Trucks | FoT: Lyft / FreeNow, Kodiak SPAC, China's word ban

FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital 

Notable:

A phrase we haven't used in some time: an autonomous vehicle company is SPAC'ing (link). AV trucking startup Kodiak will go public via reverse merger / SPAC with Ares Acquisition at a value of $2.5B pre-transaction. The read-through of the presentation deck definitely position Kodiak as a competitor against already-public Aurora, but with about 1/8 the cash burn (link to PDF).

The soon-to-debut Slate EV is suddenly revealed on the streets of Venice, California (link). The vehicle will reportedly be modular -- as a truck or SUV. More to come in a few days when it's launched in the LA area.

China bans 'smart' and 'autonomous' driving terms from vehicle ads (link). Another milemarker in which the Chinese auto industry is moving ahead of the Americans. Junko Yoshida believes this is a subtle way of eventually blocking Tesla from the Chinese market (link).

How surge pricing is evolving for the robotaxi era (link). If higher dynamic pricing won't add more AV vehicles (like it does for traditional human-piloted networks), why should new AV firms use surge pricing?

'She was chatting with friends in a Lyft. Then someone texted her what they said' (link). 'After CBC Toronto contacted Lyft about this story last week, a Lyft representative called Ahuja. She says they told her the company is running a pilot program where audio is recorded from some rides and then the transcript is supposed to be sent to the ride-sharing company for reference if a security issue is reported. In a statement to CBC, a Lyft spokesperson acknowledged that the ride-sharing company has an in-app audio recording pilot in select U.S. markets with "strict opt-in protocols" but said this incident is not related to that pilot program or any other feature being tested by Lyft.'

Can the Tesla brand be saved? (link). Toby Barlow: 'Someone recently said to me that Elon is to Tesla today what Jared was to Subway.'

China’s rare earths controls prompt fears of auto shortages and shutdowns (link). 'China’s latest controls focused on 'heavy' and 'medium' rare earths that enable high-performance magnets that can withstand higher temperatures, such as dysprosium, terbium and samarium. These are vital for military applications such as jets, missiles and drones, as well as rotors, motors and transmissions that feature heavily in electric and hybrid vehicles...A senior automotive executive said the critical mineral restrictions would be 'consequential' for Tesla and all other car manufacturers, describing the export controls as a '7 or 8' on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of severity.'

Old but useful walkthrough of the complexity of pricing online airline tickets (link to PDF).

China sends back new Boeing jet made too expensive by tariffs (link). 'The 737 MAX, which was meant for China’s Xiamen Airlines, landed at Seattle’s Boeing Field at 6.11pm, according to a Reuters witness. It was painted with Xiamen livery.'

A Beijing half-marathon featured a road race between humans and 21 humanoid robots; the humans won for now (link). Some friends wrote me and said this is akin to 'China's DARPA challenge' for how much weight the country has put behind it: 'The 13-mile race—which its organizers said was the first of its kind—was a chance for China to show off the latest state of its humanoids, one of several technology areas at the forefront of the U.S.-China tech rivalry. China has said it wants the country to be a world leader in humanoid robots by 2027. Chinese authorities have lavished support such as subsidies, talent bonuses and tax breaks on robotics companies.'

Ice lords: the next Mazda Miata will still be light, naturally aspirated, and have a manual transmission (link).

Video: Aviation startup Aerolane shows off its ACO towed glider system (link). Audio: I went back on the Autonocast to discuss how AV companies will design for peak/base load, among other topics (link). Audio: Kirsten Korosec describes how the 'SPAC is back' on the Equity podcast (link). Video: 'Gertrude' is a Volvo 242 Group A homologation build (link). Video: Jason Cammisa on the Merkur XR4Ti and Ford Sierra RS Cosworth (link).

M&A / Deals / Changes:

European mobility platform FreeNow acquired by Lyft for $200M (link).

Assets of Fermata Energy reportedly to be acquired by Nuvve (link).

UK fast-charging startup Nyobolt raises $30M (link). Led by IQ Capital and Latitude Capital.

UK insurance startup Marshmallow raises $90M (link). Led by Portage Capital.

EV hub motor startup Conifer raises $20M (link). Led by True Ventures.

EV drivetrain startup Volektra raises undisclosed round (link). Led by Chakra Growth Capital.

India’s Uber-rival BluSmart appears to suspend service in wake of EV loan probe (link).

Goodyear and Aperia announce tire-as-a-service partnership (link). 'Aperia’s Halo Connect i3 will become the tire inflation technology behind Goodyear’s global Tires-as-a-Service (TaaS) solution.'

Board & Executive Changes:

Goodyear: Chris Delaney departs as President, EMEA (link).

Spirit Airlines: Dave Davis named CEO (link).

Lockheed Martin: Evan Scott promoted to CFO (link).

Caterpillar: Joseph Creed promoted to CEO, joins board; succeeds James Umpleby who continues at Chairman (link).

Lithia Motors: Adam Chamberlain resigns as COO; named CEO Mercedes-Benz USA (link).

Curated Jobs:

Sponsorship & Outreach Associate at Drop Mobility, remote (link).

Senior Frontend Engineer at ChargerHelp, remote (link).

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

Hunting? View all 392 postings on the MobilityJobs job board (link).

New Stuff:

Gatik's safety case and functional safety approaches undergo independendent assessment from TUV SUD prior to driverless scale plans this year (link).

Zoox's SF plans appear to grow as Amazon signs on additional 200,000 sq ft lease near existing Foster City location (link).

In a new lawsuit, Tesla is accused of speeding up odometer readings (link).

Uber and Lyft upset after SF mayor proposes exclusive access for Waymo to Market Street (link).

DHL suspends high value US deliveries over tariffs (link). Via Weans.

Waymo opens its waitlist for upcoming Atlanta launch (link).

Patents & Patent Applications:

GM's patent application shows situational external display for rear glass (link).

Statistics / Projections:

California's EV sales rose 7.3% in Q1 2025, but Tesla's new vehicle registrations fell by 15% (link). Via Reuters / CNCDA.

The number of vehicles for sale in the US market with over-the-air update capable vehicles has risen to 300 models, up from 33 in 2018 (link). Via MotorTrend / SBD.

Thank you:

Thank you to Bryce Dabbs (link), Mark de la Verge (link), Liam Krut (link), Christian Noske (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 Technologies (link), ChargerHelp (link), Drop Mobility (link), Gatik (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

Any fool can paint a picture, but it takes a wise man to be able to sell it (S. Butler),

Reilly Brennan