand, official estimates from manufacturers, which are determined using laboratory tests, put emissions at 39.6 grams per kilometer driven.'

The average US auto retail price increased 1.6% to $47,014 in 2023, marking slower growth than the 9.2% increase in 2022 (link). Via Automotive News / National Automobile Dealers Association.

Thank you:

Thank you to Grayson Brulte (link), Amrit Chandan (link), Dante DiIonno (link), Matthew Fisher (link), Laura Gluhanich (link), Brett Jackson (link), Liam Krut, Neel Mehta (link), Rahul Sekar (link), Joanna Sherry (link), Jason Townsend (link) and David Zipper (link) for offers of introductions to new founders, investors and friends over the last week.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

Aperia (link), Edge Case Research (link), May Mobility (link), Treehouse (link), Turnsignl (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

See you next week,

Reilly Brennan