Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility \u2014 your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free \u2014 just click TechCrunch Mobility<\/a>!<\/p>\n Before we jump in, a quick housekeeping item. The transportation newsletter won\u2019t run next Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday.\u00a0<\/p>\n For U.S. readers, I hope you have a safe and drama-free holiday filled with family and friends, delicious food, and long walks. Good luck to those traveling. For all of my international readers, I haven\u2019t forgotten about you. But we all need a little break. I\u2019ll be back the following week.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the past week, there has been a flood of robotaxi news, mostly driven by Waymo\u2019s flurry of expansion announcements.\u00a0<\/p>\n Waymo<\/strong>, which has a commercial robotaxi service in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco, has added more cities to its list. It will manually start driving (a precursor to driverless testing and deployment) in Minneapolis, New Orleans, and Tampa <\/a>next year. Other cities that the Alphabet-owned self-driving company plans to deploy in 2026 are Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami (it just removed safety drivers)<\/a>, Nashville, Orlando, San Antonio, San Diego, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. It\u2019s also testing in New York City and plans to offer commercial rides internationally starting with London and Tokyo.<\/p>\n Waymo wasn\u2019t the only company to make some AV news. Tesla<\/strong> received a ride-hailing permit in Arizona<\/a> \u2014 the last regulatory hurdle to launch a robotaxi service there. And Zoox<\/strong> is starting to open its custom-built robotaxis to the public in San Francisco<\/a> through its early rider program.<\/p>\n All of this has me poking at the question: When will robotaxis reach a tipping point that will lead to fundamental changes in how people think about moving from Point A to Point B? And perhaps more unclear, is how will that affect society and industries (old and new)? I can\u2019t answer the second question, but I have some baked ideas about the first one.<\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco<\/span> In short (and in my view), we are not there yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just about the volume of one player. Waymo\u2019s rapid deployment will certainly introduce the idea and experience to more people. But it\u2019s not quite enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here is what it will take, from my perspective: geography, competition, and an ecosystem spillover effect. Certain cities are simply going to carry more weight societally than others \u2014 at least when it comes to reaching that tipping point. Saturation in San Francisco is meaningful, but it\u2019s also a region that is a literal incubator of technology. To me, robotaxi saturation in densely populated cities in the Southeast and East Coast, as well as in mid-tier cities in the Midwest, will be the tipping point indicator.\u00a0<\/p>\n I am also looking for that startup spillover effect, in which an ecosystem of startups and businesses is launched and supported because of robotaxis. Service-related businesses are an obvious one. But even startups like Point One Navigation<\/strong>, which developed precise location technology and is in our Deals section, would qualify under my definition.\u00a0<\/p>\n And finally, competition. This matters for several reasons, including that it can drive down prices for the user and introduce different business models.<\/p>\n So, what do you think? Sign up for the Mobility newsletter<\/a> to vote in this week\u2019s poll, where we ask: When do you expect robotaxis to reach a tipping point of mass adoption that will affect how people move from Point A to Point B?<\/p>\n Many little birds have been chirping in senior reporter Sean O\u2019Kane\u2019s<\/strong> ear this past week about electric autonomous startup Monarch Tractor<\/strong>. Some of them shared an internal company memo that shows the startup is precariously close to shutting down<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the memo, execs warned staff it may need to lay off more than 100 employees or possibly even \u201cshut down.\u201d Reminder: Monarch has raised at least $220 million since it was founded seven years ago. It went through a restructuring in late 2024 in an effort to cut costs and expand into new areas, including licensing its autonomous tech. That turnaround plan is underway, but Monarch may run out of cash before it can make real headway.\u00a0<\/p>\n The company is also facing legal problems. A dealership in Idaho sued Monarch<\/a> for breach of contract and allegedly violating its warranty because the California-based startup\u2019s tractors were \u201cunable to operate autonomously.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at\u00a0<\/em>kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O\u2019Kane at\u00a0<\/em>sean.okane@techcrunch.com<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Autonomy<\/strong>, the EV subscription company founded by Scott Painter<\/strong>, secured $25 million in financing to acquire about 1,250 vehicles to expand beyond its previously all-Tesla fleet, the company told TechCrunch in an email. Autonomy\u2019s fleet will now include Volvo and Polestar, as well as additional Tesla options.