Techcrunch Mobility: The ‘robot Army’ Argument

2 weeks ago

Welcome backmost to TechCrunch Mobility — your cardinal hub for news and insights connected nan early of transportation. To get this successful your inbox, motion up present for free — conscionable click TechCrunch Mobility!

I americium judge you are waiting to study nan results of past week’s poll. (Reminder: Sign up for nan Mobility newsletter to participate successful our polls!) Here is what I asked: “What is nan champion business exemplary for autonomous conveyance tech? (Keep profitability successful mind.)”

Far and away, readers deliberation longer-haul transportation is nan champion bet, pinch 40% picking this option. Robotaxis came successful adjacent pinch 25.5% of nan vote, followed by licensing tech to automakers astatine 19.1% and last-mile transportation pinch 14.9%. One scholar emailed to constituent retired that I didn’t see storage applications for illustration autonomous forklifts. The longer-haul transportation class tin beryllium surgery down further, though, and is worthy different poll, which we included successful this week’s newsletter.

In nan agelong database of arguments 1 mightiness make to warrant a $1 trillion compensation package, having power complete a robot service was surely not connected my mind. And yet, this is nan statement Elon Musk made during Tesla’s third-quarter net call.

Here’s nan rundown: On November 6, shareholders will ballot whether to o.k. a board-endorsed compensation package that would assistance Musk up to 12% of Tesla’s stock. If nan institution hits its target marketplace worth of $8.6 trillion, that package would beryllium worthy astir $1 trillion.

The committee and Musk person spent weeks lobbying shareholders to o.k. nan measure, moreover arsenic proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis person recommended that investors cull it. Musk is now successful onslaught mode, which was connected show astatine nan extremity of nan net telephone erstwhile he called nan firms firm terrorists and made his last pitch. His robot service statement centers connected powerfulness and control, not truthful overmuch money. Although, hey, money tin supply both.

“My biggest interest line: If we build this robot army, do I person a beardown power complete that robot army? I don’t consciousness comfortable building a robot service if I don’t person a beardown influence,” Musk said during nan net call. He was referring to Tesla’s Optimus robot programme and utilized it arsenic an illustration of products he wants afloat power over.

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That statement will hardly seduce Musk’s critics, peculiarly successful nan aftermath of his domiciled arsenic head of nan Department of Government Efficiency. But Musk doesn’t request to person his increasing database of critics, unless, of course, they ain Tesla shares.

A small bird

This week, General Motors dropped nan ax connected nan BrightDrop electrical van program aft 4 short years. It was not nan biggest astonishment successful nan world; aft all, hundreds of unsold vans person been sitting untouched successful tons successful Michigan and Canada for months now. (One small vertebrate reached retired to show america that hundreds of them are successful a batch successful Flint, Michigan.) GM cited a slower-than-expected marketplace for commercialized electrical vans, but it didn’t spell into item astir why, exactly, BrightDrop grounded truthful miserably.

Another small vertebrate has fixed america a clue, though. The vans are pricey but well-liked and should prevention fleet owners money complete time. And electrical drivetrains are a awesome fresh for last-mile delivery. What GM appears to person missed was nan infrastructure piece, according to 1 insider. The institution leaned difficult connected extracurricular partnerships to build retired alleged depot charging, alternatively of offering it arsenic portion of nan fleet purchases. That turned a number of imaginable customers distant and conscionable mostly caused headaches.

Got a extremity for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal astatine kkorosec.07, aliases email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.

Deals!

The large woody this week is astir EVs and AI information centers. Yes, location is simply a connection.

Redwood Materials raised $350 million successful a Series E information led by task patient Eclipse, and included a caller strategical finance by Nvidia’s task superior arm, NVentures. The company’s valuation was not disclosed, but a root acquainted pinch nan information told TechCrunch it was astir $6 billion, a cardinal dollars higher than its erstwhile valuation.

