Trucks | FoT: Tesla prices, Van Moof/Lavoie, GoCar

FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital 

Notable:

Tesla lowers prices on vehicles (link) and software (link). There are a number of factors at work here, most notably that the new price decrease on Model X qualifies it under the revised federal tax credit framework. But consider the drop: from $120,990 in January this year to $79,990 today, or 33%. Tesla makes more money from its customers on software than hardware, so it follows that could look to sell vehicles at (or below) cost as long as their model shows the long-term value of the software customer justifies it. Does this mean we will see a Model 2 at $20,000? In Tesla world, lowering the price increases the total number of potential software customers. Which means we can even model a $10,000 Tesla, or...

China goes into battery manufacturing overdrive, a signal of coming price drops (link). 'Battery manufacturers are following a pattern exhibited in other industries such as steel, aluminum and solar panels, industry executives warned, where Chinese companies benefit from subsidies to take a huge share of the global market and squeeze out competition internationally...Based on announcements to build battery plants, the overcapacity is set to surge to nearly 4x what the country needs by 2027, its data shows, and 2x the volume of what China’s entire car fleet would need to go completely electric by 2030.'

Cruise AV blocked ambulance in fatal acccident, San Francisco Fire Department says. Cruise says it was not at fault (link).

Comparison of DMV filings for Cruise and Waymo: Waymo crashed more than Cruise in San Francisco, but Cruise had more injuries (link).

The Flying Nikka is a foiling boat made for long-distance racing (link). Via Diego. 'With less than 8.5 knots of wind, Flying Nikka drops into the water, and we are like any other boat, but if it blows 12 knots, we can fly at 25.'

Bonfire of the groceries: how rapid grocery delivery failed (link). 'Rapid grocery delivery startups including Getir and Gopuff have raised more than $10B from investors, their funding rounds mostly squeezed into the 12 months to early 2021.'

AI drones overtake world-champion drone racers in Swiss research competition (link). Via Weans.

What are the lessons of India’s frugal moon landing for any business on Earth? (link). 'To understand the feisty nature of India’s space program, it helps to know the Hindi word jugaad, says Ram Jakhu, a professor of space law at McGill University in Canada. It refers to cheap and unconventional ingenuity—a way of scraping together resources to conquer scarcity. Basically, a hack. There’s an iconic photo of ISRO’s earliest scientists carrying rocket parts on a bicycle. That kind of clever workaround is classic jugaad. They now have safer methods of transportation, but the idea remains with ISRO to this day. Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s former head of science, told me that he appreciates how India finds solutions to common problems that are simple and no less effective.'

How EV charger installations are added to a vehicle purchase (link). Related: EV charging networks struggle after Tesla's partnership growth (link).

Video: Chris Harris reviews the Tuthill Porsche 911k - 11,000 rpm and just 1,800 lbs (link). Via Diego. Video: India's River produces its first production electric scooter just two years after launching the company (link). Video: Howdy Doody, a 2,200-lb bull steer, rides in the passenger seat of a vehicle in Nebraska (link). Video: Saving a Mercedes-Benz 230E, in wonderful stop-motion (link). Video: 2024 Volkswagen ID Buzz GTX prototype at the Nürburgring (link). Video: Revolv's Scott Davidson on the Home Delivery World podcast (link). Video: Building a 1/5-scale Ferrari 250 GTO in metal (link).

A ship that sank in 1881 is found nearly intact in Lake Michigan (link). 'We were stunned to see that not only was the deckhouse still on her, but it still had all the cabinets with all the dishes stacked in them and all the crew’s effects.'

M&A / Deals / Changes:

Dutch ebike startup Van Moof acquired out of bankruptcy by scooter maker Lavoie (link).

TSMC, Bosch, Infineon, and NXP establish joint venture to bring advanced semiconductor manufacturing to Europe (link).

After Beijing's green light, Chinese startups Zeekr and WeRide expect to IPO on the US market soon (link).

Irish car sharing startup GoCar raises $11M (link).

UAE retail chatbot startup Seez raises seed round (link).

Israeli used vehicle startup Pickoto raises $500k (link).

Board Changes:

Charge Enterprises: Andrew Fox resigns as chairman and CEO (link).

Nikola: John Vesco joins board (link).

New Stuff:

Xiaomi's plans for a vehicle are on schedule for 2024, president says (link).

Former Argo founders Peter Rander and Bryan Salesky planning larger facility, staff ramp up for their new AV startup in Pittsburgh (link).

As Hurricane Idalia caused flooding, some electric vehicles exposed to saltwater caught fire (link). Via Weans. 'Salt residue remains after the water dries out and can create bridges between the battery's cells, potentially creating electrical connections that can spark a fire.'

Baidu launches AV service to Wuhan's airport (link).

Tesla receives OK for building out its diner and drive-in theater in Los Angeles (link).

VTOL startup Vertical Aerospace details failure sequence that preceded its prototype crash (link).

Tesla's refreshed Model 3 (link).

Organic Maps are offline hike and biking maps, built on top of OSM (link).

Carvana-promoted legislation for home car delivery becomes law in Illinois (link). 'Legislation supported by used-vehicle retailer Carvana Co. that codifies vehicle home delivery and other e-commerce sales procedures in Illinois was recently signed into law. It is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2024.'

Patents & Patent Applications:

Waymo's patent application for a fatigue-monitoring system for remote monitoring employees (link).

Apple's patent shows retractable steering wheel and vehicle controls to be used in manual mode of vehicle operation (link).

Featured Jobs:

System Test Software Development Engineer at Joby Aviation in Marina, CA USA (link).

Computer Vision / Data Science at Ottometric in Novi Sad, South Bačka District, Serbia (link).

MobilityJobs is the No.1 job board for auto & transportation companies (link).

Statistics / Projections:

European car sales rise 15% in July, EVs up nearly 61% (link). Via Automotive News / European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).

Chicago bike safety drops (link). Via Sun Times / WBEZ. 'From Jan. 1 through Aug. 26, there were 1,186 traffic crashes involving cyclists — nearly 30% more than during the same period in 2020.'

While America has the safest air travel in the world, it's not the case for automobiles (link). Via Vox. 'Cars killed 43,000 Americans in 2021, a number that has, almost unbelievably, increased by nearly a third in the last decade while our peer countries have decreased their car fatalities.'

Annual new car ownership costs are now over $12,000 in the US (link). Via AAA.

Thank you:

Thank you to Sam Gabbita (link) and Vikas Gupta (link) for offers of introductions to new founders, investors and friends over the last week.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

Joby Aviation (link), Ottometric (link), River (link), Treehouse (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

See you next week,

Reilly Brennan