<\/p>\n Pionix<\/strong>, a Germany-based EV charging technology startup, raised \u20ac8 million<\/a> in seed funding led by Ascend Capital Partners. Startup BW Seed Fonds, Pale Blue Dot, Vireo Ventures, and Axeleo Ventures also participated.<\/p>\n Point One Navigation<\/strong>, a San Francisco-based startup that has developed technology to give precise location within 1 to 3 centimeters, raised $35 million<\/a> in a Series C round led by Khosla Ventures. The company\u2019s post-money valuation is now $230 million, according to one insider familiar with the deal.<\/p>\n Japanese self-driving tech startup Turing<\/strong> raised about \u00a515.3 billion<\/a> ($97.7 million) in equity and debt. It raised \u00a59.77 billion ($62 million) in a round co-led by JIC Venture Growth Investments, a government-backed fund, and VC firm Global Brain Corporation. Additional investors include GMO Internet Group, Denso, and other unnamed firms. Turing also secured \u00a55.5 billion in syndicated loans arranged by Mizuho Bank.<\/p>\n Sortera<\/strong>, a startup that developed a system to separate aluminum grades with over 95% accuracy, raised $20 million in equity and $25 million in debt<\/a> in a round led by VXI Capital and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price, with participation from Overlay Capital and Yamaha Motor Ventures.<\/p>\n Ford<\/strong> <\/strong>has joined Amazon Autos<\/a>, which will allow customers to shop for, finance, and purchase certified pre-owned vehicles on the site. Meanwhile, Ford was hit with a potential setback after another fire broke out<\/a> at the Novelis<\/strong> aluminum plant in Oswego, New York. The factory supplies sheet metal for Ford\u2019s trucks, including its all-electric F-150 Lightning.<\/p>\n Google<\/strong> continues to push Gemini to as many devices as possible, including the car. Gemini will replace Google Assistant in Android Auto,<\/a> the smartphone projection technology integrated into millions of cars, trucks, and SUVs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Another legal brawl has started in the nascent electric aviation industry. Joby Aviation<\/strong> is suing Archer Aviation<\/strong> over allegations its rival used stolen trade secrets extracted from a former employee to interfere in its business. Read details of the lawsuit and Archer\u2019s response here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mercedes-AMG Petronas<\/strong> F1 CEO and team principal Toto Wolff<\/strong> sold a portion of his holdings<\/a> in the team to CrowdStrike founder and CEO George Kurtz.<\/p>\n Pony.ai<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>launched a fourth-gen autonomous truck lineup<\/a> that was jointly developed with Sany Truck and Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor. The company plans to deploy the trucks in 2026.<\/p>\n Stellantis\u2019<\/strong> long-delayed Jeep Recon will go into production next year. My article<\/a> goes beyond the specs (although those are in here too) and digs into why its launch is so surprising.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tesla<\/strong> is getting better at reporting FSD data, but\u2026, The Verge reported.<\/a><\/p>\n Toyota<\/strong> <\/strong>has upped its bet on hybrid vehicles in the U.S. with plans to invest $912 million<\/a> in five factories to expand production.<\/p>\n Uber Eats<\/strong> has partnered with sidewalk delivery robot company Starship Technologies<\/strong> to deliver food<\/a> in the U.K. starting later this year.<\/p>\n Volvo<\/strong> canceled<\/a> a five-year-old contract with Luminar<\/strong>, the latest escalation in a bitter fight between the lidar sensor company and its biggest customer.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Washington Post<\/strong>\u2019s article on the deadliest roads in America<\/a> includes an interactive feature that lets you pinpoint hot spots in cities across the United States.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve got a little something for all the automated driving jargon nerds out there.<\/p>\n The Autonocast<\/strong>, a podcast I co-host with Alex Roy and Ed Niedermeyer, recently recorded an interview with Bryant Walker Smith<\/strong>, in which we talked about how the SAE levels came to be, how he hopes to improve them, and his latest paper \u201cSelf-Driving\u201d Means Self-Driving<\/a> (which I shared a few weeks ago). Check out the episode here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 13-15, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nA little bird<\/h2>\n
![\"blinky](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/blinky-cat-bird-green.gif?w=680\")
Deals!<\/h2>\n
![\"money](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/money-the-station.png?w=680\")
Notable reads and other tidbits<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/the-station-ride-hailing1.png?w=680\")
One more thing \u2026<\/h2>\n