{"id":742351,"date":"2026-08-02T19:45:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T16:45:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/techcrunch-mobility-two-roads-diverged-for-robotaxis\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T19:45:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T16:45:22","slug":"techcrunch-mobility-two-roads-diverged-for-robotaxis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/techcrunch-mobility-two-roads-diverged-for-robotaxis\/","title":{"rendered":"TechCrunch Mobility: Two roads diverged \u2014 for robotaxis"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_87 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a9adf040675b\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a9adf040675b\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/techcrunch-mobility-two-roads-diverged-for-robotaxis\/#Deals\" >Deals!<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/techcrunch-mobility-two-roads-diverged-for-robotaxis\/#Notable_reads_and_other_tidbits\" >Notable reads and other tidbits<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/techcrunch-mobility-two-roads-diverged-for-robotaxis\/#One_more_thing_%E2%80%A6\" >One more thing \u2026<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<p id=\"speakable-summary\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Welcome back to <strong>TechCrunch Mobility<\/strong>, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, the role AI is playing in it. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free \u2014 just click TechCrunch Mobility!<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">TechCrunch covered a couple of stories this week that illustrate the countervailing forces at play within the autonomous vehicle industry. The federal government is hitting the accelerator while state and local officials are pumping the brakes on autonomous vehicles.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>National Highway Traffic Safety Administration<\/strong> made a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> of autonomous vehicle <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> announcements designed to cut red tape and accelerate the development and deployment of this technology (my article describes many of its actions). The one that got the most attention was the agency\u2019s decision to give Zoox a temporary exemption from eight federal motor vehicle safety standards, which will finally allow the company to charge customers for rides in its custom-built robotaxi.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The importance of this can\u2019t be understated. This was one of the last remaining regulatory hurdles Zoox needed to clear before launching a commercial robotaxi service. And according to the company, paid rides are imminent. The company will start charging for rides in Las Vegas first.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, <strong>Waymo <\/strong>and other robotaxi operators are facing increased scrutiny over how their autonomous vehicles interact with emergency responders, a regulatory risk that\u2019s becoming harder for the industry to shrug off. As I have noted before, San Francisco mayor Daniel Lurie asked state regulators to bolster rules for autonomous vehicles nearly two weeks after Waymo robotaxis became immobile in heavy July 4 traffic, ran out of power, and blocked key streets, further compounding the gridlock.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This week, <strong>Rep.<\/strong> <strong>Kevin Mullin<\/strong> (D-Calif.) proposed a bill that would direct federal regulators to establish minimum national safety standards for autonomous vehicle operators.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have seen disturbing, and frankly, an unacceptable number of incidents where autonomous vehicles inadvertently interfere with emergency responders,\u201d Mullin said during the press conference, which Lurie also spoke at.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So here we are, a push forward, and nope, a pull back. And in the middle is the AV industry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What do you think? Send me an email with your view at <em>kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-deals\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Deals\"><\/span>Deals!<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"170\" width=\"680\" src=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/money-the-station.png?w=680\" alt=\"money the station\" class=\"wp-image-1896226\" srcset=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/money-the-station.png 1024w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/money-the-station.png?resize=150,38 150w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/money-the-station.png?resize=300,75 300w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/money-the-station.png?resize=768,192 768w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/money-the-station.png?resize=680,170 680w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/money-the-station.png?resize=430,108 430w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/money-the-station.png?resize=720,180 720w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/money-the-station.png?resize=900,225 900w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/money-the-station.png?resize=800,200 800w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/money-the-station.png?resize=668,167 668w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/money-the-station.png?resize=708,177 708w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/money-the-station.png?resize=50,13 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span class=\"wp-block-image__credits\"><strong>Image Credits:<\/strong>Bryce Durbin<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Lucid<\/strong> has landed more Saudi money, this time from Prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud, a member of the Saudi royal family. The billionaire prince\u00a0purchased a little more than 19 million shares, or about 5%, of Lucid Motors, according to a regulatory filing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Elon Musk\u2019s<\/strong> tunneling startup The Boring Company is in talks to raise a $4 billion funding round at a valuation of $20 billion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Terminal<\/strong>, a Toronto-based startup that provides telematics data infrastructure for the commercial fleet industry, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/today-s-trucking_trucking-telematics-activity-7488299821620101120-eLDg?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop&amp;rcm=ACoAAAERmzIBOFgNvRHWUny-3IuRn0I3lovo2tU\">raised $20 million<\/a> in a Series A round led by Battery Ventures. New strategic investors Intact Private Capital and Penske, as well as returning backers Y Combinator and Wayfinder Ventures, also participated.