TechCrunch Mobility: Tesla denied ‘Robotaxi’ trademark, Aurora loses a co-founder, and tariffs start to take a toll

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Remember past week erstwhile Aurora met a large milestone — conscionable squeaking by nether its ain deadline — and launched a driverless self-driving motortruck service? Welp, this week Aurora made headlines again, but for a astonishing alteration successful leadership. 

Co-founder Sterling Anderson, who has been main merchandise officer, is resigning from his presumption and the board. No existent connection connected what prompted his resignation, beyond immoderate comments helium made during the company’s Q1 net call. “Leaving Aurora is 1 of the astir hard decisions I’ve ever made, particularly fixed the breathtaking signifier Aurora is at,” helium said. “This is precisely what gave maine the assurance that present is the close time.”

He didn’t accidental precisely wherever helium was going, either, but that it volition beryllium an “exciting outer accidental successful a elder enactment relation astatine an iconic planetary company.” 

I’ll fto you each spot your bets. 

Aurora is pressing connected without Anderson. The institution announced during its net telephone that it volition commencement sending its self-driving trucks out astatine nighttime and during adverse upwind conditions similar rainfall oregon dense upwind by the 2nd fractional of 2025. The institution besides plans to grow its driverless trucking way beyond Dallas to Houston, and into El Paso and Phoenix.

A small bird

Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

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Deals!

Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

It’s not each time a nationalist institution reverses people and goes private. But past again, these aren’t mean times. Especially for immoderate institution caught up successful the U.S.-China commercialized war. 

Take Zeekr, for instance. One twelvemonth ago, the Chinese EV institution debuted connected the New York Stock Exchange. Now, genitor institution Geely Auto wants to take Zeekr private successful effect to the Trump administration’s thought to footwear Chinese companies disconnected American banal exchanges.

Other deals that got my attraction …

Bosch Ventures has a caller $270 cardinal money that volition proceed its contented of investing successful heavy tech startups. Managing manager Ingo Ramesohl told TechCrunch the program is to enactment more of its wealth into North American startups.

Investors who antecedently backed Indian Uber rival BluSmart person projected a program to inject different $30 cardinal into the struggling cab-hailing startup, which abruptly halted operations past month. But there’s a catch.

Breathe, a artillery bundle startup, raised $21 million successful a Series B circular led by Kinnevik Online AB, the institution exclusively told TechCrunch. Lowercarbon Capital and Volvo Cars Tech Fund participated.

DoorDash announced 2 large acquisitions arsenic it expands into Europe. The institution agreed to bargain its U.K. rival Deliveroo for astir £2.9 billion (around $3.87 billion) and separately said it is buying SevenRooms — which provides CRM, marketing, and operations bundle to assistance restaurants, hotels, and nationalist venues with reservations and impermanent absorption — for $1.2 cardinal successful cash.

Meanwhile, Uber was engaged this week, acquiring companies and investing successful them. 

Uber accrued its concern into Chinese autonomous conveyance institution WeRide by $100 million arsenic portion of an expanded concern woody to bring the work to different 15 cities implicit the adjacent 5 years. In a abstracted deal, Uber besides acquired an 85% controlling stake successful Trendyol Go, the online repast and market transportation concern based successful Istanbul, for astir $700 cardinal successful cash. 

Notable reads and different tidbits

Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

Autonomous vehicles

Here’s a unit power I didn’t expect. Mo Elshenawy, the erstwhile president and CTO of now-shuttered self-driving car institution Cruise, was conscionable named the main exertion serviceman astatine telehealth and wellness institution Hims & Hers. I spoke to Hims & Hers co-founder and CEO Andrew Dudum, and helium said helium specifically focused connected the AV manufacture to find the adjacent CTO. Here’s why. 

Nuro has started investigating its AV tech connected the Las Vegas Strip. I precocious sat down with co-founder and president Dave Ferguson. Stay tuned for an update connected wherefore the institution shifted its concern model. 

Tesla‘s “Robotaxi” and “Cybercab” trademarks person deed a fewer roadblocks. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied Tesla’s attempt to trademark the word “Robotaxi” successful notation to its vehicles due to the fact that it’s excessively generic. Meanwhile, applications from Tesla for the trademark connected the word “Cybercab” were halted due to the fact that of companies pursuing akin “Cyber” trademarks.

Uber locked up partnerships with 3 Chinese autonomous conveyance companies — Pony AI, Momenta, and WeRide — successful a bid to gobble up robotaxi marketplace stock successful the Middle East and Europe. Footnote: These deals are not to run successful China. 

Waymo announced it has a new 239,000-square-foot mill successful the Phoenix suburb of Mesa done a woody with Magna to build much than 2,000 autonomous Jaguar I-Pace vehicles. That evidently got a batch of attention. But I was astir funny successful yet learning the size of Waymo’s existing commercialized fleet, which is present 1,500. 

Wayve is making the rounds connected the high-profile enforcement set. You mightiness retrieve the video of Bill Gates successful 1 of Wayve’s autonomous trial vehicles. Now it’s Virgin Group laminitis Sir Richard Branson’s turn. P.S. Branson is simply a Wayve investor. BTW, Fortune Brainstorm held its AI league successful London, and Wayve CEO and co-founder Alex Kendall was there. He had some absorbing comments astir the company’s end-to-end attack and Tesla’s Elon Musk.

Zoox paused its driverless investigating programme for much than a week and issued a voluntary callback of its software pursuing a clang successful Las Vegas.

Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries

The Cadillac Celestiq EV — yep, that monster — is here, and contributor Emme Hall has thoughts aft spending a time down the wheel. 

It’s net season, and the U.S.-China commercialized warfare is starting to permission a scratch connected the overgarment of automakers everywhere. And, well, I don’t deliberation we’ll beryllium capable to buff it out.

Ford and General Motors pulled their guidance for the year, citing economical uncertainty related to Trump’s tariffs. Meanwhile, Rivian said it volition apt deliver less vehicles this twelvemonth (40,000 to 46,000 EVs) than antecedently forecasted owed to tariffs and different regulatory changes. Reminder: The institution was already tracking for its 3rd consecutive twelvemonth with nary measurement maturation earlier the guidance cut. There was immoderate bully quality for Rivian, though: It generated gross nett (yeah I know, gross nett isn’t precisely my fave, either). But this met a contractual milestone that unlocked astir $1 cardinal successful backing from Volkswagen Group arsenic portion of a associated task with the German automaker.

Ford is raising the terms of the all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUV and the Maverick pickup by arsenic overmuch arsenic $2,000 owed to the import taxes Trump is placing connected vehicles made successful Mexico.

Lucid Motors has been moving done immoderate quality “hiccups” successful the aboriginal stages of delivering its long-awaited electrical Gravity SUV.

Mitsubishi Motors is successful talks with Foxconn to source an electrical car model the Japanese automaker plans to merchantability successful Australia and New Zealand successful the second fractional of 2026.

Tesla sales continue to slump crossed Europe contempt an April EV income swell.

Future of flight

Joby Aviation seems to beryllium settling connected 2026 for its archetypal commercialized rider service, according to its first-quarter net report. The electrical vertical takeoff and landing startup-turned-SPAC was targeting 2025, past was stating “early 2026.” Now it’s conscionable 2026, which suggests it mightiness not beryllium aboriginal adjacent year.