<p>Escalating geopolitical tensions and a new administration with a hawkish defense agenda have led many startups to embrace dual-use strategies to secure revenue through military applications. It’s a trend that is already heating up in aerospace.   Take Archer Aviation, a California-based startup building eVTOLs (electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles). Until very recently, Archer’s go-to-market [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Rivian will sell its commercial electric vans to any U.S. business that wants one — more than a year since ending an exclusivity deal with backer Amazon. The company will sell two vans — the smaller 500 and the larger 700 — but buyers will have to be registered businesses, according to the company. That [&hellip;]</p>

<p>As President Donald Trump attempts to freeze funding for a $5 billion federal EV charging infrastructure program, some states are stepping up. EV charging infrastructure startup Revel secured on Monday a $60 million loan from New York&#8217;s clean energy investment fund NY Green Bank to more than triple its current public fast-charging network in New [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Ride-hail giant Lyft plans to bring fully autonomous robotaxis, powered by Mobileye, to its app “as soon as 2026” in Dallas, with more markets to follow, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. The news comes a day before Lyft reports its fourth-quarter financial results, coinciding with Waymo’s preparations to launch a commercial robotaxi service with Uber in [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The Department of Transportation (DOT) has paused funding for a $5 billion EV charging infrastructure program that Tesla has received at least $31 million from. The move is widely viewed to be illegal. It&#8217;s the latest attempt from the Trump administration to hack away at federally funded renewable energy projects around the country, a clear [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Elon Musk doesn’t want Tesla to be just an automaker. He wants Tesla to be an AI company, one that’s figured out how to make cars drive themselves.&nbsp; Crucial to that mission is Dojo, Tesla’s custom-built supercomputer designed to train its Full Self-Driving (FSD) neural networks. FSD isn’t actually fully self-driving; it can perform some [&hellip;]</p>

<p>A number of startups are racing to make vehicle inspections faster, easier, and cheaper. Self Inspection, a startup based in San Diego, thinks it has them all beat with its AI-powered service &#8212; and now it has convinced outside investors. Self Inspection, founded in 2021, is set to announce Thursday it&#8217;s raised $3 million in [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! We knew this day was coming: Cruise is dead — at least as a robotaxi company. General Motors completed its acquisition of GM Cruise Holdings LLC; Cruise is [&hellip;]</p>

<p>A wave of automakers and battery makers — foreign and domestic — have pledged to produce North American–made batteries before 2030. </p>

<p>Dojo is Tesla’s custom-built supercomputer that’s designed to train its “Full Self-Driving” neural networks.</p>

<p>Ford CEO Jim Farley has a question about President Donald Trump&#8217;s threatened tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China: Why stop there? Farley said in a conference call Wednesday that Trump&#8217;s selective approach &#8220;doesn&#8217;t make sense.&#8221; &#8220;Why are we having this conversation while Hyundai-Kia is importing 600,000 units in the U.S. with no incremental [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Ride-hail giant Lyft has partnered with AI startup Anthropic to build an AI assistant that handles initial intake for customer service inquiries for both riders and drivers.&nbsp; It’s the first phase of a broader collaboration between the two companies to use Anthropic’s services to research and test new Lyft products and build software internally. The [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Presto is helping connect fleets and charging networks so drivers can find working chargers quickly.</p>

<p>Scout Motors&#8217; plan to eschew traditional dealerships and sell EVs directly to consumers is running into legal trouble. A group of Volkswagen and Audi dealers filed a lawsuit in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County this week against Scout Motors, the EV that spun out of Volkswagen. The lawsuit, which was first reported [&hellip;]</p>

<p>AI is heating up, and we’re diving in! TechCrunch Sessions: AI is officially open for registration. Secure your spot now and save up to $300 on select tickets before prices go up. From startup founders to AI investors to aspiring innovators — TC Sessions: AI is where the entire AI ecosystem comes together. Whether you&#8217;re [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Uber customers in Austin may notice a new offer when they open the app and hail a ride: an invitation to signal their interest in a Waymo robotaxi. For now, this doesn&#8217;t translate into a Waymo picking them up. But it will soon. The &#8220;interest list,&#8221; which launched Wednesday, is part of a partnership between [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Circularity’s process uses 40% less energy than competing CO2-to-fuel pathways.</p>

<p>Cruise is laying off 50% of its workforce as the robotaxi program ends. </p>

<p>Self-driving truck startup Waabi is partnering with Volvo Autonomous Solutions to jointly develop and deploy autonomous trucks, an important milestone as it gets closer to a commercial launch.&nbsp; The tie-up also marks Volvo’s second partnership to co-develop self-driving big rigs with a startup partner. In May 2024, Volvo teamed up with Aurora Innovation to reveal [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Tech companies developing self-driving vehicle technology have tapped the brakes on testing on California&#8217;s public roads, according to new data from the state&#8217;s Department of Motor Vehicles. The agency reported Friday a total of 4.5 million autonomous vehicle test miles were logged in 2024, a 50% drop from the previous year. That figure covers two [&hellip;]</p>