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Robotaxis are here! But that’s not the case.
That contradiction perfectly captures Waymo’s current reality. Anyone walking around San Francisco can rightfully declare that robotaxis are here. But even large-scale arrivals do not guarantee permanence. This persistent threat looms over any company trying to commercialize self-driving cars.
Waymo has temporarily suspended operations in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. That’s because the company’s robot taxis struggle to cope with heavy rain and flooded roads, and know exactly when they shouldn’t be on the road. As I was preparing to send out this newsletter, I learned that the company had expanded it to Austin and Nashville. The problem is so deep that Waymo announced a recall last week.
The same week, Waymo suspended robotaxi service on freeways in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami in an effort to improve performance on construction sites.
For now, the arrival of robotaxis is conditional. This doesn’t mean this conditional status will last forever, but it does serve as a reminder that launching commercially is not mission accomplished. Waymo, perhaps the leader in commercial robotaxi passenger numbers and fleet size, is in the thick of it. New edge cases are discovered every time a new city is entered or a feature is unlocked.
Situationship or Corporate Max Thing?
This week, we skip the Birds section and delve into SpaceX, its IPO, and the state of Elon Musk’s business world.
I don’t usually devote too much space to space in this newsletter. Hey. However, SpaceX’s IPO application was withdrawn this week, and its top executives also have deep ties to Tesla. Well, we’re talking about space here, and more specifically how Elon Musk uses one company’s resources to serve another.
The nature of Tesla and SpaceX’s interconnection is no secret. Tesla is a publicly traded company and discloses financial transactions with other Musk-related companies. This new IPO filing is similar, but a little more detailed. And now that Musk’s company xAI has merged with SpaceX, the IPO will bring all of those deals under one company.
For example, SpaceX purchased Tesla’s commercial energy storage product called Megapack in 2025 for $506 million. This is almost a three-fold increase from the previous year. SpaceX also purchased the Cybertruck last year for $131 million. SpaceX paid Musk’s infrastructure company, The Boring Company, $1 million to build a tunnel in Bastrop, Texas. Musk’s social media company X, which was acquired by xAI last year and later merged with SpaceX, also spent $1 million to lease space from The Boring Company.
Then there’s Tesla’s investment in xAI. After SpaceX’s acquisition of xAI, that investment was converted into SpaceX stock.
These costs will likely be covered by two future SpaceX and Tesla projects. These include the construction of Terafab, a chip manufacturing facility, and Macrohard, an AI platform the companies are developing that uses autonomous agents to augment human work.
All this leads to my question. Will SpaceX and Tesla merge?
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For more SpaceX coverage, check out these articles:
All about SpaceX IPO application
A breakdown of how Elon Musk rose to power
Who will benefit most?
xAI burnt through $6.4 billion last year
xAI continues to leverage gas turbines to power data centers
Great deal!
Aboard, a Southern California-based startup developing long-range electric travel trailers, has raised $13 million in a pre-Series A round led by Ondine Capital and Llama Ventures. Fun fact: The company hired Richard Kim, an automotive designer known for his work on the BMW i3 and i8 and co-founder of defunct EV startup Canoo, as a consultant.
Quartermaster, an Arlington, Virginia-based startup developing distributed sensing networks for ships, has raised $43 million in a Series A funding round co-led by First Round Capital and Quiet Capital.
Self-driving car technology startup May Mobility has signed a strategic agreement with Ecarx, an automotive technology company backed by Geely founder Li Shufu. Under the agreement, Ecarx will supply May Mobility with thousands of dedicated robotaxis vehicles. The companies plan to partner with third parties to initially deploy AV next year and scale up to commercialization by 2028. The total cost of the project is estimated to be approximately $750 million over its lifetime.
Indian travel booking startup Scapia has raised $63 million in a funding round led by General Catalyst, with participation from existing investors Peak XV Partners and Z47.
Uber has increased its stake and now owns a 19.5% stake in German food delivery company Delivery Hero, Bloomberg reports.
Notable reads and other trivia
MIT research scientist Brian Reimer shared his recent presentation on AI and how its future depends on human behavior, governance, and trust.
The global EV economy is K-shaped, and this country is being left behind.
Lyft published a blog explaining its position on self-driving cars. In its view, and a view shared by rival Uber, ride-hailing requires both human and robot drivers. This makes political sense. Lyft doesn’t want to rattle human gig workers. It also reflects the current state of robotaxis in terms of scale. As a result, robotaxis are not part of everyday life for most people in the United States.
Self-driving technology startup Nuro has hired Michael Mancini as chief financial officer. Mr. Mancini previously served as CFO of Energy Recovery, Astranis Space Technologies, and Aerion Supersonic.
Stellantis, the automaker behind the Jeep and Ram brands, has tapped self-driving startup Wave to bring hands-free driving to its vehicles in 2028. Meanwhile, Stellantis announced a $70 billion turnaround plan that includes 11 new models for North America and even a portion of Chrysler.
Tesla’s fully autonomous (supervised) driver assistance software is now available in Lithuania. This is the second country in Europe to approve its use. Reminder: Making FSD available in Europe is critical to Tesla and CEO Elon Musk’s ambitions. This is also financially significant for Musk, whose $1 trillion salary package is tied to achieving a number of product goals, including reaching “10 million active FSD subscribers” by 2035.
A San Francisco doctor who sued Waymo after its identification system misidentified him as a terrorist dropped the lawsuit after Waymo resolved the issue.
One more thing…
The last time I drove a Nissan Leaf was two years ago when I test drove the 2024 Nissan Leaf SV Plus, which cost $37,815 (including destination charge). And at the time, I described the experience as mixed. I recently got back in the car. This time it’s the 2026 Nissan Leaf Platinum+, priced at $42,635 including destination charge and special add-ons like two-tone paint and floor mat packages.
The third generation of the Leaf, this model has an improved EPA-estimated range of 259 miles (some versions exceed 300 miles). But it wasn’t the first upgrade I noticed. This new Leaf was lighter and had a more modern, dare I say, luxurious interior. I wouldn’t call it “sophisticated,” but it was a fun and notable upgrade. (Did you notice the cool nighttime lighting in the photo above?) My version was notable in the top trim and came with a wireless phone charging pad, a dimmable panoramic roof, a head-up display, and a long, curved 14.3-inch center screen.
Last time, I complained that vehicles priced over $30,000 lacked technology such as high-resolution backup cameras. It comes standard and has some notable improvements that correct my previous criticisms, including a 360-degree camera, wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, and adaptive cruise control. I was happy to be able to ride the Nissan Leaf again this time.
Any tips? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.Korosec@techcrunch.com, email my Signal at korosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.
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