Trucks | FoT: Buttons, GUSS, Scout AI

Trucks | Future of Transportation for 2025.09.01
FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital 

Notable:

A timeline of the fall of Fisker (link). One of the great what-ifs of Fisker is if they had done better product planning when they started; eg if they launched with a 3-row SUV for the American market instead of a compact. Perhaps the third incarnation of a Fisker EV startup will be different in a few years.

All-screen interfaces are dangerous: from 2026, cars will need buttons (not just touchscreens) to get a 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating (link). 'Manufacturers won’t be able to achieve the highest safety ratings if they don’t provide proper, physical switches for certain functions including indicators, hazard lights, sounding the horn, operating windscreen wipers and activating the eCall SOS function.'

Tesla said it didn’t have key data in a fatal crash. Then a hacker found it (link). Via Sam T.

Roaming AVs don't need parking lots, but they do need to loiter -- in front of your house (link). Mommy, why is the robot shooting lasers into my bedroom window again?

Deep dive look at Xiaomi's car ambitions, as SU7 becomes the number-two best-selling premium car in China (link).

Stellantis shutters its internal Level 3 ADAS program (link). From a supplier friend: 'doesn't mean it's done, just moving to a Tier 1 instead of in-house.'

Plugging cruise ships into shore power like 'adding a small town to your electrical grid for a few hours' (link). Via Marcus N.

Video: drifting roller coaster in Japan (link). Video: big block that revs like a motor bike (link). Video: nuclear waste train leaving Decatur, IL (link). Video: Gonogold is the world's most dangerous skateboard hillbomber (link).

Originally created at Volkswagen as a suspension part, the 'Kong' lives on as the world's best dog toy (link).

M&A / Deals / Changes:

Automated agriculture startup GUSS acquired by John Deere (link).

UK airport autonomy startup Aurrigo wins grant from Midlands Airport (link).

Mercedes-Benz sells its 3.8% stake in Nissan (link).

Porsche's in-house Cellforce shuttered, some employees reassigned (link).

Scout AI awarded Army autonomy contract (link).

Short-seller Grizzly Research's report on Archer Aviation, which it calls the 'Nikola of the skies' (link).

Board & Executive Changes:

Kodiak Robotics: Surajit Datta appointed as CFO (link).

CH Robinson: Henry Winship resigns from the board (link).

BlackBerry: Barry Mainz joins board (link).

Surf Air Mobility: Tyrone Bland resigns from board (link).

TrueCar: Jay Ku departs as Chief Revenue Officer (link).

Curated Jobs:

E&E - New Product Quality - Vehicle at River in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India (link).

Data Scientist - Model Optimization at Quadric in Burlingame, CA USA (link).

Hiring? Post a job (link). If you're a startup, use code 'Trucks' for free standard listings.

Hunting? View all 480 postings on the MobilityJobs job board (link).

New Stuff:

Nvidia must face trial over engineer who reportedly stole code from his previous employer, Valeo (link). 'Nvidia and a German unit of Paris-based Valeo SE were working together on a project for Mercedes Benz when one of Valeo’s engineers defected to Nvidia in 2021. During a video conference, Valeo employees recognized their company’s verbatim source code files on the engineer’s screen and took a screenshot before he closed the window, according to a lawsuit filed against Nvidia in 2023 in San Jose, California. The engineer, Mohammad Moniruzzaman, was convicted in Germany of infringing business secrets.'

'EV charging park' from dealership welcomes all brands 24/7 (link).

A book of amateur spacecraft designs sent to the US patent office (link). Via Weans.

ChargePoint partners with Eaton to offer a new micro-grid charging setup (link). Via Carly.

Tesla, GM, Ford EV buyers get extra breathing room ahead of tax credit expiration, with buyers only needing to sign their agreement before Sep 30 even if their delivery comes later (link).

Robomart is a new automated large-format delivery bot (link). 'With no space for a human driver, the company’s RM5 vehicle is comprised of 10 individual lockers for customer orders, allowing it to make multiple deliveries on a single run.'

Patents & Patent Applications:

GM's patent application shows a system which can score an older driver and provide a retirement notice (link). Scoring inputs include: driver fatigue score, vehicle drifting score, driver posture status, driver squinting status.

Statistics / Projections:

40% of US consumers would consider buying a Chinese-made vehicle (link). Via Autoweek / Dave Cantin Group / Kaiser Associates.

Tesla FSD turns off more U.S. consumers than it attracts, survey finds (link). Via CNBC / EVIR. 'Only 14% of those surveyed said FSD would make them more likely to buy a Tesla, while 35% said the technology would make them less likely to purchase one.'

EV insurance premiums are higher than ICE vehicles, in some cases about 49% on an unweighted basis (link). Via Insurify. 'EV drivers face an average insurance cost of $4,058 per year. By comparison, the average cost to insure a gas-powered vehicle is $2,732, per Insurify data.'

In Europe on a year-over-year basis, BYD's sales triple while Tesla's fall 40% (link).

Micromobility might not be trendy anymore, but it's working: About 70% of global consumers are willing to use micromobility in the future -- especially electric kickscooters and regular and electric bicycles (link). Via McKinsey. 'We estimate this growth may result in a doubling or tripling of the global value pool for private and shared micromobility, possibly reaching $340 billion by 2030, led by Europe ($140 billion), China ($80 billion), and the United States ($35 billion).'

The top-selling EVs in the United States for Q2 2025: Tesla Model Y, Tesla Model 3, Chevy Equinox EV, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Ford Mustang Mach E (link). Via Cleantechnica.

Unsurprisingly, Americans love driving without their hands on the wheel: 'customers used BlueCruise nearly 50% of the time when driving longer than one hour' (link). Via Patrick G.

Mining automation is growing fast: As of July 2025, GlobalData’s mines and projects database shows China has 2,108 autonomous trucks and drills in operation, up from 562 in July 2024. Australia has 1173 machines, 18% more than last year (link). Via Mining Technology / GlobalData.

Thank you:

Thank you to Joshua Brugeman (link), Amit Garg (link), David Ketsdever (link), Craig Lange (link), Nathan Low (link) and Alex Roy (link) for offers of introductions to new founders, investors and friends over the last week.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

Quadric (link), River (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

Sazzle a little gris-gris in my hand (Dr John),

Reilly Brennan