Trucks | FoT: Cruise, Faction, MobilityJobs

FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital 

Notable:

California DMV suspended Cruise's driverless AV permits last week, saying that the company's vehicles were a risk to the public and that the company had misrepresented itself (link). In its letters (link to PDF for deployment permit letter, link to PDF for driverless permit letter), DMV indicated this wasn't entirely related to what happened on October 2 (when a human driven vehicle struck a pedestrian, and then a Cruise vehicle hit the same pedestrian, then stopped and drove while the pedestrian was underneath), but because of what didn't happen on October 3: DMV said that Cruise did not show the department the full video of the incident on that date (Cruise stated that it did show them the full video). In the last few days, Cruise paused its entire operation across all cities (link) as part of a safety stand down. This is Cruise's rubicon moment, yet -- somewhat paradoxically because of the emerging nature of AVs -- it also happens to be a rubicon moment for every other AV entity in the US. This is because at this point in the cycle each AV entity can have individual success, but when one fails all others are intrinsically implicated. This is what I call the WALTER theory of AV sentiment (link): AV companies win alone, but lose together. I spent the hour discussing this with the Autonocast team this week where you can hear some of our longer observations (link). The new heterogeneity of our roads means that in some instances a human-piloted vehicle is still vastly superior, in others a robot is much better. This will drive sentiment into a 'reinforcement era' for the coming years of robotaxis: those inclined to be optimistic about AVs will have more data to support their beliefs, counterbalanced with an equal feeling on the opposite side. Like the many Waymo employees who confidentially wrote me over the last few days, I hope that Cruise uses this opportunity to move into a new era of transparency. Cruise's future depends on it, and I believe every other AV company depends in some part on Cruise’s next steps, too.

Consumer Reports and IIHS to begin rating vehicles on how they make drivers stay alert (link). This is a good counter trend against 'smart' car technology that makes drivers less competent over time (link).

Car makers retreat from ambitious EV product planning schedules (link). Related: Toyota Chairman says people are finally ‘seeing the reality’ about EVs (link).

Should drivers require education after over-the-air ADAS feature updates? (link).

The costs of repairing Hertz's EV fleet have been double that of ICE vehicles (link). 'Repair costs for EVs have also been higher than expected, about double what the company pays to fix damaged gasoline cars, Chief Executive Officer Stephen Scherr said in an interview Thursday.'

New FTC privacy rule for non-bank security breaches (greater than 500 consumers) has direct impact on car dealer audit and reporting (link). 'The FTC’s Safeguards Rule requires non-banking financial institutions, such as mortgage brokers, motor vehicle dealers, and payday lenders, to develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive security program to keep their customers’ information safe.' From an FoT reader in the auto retailing business: 'most car dealers think that privacy issues are about their IT system, not their inventory.'

I made a major change at the job board I built over the last few years, MobilityJobs.com: it is now open to all startups to use for free (link). Just use code 'Trucks' at checkout for free standard job postings.

How Europeans are welcoming Chinese-made EVs (link). Via Jim H. Danish consumer quoted: 'I don’t care who the producer is. Europeans are not at the forefront anymore. Actually, they are far behind.'

Video: 0-100 kmh in less than a second (link). Video: 1/4 scale Peterbilt 359 (link). Via Ed. Video: 'impossible' mountain biking drone shots (link). Via Diego. Video: Satellite open source intelligence with ChatGPT (link).

Google Maps disables live traffic data in Israel, Gaza at military request (link).

M&A / Deals / Changes:

California AV technology startup Faction raises undisclosed round (link). Led by TDK Ventures, with participation from Trucks.

BP buys $100M worth of Tesla fast chargers for its own network (link). This is the first time Tesla's hardware is going in someone else's network; this will further drive down costs for Tesla overall as it continues to build out its own network.

Stellantis buys 21% of Chinese OEM Leapmotor for $1.6B (link).

Return logistics startup Happy Returns acquired by UPS (link).

Chinese AV developer Pony AI raises $100M (link). Led by NEOM.

New York automotive diagnostics startup Revv raises $2.1M (link). Led by 1984 Ventures.

Volkswagen plans to cut 2000 jobs at its Cariad software unit (link).

Swedish Battery maker Northvolt plans Stockholm listing for potential $20B IPO (link).

Assets and technology from failed freight brokerage Convoy reportedly to be acquired by Flexport (link). Related: More on Convoy's closure (link). 'Jonathan Geurkirk, a senior analyst at Pitchbook Data, said the way Convoy shut down was more indicative of an asset-heavy company with fixed costs galore than a technology player. That’s in spite of the $3.8 billion valuation, which is more fitting of a tech firm.'

Board Changes:

Shyft Group: John Dunn promoted to CEO, joins board (link).

Blue Bird: Julie Fream joins board (link).

New Stuff:

Skillfusion launches to train EV charger techs (link). Congrats to our friend Alisyn Malek who becomes COO of Skillfusion.

Stellantis partners with Nauto for commercial fleet deployment of the company's AI safety system (link).

Mining for materials in space could potentially contribute to sustainable growth on Earth (link).

Profiles of NYC delivery workers (link). Via Harry C.

Researchers show that managed charging allows 6x higher EV uptake without network upgrades (link). Via Clare T.

Why Japan uses blue traffic lights instead of green: language and history (link).

My friend and co-founder of Das Tegernsee summit, Rob Coneybeer, discusses why our annual Germany event is so special (link).

Uber begins offering rides in Waymo AV cars in Phoenix area (link).

Google Maps launches new AI-powered search updates (link).

Patents & Patent Applications:

Zoox's patent application shows dynamic vehicle suspension and steering based on rider location and interest (link).

Ford's patent application for a gesture-based keyless entry (link).

Featured Jobs:

Python Developer at Aurora Labs in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Tel Aviv District, Israel (link).

Automation Controls Engineer at Joby Aviation in Marina, CA USA (link).

MobilityJobs is the No.1 job board for auto & transportation companies (link). Update: any startup can now use the code 'Trucks' to post standard jobs for free on the site.

Statistics / Projections:

Nearly 4,000 US public EV charging stations were out of service as of Oct. 5, or more than 6% of the nationwide network (link). Via Automotive News / U.S. Department of Energy. 'The industry will need 17,000-plus charger technicians to address more than 14 million annual service calls by 2030, according to an analysis by training company ChargerHelp and SAE International.'

Outside of Tesla, EV buyers not as loyal as expected: 'Nearly 1/2 of those non-Tesla EV households that have acquired a new EV still purchase an internal combustion vehicle the next time around' (link). Via S&P Global.

Congestion cost trucking companies a record $94.6 billion in 2021 (link). Via FreightWaves / American Transportation Research Institute.

A new peak emissions: Global demand for oil, coal and gas set to peak by 2030 according to energy agency (link). Via CNBC / IEA.

Researchers show that the increase in pedestrian deaths between 2009 and 2019 was highly correlated with an increasing number of crashes on straight, multi-lane roads with speed limits over 35 miles per hour in urban and suburban areas (link).

Motown of EV era moving south: Since 2010, more than $70B has been invested in EV and battery manufacturing in the American Southeast, compared with $51B in the Midwest (link). Via FT.

Thank you:

Thank you to Tony Bowers (link), Bernhard Gold (link), Alisyn Malek (link), Andrew Savage (link) and Shaaya Sharifi (link) for offers of introductions to new founders, investors and friends over the last week.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

Aurora Labs (link), ChargerHelp (link), Faction (link), Joby Aviation (link), Nauto (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

See you next week,

Reilly Brennan