Trucks | FoT: Volteras, drones, TuSimple

FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital 

Notable:

'Russia's Pearl Harbor' as Ukrainian drones hit major Russian targets after long-planned mission to hide inside cargo trucks (link). Via Weans. 'The drones were hidden under the roofs of mobile wooden cabins, already placed on trucks. At the right moment, the roofs of the cabins were opened remotely, and the drones flew to hit Russian bombers.' Thread of videos (link).

If America (suddenly) develops a national AV policy, it will be in Tesla's image (link).

For automakers, it's unto Trump or else (link). 'It’s a strange form of capitalism when a corporate CEO praises a policy that costs her shareholders $5 billion. But that’s the age of government dominance over business we live in, as General Motors CEO Mary Barra proved on Wednesday when she praised President Trump’s tariffs.'

How DoorDash considated the delivery industry to become a global juggernaut (link).

China is actively tracking used car market prices to tackle overcapacity issues (link). Selling 'used cars' with zero miles: 'On May 27, 2025, the ministry met with industry groups, major carmakers, and second-hand trading platforms to discuss the sale of “used vehicles with zero mileage."

All robotaxis have remote drivers (link). 'The true race is not to perfect autonomy. The race that matters for robotaxis, robotrucks, or any other application is getting the amount of driver attention low enough to become economically viable — without having a catastrophic mishap caused by mismanaging how that is done.'

AV trucking startup TuSimple reportedly siphoned trade secrets to China (link). When TuSimple IPO'd in 2021, I remember writing in FoT that the company was Chinese -- and promptly receiving messages from bankers saying they wanted me to correct my comment and say it was an American company instead. I declined.

Airlines are charging solo travelers more per ticket (link).

Chinese paraglider reaches near-record heights, over 28,000 feet, by accident (link, link to video). 'Peng Yujiang, a 55-year-old paraglider in Gansu province, on Saturday morning flew nearly 8,600 meters above sea level — more than 28,200 feet, or about 5.3 miles — in the Qilian mountain range of northwest China’s Qinghai and Gansu provinces.'

Video: drone footage of nearly 2000 Waymos at Magna final assembly in Arizona (link). Video: Hong Kong taxi drivers juggling various phones and apps (link).

M&A / Deals / Changes:

Indian battery swapping startup Battery Smart raises $29M (link). Led by Rising Tide Energy.

Vehicle data startup Volteras raises $11M (link). Led by USV.

Logistics workforce AI startup Pallet raises $27M (link). Led by General Catalyst.

Auto and aviation software firm Metatech Solutions acquired by TXP (link).

After $250M injection, Toyota becomes the largest outside shareholder in Joby Aviation (link).

Brazil airline Azul files for Chapter 11 to restructure debt (link).

Board & Executive Changes:

Stellantis: Antonio Filosa named CEO (link).

AutoZone: Constantino Spas Montesinos joins board (link).

United Airlines: Capt Brian Noyes joins board (link).

Curated Jobs:

Staff Software Engineer at Veecle in Berlin, Germany or remote (link).

Head of E-Commerce at Porsche in Ludwigsburg, Germany (link).

iOS Engineer - Car Experience at Apple in Cupertino, CA USA (link).

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

Hunting? View all 364 postings on the MobilityJobs job board (link).

New Stuff:

BYD to build 15,000 1-MW ultra-fast chargers with partners (link).

Tesla's Austin robotaxi launch set for June 12 (link).

Trump orders could end Chinese drone sales in the U.S. (link).

'Unmarked Officials' highlights stealth undercover cop cars (link). Via Patrick N.

Tesla to lose 64 Superchargers on New Jersey Turnpike in controversial decision (link).

Patents & Patent Applications:

Carma Technology's ridehailing patents possibly a legal hurdle for Uber, Lyft, others (link).

Statistics / Projections:

As a percentage of disposable income, 10 gallons of gasoline in the U.S. are at their second-lowest cost since 2002, 23 years ago (link). Via Polifact.

Costco grew its US gas station footprint by 3.4x over the last 20 years (link). Via Sherwood.

BYD and Xiaomi overtake Tesla as ‘top choice’ for Chinese car buyers (link). Via CarNewsChina / UBS survey. 'According to the UBS survey, only 14% of Chinese consumers consider Tesla their top choice EV brand, down from 18% a year earlier and far below its 30% peak in 2020.'

Waymo scaling: 'Waymo was doing 10,000 paid rides a week in August 2023. By May 2024, that number of trips in cars without a driver was up to 50,000. In August, it hit 100,000. Now it’s already more than 250,000' (link).

In the last 10 years, Chinese shipbuilders delivered 6,765 commercial ships, nearly half of global deliveries, Japan delivered 3,130, South Korea 2,405 and the United States just 37 (link). Via NYT / BRS Shipbrokers.

Thank you:

Thank you to Dan Bomze (link), Mark de la Vergne (link), Donna Ehart (link), Jordan Greene (link) and Micah Kotch (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), Veecle (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

People pay money to see others believe in themselves (K. Gordon),

Reilly Brennan