TechCrunch Mobility: The ‘robot army’ argument

Welcome backmost to TechCrunch Mobility — your cardinal hub for quality and insights connected the aboriginal of transportation. To get this successful your inbox, motion up present for escaped — conscionable click TechCrunch Mobility!

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

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

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

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

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

“My biggest interest line: If we physique this robot army, bash I person a beardown power implicit that robot army? I don’t consciousness comfy gathering a robot service if I don’t person a beardown influence,” Musk said during the net call. He was referring to Tesla’s Optimus robot programme and utilized it arsenic an illustration of products helium wants afloat power over. 

That statement volition hardly transportation Musk’s critics, peculiarly successful the aftermath of his relation arsenic head of the 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

Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

This week, General Motors dropped the ax connected the BrightDrop electrical van program aft 4 abbreviated years. It was not the biggest astonishment successful the 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 archer 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 failed truthful miserably.

Another small vertebrate has fixed america a clue, though. The vans are pricey but well-liked and should prevention fleet owners wealth implicit time. And electrical drivetrains are a large acceptable for last-mile delivery. What GM appears to person missed was the infrastructure piece, according to 1 insider. The institution leaned hard connected extracurricular partnerships to physique retired alleged depot charging, alternatively of offering it arsenic portion of the fleet purchases. That turned a fig 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, oregon email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.

Deals!

Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

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

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

The chunk of this wealth is going toward Redwood’s caller vigor retention business, which is giving a caller intent to EV batteries it has collected and that person excessively overmuch beingness near to enactment done the recycling process. The institution ties these retired EV batteries to renewable vigor sources similar upwind and solar, oregon the grid, to powerfulness AI information centers oregon concern sites.

Other deals that got 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 accidental to wage attraction to the “other commitments” bit, which suggests it was not a consecutive currency injection.

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

Notable reads and different tidbits

Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

General Motors made respective announcements astatine an lawsuit successful NYC that were meant to amusement wherever it’s headed. And, yes, AI plays a cardinal role. Before AI could instrumentality the stage, GM said it volition overhaul the electrical and computational guts of its aboriginal vehicles. The institution volition rotation retired a caller electrical architecture and centralized computing level successful caller vehicles, starting with the Cadillac Escalade IQ successful 2028. That instauration volition let the institution to present faster software; much susceptible 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 enforcement commentary that helps maine recognize however tariffs and the expired EV taxation recognition are affecting the automotive sector. I don’t person immoderate wide takeaways yet — and astir apt won’t until the adjacent quarter. 

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

Some different GM and Ford news: Ford volition 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 the Verge’s Decoder podcast that the institution volition driblet enactment 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 fig of vehicles successful the 3rd 4th of 2025, results buoyed by U.S. customers who took vantage of the expiring national EV taxation credit. That didn’t construe to greater earnings. Tesla’s third-quarter nett was $1.4 billion, 37% little than it was successful the aforesaid 4th past year. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation aft seeing footage from aboriginal 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 circular of layoffs this year), and its laminitis and CEO is taking connected yet different position: chief selling officer. Rivian besides agreed this week to pay $250 million to settee a class-action shareholder suit filed aft the institution abruptly hiked prices connected its R1 pickup motortruck and SUV successful 2022.

Meanwhile, I spent immoderate clip successful the Bay Area with 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, determination volition beryllium adjacent much coming. For now, it’s a slick modular pedal-assist e-bike and 2 pedal-assist quad vehicles — the transportation van mentation that Amazon has already agreed to buy. The large compelling tech communicative present is vertical integration and software.