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Your usual host, Kirsten Korosec, is taking a well-deserved vacation, so she’s here to guide you through this week’s traffic news. The first thing that comes to mind is my colleague Sean O’Kane’s huge scoop on the demise of EV startups. fiskerincludes interviews with numerous current and former employees to help you understand how a startup with so much promise and hype could have fallen so far.
In other news this week: funding for an e-bike subscription startup (you thought micromobility was dead), geographic expansion for all the popular robotaxi companies, and the top two US-based eVTOL companies going head-to-head The news is that it will happen. Preparing to launch a commercial air taxi.
Oh, and more Tesla drama as Elon Musk switches Nvidia chips from EV maker to X. All of this leads up to a shareholder proposal that could decide once and for all whether Musk receives an astronomical pay package.
Before we get started, let’s look at a quick PSA. There’s less than a week left until the application deadline for TC’s Startup Battlefield at Disrupt! Competitors will receive free Disrupt tickets and additional passes, VIP access to all presentations, free exhibition space, investor attention, access to workshops and presentation training, and a chance at $100,000.
If you are a startup, you can apply until June 10th at 11:59 PM (PDT).
dickey
Many little birds are talking to senior reporter Sean O’Kane about what’s going on behind EV startup Fisker. Several current and former employees helped us understand how Fisker, which once kept that promise, is now teetering on the brink of bankruptcy after delivering just a few thousand electric Ocean SUVs last week and laying off most of its employees.
Employees blame the husband-and-wife team with their names on the hood for failing to establish the basic processes that form the foundation of an automaker. result? An SUV riddled with mechanical and software problems that resulted in dozens of lawsuits filed by customers.
Fisker’s pre-mortem, this ladleful of tea is hot. There are details about inadequate customer service, a flawed warranty system, a shortage of spare parts and how Fisker at one point lost about $16 million. But don’t take it from me. Take a seat and read the article for yourself.
Do you have any tips for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com, Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. Alternatively, check out the following instructions to learn how to contact us through the encrypted messaging app or SecureDrop.
Special price!
Here are some of the most interesting deals this week: nerve conceptThat’s $27 million. The Swiss startup uses AI to help car designers model how parts will perform before they are manufactured.
The electric vehicle market is heating up as China floods Europe and the Middle East with cheap, smart cars. For European and American car manufacturers to keep up, it will be essential to reduce the time and cost of design and production.
Forestay Capital led the round with participation from Alven, Constantia New Business, HTGF and Aster Group.
Other deals that caught my attention…
Euler Motors, an Indian commercial EV manufacturer, has raised $24 million in its Series C expansion. Backers include British International Investment, Blume Ventures and Piramal Alternatives.
Girebe, a French B2B platform for EV charging, has raised €20 million to expand and develop new services in Europe and internationally. Partech led the round with participation from Groupe EDF, ENEDIS, Banque des Territoires and Demeter.
Gogoroa publicly traded electric two-wheeler battery exchange company, has raised an additional $50 million from Gold Sino Assets through SPAC.
Joby Airlines, A California-based eVTOL company has acquired the autonomous division of autonomous aviation technology developer Xwing. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the acquisition provides clarity on how Joby will use Xwing’s technology for both near-term pilot operations and fully autonomous future operations.
whiza New York-based e-bike subscription startup targeting food delivery drivers, has raised $12 million in equity and debt from Leta Capital and Flashpoint VC.
Notable Reads and Other Useful Information
self-driving car
cruise This week we brought robotaxis back to Dallas. The GM-backed company plans to map and test self-driving cars there in hopes of regaining public favor.
waymo It extends an additional 90 miles in the metro Phoenix area, stretching from North Phoenix to Desert Ridge and across downtown Mesa and Scottsdale. Waymo will also work with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community to begin operating on tribal lands.
Zoox It plans to test robotaxi in Austin and Miami this summer, making them the fourth and fifth test cities for the Amazon-backed company. This comes the same week that federal regulators requested additional information from Zoox as part of an investigation into the risk of rear-end crashes due to unexpected braking.
Electric vehicles, charging and batteries
archer airlines The eVTOL startup has received Part 135 carrier certification from the Federal Aviation Administration, which authorizes it to operate on-demand air taxi services. Archer still needs to get type certification for the Midnight air taxi to prove the aircraft meets all of the FAA’s design and safety standards, but this is a step in the right direction.
jeep The company has unveiled its first EV for the US market, the Wagoneer S. The midsize SUV is priced at $72,000 and is scheduled to hit dealers this fall. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares also confirmed that a $25,000 electric Jeep is headed to the U.S., putting it in clear competition with Tesla and its now-discontinued $25,000 EV. At the same time, Jeep expects to sell 160,000 to 170,000 plug-in hybrid EVs in the U.S. this year.
Elon Musk has reportedly appropriated Nvidia chips. tesla to his social media company, X (formerly Twitter). musk defended the decision X said Tesla has no place to store the chips as it awaits completion of Giga Texas. Still, shareholders who are being bombarded with requests to vote in favor of Musk’s exorbitant pay package may be concerned. This signals a delay in receiving more than $500 million worth of GPUs needed to install supercomputers that Tesla will use to develop self-driving cars and humanoid robots.
wheel of the week
What is a “Wheel of the Week”? It’s an opportunity to learn about the different transportation products we’re testing, including electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, e-bikes, and self-driving cars. Before Kirsten left on vacation she had the opportunity to try out: 2024 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV SEL. Here’s how to proceed:
Spent a week with the 2024 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV SEL We had positive impressions about this plug-in hybrid vehicle, which has an all-in price of $51,835. I didn’t have much expectations before it arrived and was a little apprehensive considering the price. So I was pleasantly surprised to discover a vehicle with luxurious interior touches and a layout that makes it easy for drivers to navigate. Physical buttons! It’s important to note that there are a few Nissan details here, such as a 12-inch infotainment screen.
This four-door SUV offers a range of approximately 38 miles in EV mode. This was enough range to keep me in EV mode for a whole week. It wasn’t until I took the vehicle further that I switched to gasoline. One item I found interesting was the ability to switch between different modes (normal, EV, storage and charging). In “Charge” mode, energy is transferred to the battery. During one mountain driving session, returning to the valley below, I was able to add about 15 miles of range back to the battery.