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-notable-reads-and-other-tidbits\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Notable_reads_and_other_tidbits\"><\/span>Notable reads and other tidbits<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"171\" width=\"680\" src=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/the-station-ride-hailing1.png?w=680\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1926823\" srcset=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/the-station-ride-hailing1.png 1024w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/the-station-ride-hailing1.png?resize=150,38 150w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/the-station-ride-hailing1.png?resize=300,75 300w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/the-station-ride-hailing1.png?resize=768,193 768w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/the-station-ride-hailing1.png?resize=680,171 680w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/the-station-ride-hailing1.png?resize=430,108 430w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/the-station-ride-hailing1.png?resize=720,181 720w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/the-station-ride-hailing1.png?resize=900,226 900w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/the-station-ride-hailing1.png?resize=800,201 800w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/the-station-ride-hailing1.png?resize=668,168 668w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/the-station-ride-hailing1.png?resize=708,178 708w, https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/the-station-ride-hailing1.png?resize=50,13 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span class=\"wp-block-image__credits\"><strong>Image Credits:<\/strong>Bryce Durbin<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Alaska Airlines<\/strong> CEO and president Ben Minicucci joined Lyft\u2019s <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lyft.com\/blog\/posts\/ben-minicucci-joins-lyft-board-of-directors\">board of directors<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The nascent on-demand drone-delivery industry had a busy week. <strong>Walmart<\/strong> and Alphabet\u2019s <strong>Wing<\/strong> drone delivery started service across Central Florida, and <strong>Flytrex<\/strong> announced a partnership with autonomic logistics platform <strong>Nash<\/strong>. But the biggest announcement was about <strong>DoorDash<\/strong>, which said it was building a drone delivery business, including its own aircraft, as part of an effort developed by its robotics and autonomy team. This will eventually operate within the company\u2019s delivery <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Ferrari<\/strong> might have received a lot of hate for its first all-electric vehicle, the Luce, but the criticism didn\u2019t dampen sales. Ferrari hit this year\u2019s sales target for the Luce in just two months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Florida<\/strong> was awarded $200 million under the federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, but the money never made it to charging infrastructure for electric cars. Instead, the\u00a0state is using the money to build 32 landing pads with charging stations for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, or eVTOLs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>London<\/strong> is shaping up to be the next robotaxi battleground. <strong>Baidu<\/strong> has started testing autonomous vehicles in London as part of its partnership with <strong>Lyft<\/strong> and <strong>Freenow<\/strong>, the taxi and multi-mobility app that the ride-hailing company now owns. The companies plan to invite the public to hail their robotaxis in 2027. Meanwhile, others are also preparing to launch. In April, <strong>Waymo<\/strong> began testing its autonomous vehicles with human safety operators in the city. <strong>Uber<\/strong> and its self-driving tech partner, <strong>Wayve<\/strong>, also announced plans to launch a robotaxi service in London this year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rivian<\/strong> spinoff <strong>Also<\/strong> will finally start delivering its first e-bikes to customers next week, after months of delays related to unspecified supply chain issues.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In yet another hint that a <strong>Tesla-SpaceX <\/strong>merger is imminent,<strong> <\/strong>the EV maker<strong> <\/strong>is considering selling off its China business ahead of a SpaceX merger, according to the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, Tesla hit a new milestone and built its 10 millionth EV.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Waymo<\/strong> robotaxis started to return to freeways, more than two months after the company stopped driving these high-speed roads over concerns about how its autonomous vehicles behaved near construction zones.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-one-more-thing\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"One_more_thing_%E2%80%A6\"><\/span>One more thing \u2026<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There was a time when this <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>letter was chock-full of electric vehicle news, much of it centered on ambitious plans from U.S. automakers <strong>GM<\/strong> and <strong>Ford<\/strong>. Both companies ramped up spending and formed joint ventures to build battery and EV factories, in an effort to shift their portfolios to ones filled with electric cars, trucks, and SUVs. But as those plans have retreated, so has the talk.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">TechCrunch teamed up with <strong>Hudson Labs<\/strong>, a New York-based financial research firm, to analyze the last seven years of GM and Ford quarterly earnings calls and found that both companies are talking about EVs at a lower rate than they did before the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The upshot: While GM and Ford still sell EVs and have new models in their product pipelines, their collective focus has shifted, and it shows in the data. Check out the story, which includes two interactive graphs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology<\/a><\/span> category.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2026\/08\/02\/techcrunch-mobility-two-roads-diverged-for-robotaxis\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, the role AI is playing in it. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free \u2014 just click TechCrunch Mobility! TechCrunch covered a couple of stories this week that illustrate the countervailing forces at play&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":742352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/zoox-austin-getty.jpg?resize=1200,788","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[152622,36402,73295,1450,152624,155487],"class_list":["post-742351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-robotaxis","tag-tesla","tag-transportation","tag-uber","tag-waymo","tag-wayve"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=742351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/742352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=742351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=742351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=742351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}