Rebecca Bellan

The Latest from Rebecca Bellan

California governor vetoes bill to ban driverless AV trucks

California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill Friday that would have required a human safety operator to be present any time a self-driving truck operated on public roads in the state. The win for the au

Cruise would join the call to ban human drivers in city centers, says CEO

Cruise co-founder and CEO Kyle Vogt posed a controversial question at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023: At what point does it still make sense to have human-driven cars in cities? “If you extrapolate for

Waabi and Uber Freight partner to accelerate autonomous trucking

Autonomous trucking startup Waabi is committing billions of miles of driverless capacity to the Uber Freight network as part of a 10-year strategic partnership between the two companies. Starting this

Cruise CEO says winter version of Origin AV is two years away

Cruise is planning to build a winterized version of the Origin, the company’s autonomous vehicle model that is purpose-built without a steering wheel or pedals. “A couple of years from now

Uber Eats to launch Google-powered chatbot in late 2023

Uber's AI chatbot will help users find restaurant deals and reorder favorites on the app. Available in the U.S., U.K., Australia and Canada.

DOJ investigates Elon Musk perks at Tesla

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the personal benefits that Tesla may have provided its CEO Elon Musk since 2017 as part of a criminal probe that is also looking into the use of company

Bird acquires Spin scooters from Tier for $19M

Shared micromobility company Bird has acquired competitor Spin from Tier for $19 million, including $10 million in cash, $6 million in a vendor take back and $3 million as a hold back. Tier had purcha

Flint wants to disrupt the battery industry with paper

Lithium-ion batteries have become the standard in the electrification revolution. In fact, they’ve become so unquestionably integral to the development of batteries that everyone from government

What the continued UAW strike means for EVs

The United Auto Workers’ strike against General Motors, Ford and Stellantis is well into its fourth day, with no deal in sight. The strike comes as all three automakers have made aggressive move

Autoworkers strike begins at Ford, GM, Stellantis plants

The United Auto Workers Union (UAW) will go through with threats to strike against the Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — after both sides failed to reach a deal.

GM boosts wage offer as autoworker strike deadline approaches

General Motors said Thursday it boosted its contract offer to a 20% wage hike for U.S. autoworkers, including 10% in the first year, in a move to avoid a strike that is scheduled to begin at 11:59 p.m

San Francisco requests redo on Cruise, Waymo robotaxi expansion hearing

San Francisco has formally requested state regulators redo an August hearing that expanded robotaxi permits for Cruise and Waymo, giving both companies permission to widen commercial operations throug

EU considers imposing tariffs against Chinese EV companies

The European Commission is considering imposing punitive tariffs to protect European Union automakers against cheaper Chinese electric vehicle imports, which the agency says benefits from state subsid

Kolors acquires Urbvan to transform corporate bus travel in Mexico

Kolors, a Mexico City-based startup that connects intercity bus riders with bus drivers, is acquiring B2B van pooling provider Urbvan for $12 million cash, the company shared Wednesday. Kolors CEO and

Tesla robotaxi concept looks like a two-seater Cybertruck

An image of a Cybertruck-inspired Tesla robotaxi concept was revealed in the new Elon Musk biography by Walter Isaacson that launched Tuesday. The two-door, two-seater, “Cybertruck-like” c

California bill to ban driverless autonomous trucks goes to Newsom’s desk

In a blow to the autonomous trucking industry, the California Senate passed a bill Monday that requires a trained human safety operator to be present any time a self-driving, heavy-duty vehicle operat

Why Lime says the time is almost right to go public

Lime, the startup with shared e-scooters and e-bikes in 280 cities around the world, has been talking about going public for years. Now, Lime CEO Wayne Ting says the economic stars are finally alignin

BMW feels the heat, stops charging for warming cheeks

When BMW started charging an $18 per month subscription for heated seats in 2022, the backlash was swift and brutal. Customers banded together, urging others not to encourage this type of behavior fro

Cruise nears approval to mass-produce robotaxis with no steering wheel, pedals

Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt said Thursday at an investor conference that the company is close to from getting the green light to begin mass production of its purpose-built autonomous vehicle without a steeri

The question of gig worker status in Massachusetts is back on

A year ago, a Massachusetts court ruled to throw out a 2022 proposed ballot measure that sought to define gig workers as independent contractors rather than employees. Now it appears that proposal is
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