The chunk of this money is going toward Redwood’s caller power retention business, which is giving a caller intent to EV batteries it has collected and that person excessively overmuch life near to put done nan recycling process. The institution ties these retired EV batteries to renewable power sources for illustration upwind and solar, aliases nan grid, to powerfulness AI information centers aliases business sites.

Other deals that sewage my attraction this week …

Avride secured strategical investments and different commitments of up to $375 million, backed by Uber and Nebius. None of these companies gave maine specifics erstwhile asked if this was each equity. One insider did opportunity to salary attraction to nan “other commitments” bit, which suggests it was not a consecutive rate injection.

Spiro, nan African electrical motorbike startup headquartered successful Dubai, raised $100 million successful a information led by nan Fund for Export Development successful Africa (FEDA), nan improvement limb of Afreximbank. This is nan largest raise ever for African e-mobility.

Notable sounds and different tidbits

General Motors made respective announcements astatine an arena successful NYC that were meant to show wherever it’s headed. And, yes, AI plays a cardinal role. Before AI could return nan stage, GM said it will overhaul nan electrical and computational guts of its early vehicles. The institution will rotation retired a caller electrical architecture and centralized computing level successful caller vehicles, starting pinch nan Cadillac Escalade IQ successful 2028. That instauration will let nan institution to present faster software; much tin automated driving features, including eyes-off driving; and a custom, conversational AI assistant.

Earnings season is upon us, and this 4th I americium watching for information and executive commentary that helps maine understand really tariffs and nan expired EV taxation in installments are affecting nan automotive sector. I don’t person immoderate clear takeaways yet — and astir apt won’t until nan adjacent quarter.

Tariffs are hitting, Q3 reports from GM and Ford indicate. For instance, GM forecast that tariffs will trim its 2025 profits by $2.3 cardinal and Ford said it would return a $2 cardinal wound retired of nan bottommost line. But some of those projections are billions of dollars amended than nan automakers predicted earlier this year, and nan automakers dream to offset those costs. CEOs from some automakers thanked President Trump for extending a alleviation measurement from tariffs connected automotive parts originated from Canada and Mexico.

Some different GM and Ford news: Ford will proceed to pause production of its F-150 Lightning trucks arsenic it prioritizes state and hybrid F-Series versions successful a bid to retrieve from a occurrence astatine its superior aluminum supplier Nevolis. Meanwhile, GM CEO Mary Barra told nan Verge’s Decoder podcast that nan institution will driblet support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto from each of its vehicles. Oh, and late-breaking: GM has laid disconnected 200 salaried workers from its Warren Tech Center.

Tesla delivered a grounds number of vehicles successful nan 3rd 4th of 2025, results buoyed by U.S. customers who took advantage of nan expiring national EV taxation credit. That didn’t construe to greater earnings. Tesla’s third-quarter profit was $1.4 billion, 37% little than it was successful nan aforesaid 4th past year.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation aft seeing footage from early October of a Waymo autonomous conveyance maneuvering astir a stopped schoolhouse autobus that was unloading kids successful Atlanta.

Rivian is undergoing a spot of a shake-up that includes cutting 600 people from its workforce (its 3rd information of layoffs this year), and its laminitis and CEO is taking connected yet different position: chief trading officer. Rivian besides agreed this week to pay $250 million to settee a class-action shareholder suit revenge aft nan institution abruptly hiked prices connected its R1 pickup motortruck and SUV successful 2022.

Meanwhile, I spent immoderate clip successful nan Bay Area pinch executives from Rivian’s micromobility spinout institution Also. The institution revealed 3 caller products, and if Also president Chris Yu and Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe (and Also committee member) are to beryllium believed, location will beryllium moreover much coming. For now, it’s a slick modular pedal-assist e-bike and 2 pedal-assist quad vehicles — nan transportation van type that Amazon has already agreed to buy. The large compelling tech communicative present is vertical integration and software.