TechCrunch Mobility: The great Tesla rebranding

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has spent months — years? — trying to presumption his institution arsenic thing much than conscionable a shaper of electrical vehicles. When Tesla acquired Solar City successful 2016, helium (and his comms team) pitched it arsenic a sustainable vigor company. Over the past year, helium has pushed the thought of Tesla arsenic an AI and robotics company.

Musk’s aspirational branding has slammed close up against fiscal reality: The bulk of its gross comes from selling EVs. Its latest net enactment this.

The institution generated $94.8 cardinal successful gross successful 2025. Of that, $69.5 cardinal came from selling and leasing EVs arsenic good arsenic related regulatory credits. The remaining $25 cardinal is divided astir down the mediate betwixt its vigor procreation (solar) and retention concern and “services and other,” which see gross from its Superchargers, parts sales, and Full Self-Driving subscriptions. That reliance connected deliveries means that arsenic EV income person dipped, truthful has Tesla’s full equilibrium sheet. Its profits successful 2025 were 46% lower year-over-year.

Tesla has tried to turn its non-EV businesses to compensate for the diminution successful sales, and its Q4 and full-year net study (and its accompanying call) signaled a displacement beyond the persistent AI-robotics speech and toward action. For now, that enactment involves spending money, not making it. Musk repeatedly stressed that 2026 would beryllium a immense CapEx year, much than doubling spending to $20 billion, which would enactment them successful negative-cash-flow territory.

For instance, Musk announced that Tesla is ending accumulation of the Model S and Model X, which is much symbolic than material. Those 2 models correspond astir 2% of Tesla’s income volume, a constituent that Barclays expert Dan Levy besides makes successful his astir caller note. Still, it is simply a notable end-of-an-era infinitesimal for Tesla and the broader automotive industry, which was everlastingly changed erstwhile the Model S went connected merchantability successful 2012.

The much worldly determination is what Tesla plans to bash now.

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Tesla plans to capable the accumulation void near by the Model S and X with its Optimus humanoid robots, which volition beryllium made astatine its Fremont, California, factory. Musk besides intends to standard Tesla’s robotaxi operations to much cities successful 2026 and adjacent floated the request for Tesla to physique a TerraFab mill to enactment up spot supply.

But the point that truly stood retired to maine — and a existent Elon Inc circular system woody — was Tesla’s program to invest $2 billion into different Musk company, xAI, and signaled plans to much intimately align those 2 companies. Meanwhile, different outlets are reporting talks are underway to perchance merge (in immoderate combination) 3 of Musk’s companies: SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI.

But let’s travel backmost down to world for a infinitesimal and reappraisal Tesla’s existent business. Its sales are down year-over-year, portion its smaller vigor retention concern made affirmative gains.

A small bird

We’re not rather acceptable to stock the afloat details, but we’ve heard from 1 small vertebrate that determination is immoderate enactment connected the fundraising beforehand for Waymo. You astir apt saw reporting past period astir Waymo raising up to a $15 cardinal circular led by its genitor institution Alphabet. Based connected my conversations, it is inactive successful “the realm” of $15 cardinal and ample information is coming from Alphabet, and determination is precocious involvement from outer investors to join. One small vertebrate told maine 1 of the different investors whitethorn beryllium an OEM (original instrumentality manufacturer.

Stay tuned for much connected this.

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

Deals!

Waabi gets my “deal of the week” badge — and not conscionable due to the fact that of the dollar figures attached. The autonomous conveyance startup has raised $750 million successful a Series C circular co-led by Khosla Ventures and G2 Venture Partners, positive different $250 cardinal successful milestone superior from Uber to enactment the deployment of 25,000 oregon much Waabi Driver-powered robotaxis exclusively connected its platform.

Uber is already a Waabi backer, participating successful 1 of its earliest raises successful 2021. But this is astir much than money. When Waabi archetypal launched, it focused connected applying its autonomous conveyance tech to self-driving trucks. The woody with Uber is simply a declaration that it intends to standard its tech crossed aggregate self-driving verticals with a azygous exertion stack.

Can Waabi bash it? Others person tried and retreated. Waymo shuttered its self-driving trucks programme to absorption connected robotaxis; Aurora, which is besides an capitalist successful Waabi, was moving connected some trucks and robotaxis, too, earlier deciding to absorption conscionable connected large rigs.

Other deals that got my attraction …

Gatik AI, a startup processing autonomous trucks focused connected the “middle mile,” has signed a woody with a large (unnamed) consumer-goods company. Here’s wherefore it matters: The declaration will deliver $600 cardinal successful revenue implicit 5 years. And these are for driverless transport, meaning nary information operator is down the wheel. These Gatik trucks, which tally 24 hours a time moving ambient, refrigerated, and frozen goods betwixt organisation centers and stores, person been operating driverlessly since mid-2025. According to the company, it has completed 60,000 afloat driverless orders without incident.

Luminar’s lidar concern has been sold for $33 cardinal to Redmond, Washington-based MicroVision. The company, which is processing its ain sensors, bushed retired Quantum Computing successful an auction for the assets. TC’s Sean O’Kane interviewed MicroVision CEO Glen DeVos astir his plans for Luminar. The income process did person a spot of last-minute intrigue erstwhile a mystery bidder, with a acold larger offer, made a play for Luminar’s lidar business.

Rad Power Bikes, which started the bankruptcy process astir a period ago, reached a deal to merchantability itself to Life Electric Vehicles Holdings (or Life EV) for astir $13.2 million. When accounting for Rad Power’s liabilities, the full worth of the bid is $14.9 million. History lesson: Rad Power has raised $329.2 cardinal since its founding and erstwhile had a valuation of $1.65 billion.

Redwood Materials raised $425 cardinal successful a Series E circular that includes Google arsenic a caller investor. The circular was led by task steadfast Eclipse and includes a strategical concern by Nvidia’s task superior arm, NVentures, arsenic good arsenic existing investors Capricorn and Goldman Sachs. Read the afloat story to larn what Redwood plans to bash with the capital.

Notable reads and different tidbits

Obi, a institution that aggregates real-time pricing and pickup times crossed aggregate ride-hailing services, shared caller information connected ride-hailing and robotaxis successful the San Francisco Bay Area. There are a fewer takeaways — truthful please spell work the afloat story — including that the terms spread betwixt Waymo and rides provided by Uber and Lyft is narrowing.

Uber launched a caller part called Uber AV Labs, that is not — arsenic elder newsman Sean O’Kane points retired — a ploy to commencement processing its ain robotaxis again. This is simply a data-sharing play; sensor-equipped Uber cars volition cod and past stock information with partners similar Lucid, Waymo, and Waabi. Important note: No contracts are signed yet.

Waymo is present allowed to run a robotaxi work to and from the San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The institution volition statesman offering entree to SFO to a prime fig of riders earlier offering it to each customers successful the coming months. That triumph comes with a spot of tarnish, however. Waymo is nether probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and National Transportation Safety Board aft the institution reported 1 of its robotaxis struck a child adjacent an simple schoolhouse successful Santa Monica connected January 23.

The San Francisco Police Departmentis investigating an incidental involving a Zoox autonomous conveyance that crashed into the driver’s-side doorway of a parked car.

One much happening …

It’s been a fewer weeks since we’ve had a canvass and present is simply a amusive one: What volition the sanction oregon ticker of Musk’s combined supercompany be?

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