Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility<\/strong> \u2014 your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free \u2014 just click TechCrunch Mobility<\/a>!<\/p>\n Busy week, so let\u2019s get to it. Starting with federal regulations! Woohoo. Exciting stuff.\u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019m talking about the U.S. Department of Transportation<\/strong>\u2019s new Automated Vehicle Framework, which includes a standing general order<\/a> (SGO) on crash reporting for vehicles equipped with certain advanced driver-assistance systems and automated driving systems. There were also some changes to the Automated Vehicle Exemption Program<\/strong> (AVEP). <\/p>\n Briefly, the AVEP handles language and processes of domestic and imported vehicles receiving exemptions. I want to spend a bit more time on the SGO<\/a>, which has more significant changes. The Trump administration says it streamlines the process; others, like Consumer Reports, disagree.<\/p>\n The SGO ends a 24-hour reporting requirement and instead allows companies five days to submit a report if a vehicle with a Level 2 system is involved in a crash. As Consumer Reports notes, the new order also changes reporting requirements for when a vehicle with Level 2 driving automation has been towed away after a crash.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the past, any vehicle with a Level 2 or above advanced driver-assistance system involved in a crash that DID NOT involve a fatality or hitting a vulnerable road user like a pedestrian or cyclist still had to report it within five days. Now the rule will only apply to vehicles with ADS (automated driving systems), which cuts out the bulk of vehicles on the road today.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n That means if a Tesla that has Autopilot engaged (or a GM vehicle with Super Cruise or Ford with its BlueCruise system on) crashes and must be towed, it doesn\u2019t need to report that to the feds as long as the incident did not involve a fatality, an individual being transported to a hospital for medical treatment, a pedestrian or other vulnerable road user being struck, or an air bag deployment.<\/p>\n Reporting is still required for any vehicle with Level 2 ADAS (like Tesla Autopilot) or ADS that is in a crash in which there is a fatality, an air bag is deployed, a person is transported to the hospital, or a vulnerable road user is hit.\u00a0<\/p>\n During an interview at a Semafor event, DOT Secretary Sean Duffy<\/strong> seems to give a nod to those rules (although he says \u201cautonomous\u201d and not \u201cADAS\u201d) when he said, \u201cWhat we want to do is be able to get good data, but if there\u2019s a scraping of paint off of an autonomous vehicle, the reporting requirements became very laborious and challenging, and it slowed the process down.\u201d<\/p>\n Think I got this wrong? Reach out.\u00a0<\/p>\n OK, on to the rest.<\/em><\/p>\n Slate<\/strong>, the Bezos-backed EV startup, broke cover at an event<\/a> in Long Beach, California. Many of the details that senior reporter Sean O\u2019Kane reported in his initial scoop were finally presented to the public.\u00a0<\/p>\n Earlier in the week, we published some other insider details thanks to some little birds that describe how leaders have internally described the Slate EV as a \u201ctransformer\u201d<\/a> \u2014 as in the animated \u201cmore than meets the eye\u201d series. Turns out, that is exactly what the company is pitching to customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at <\/em>kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com<\/em><\/a> or my Signal at kkorosec.07, Sean O\u2019Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com<\/a>, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com<\/a>.<\/em> Or check out <\/em>these instructions<\/em><\/a> to learn how to contact us.<\/em><\/p>\n Ather Energy<\/strong>, the Indian startup manufacturing electric two-wheelers, cut the size of its initial public offer <\/a>by 18% to 26.26 billion Indian rupees ($308.3 million).<\/p>\n DoorDash<\/strong> wants to buy Deliveroo for $3.6 billion<\/a>, Axios reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Electra<\/strong>, the hybrid electric aircraft startup, raised $115 million<\/a> in a Series B round led by Prysm Capital. Jay Park, co-founder and managing partner at Prysm, has joined Electra\u2019s board of directors.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Fora<\/strong>, a travel agent startup based in New York, raised $60 million<\/a> across Series B and C rounds. Josh Kushner\u2019s Thrive co-led the $40 million Series C round.<\/p>\n The venture arm of United Airlines<\/strong> has invested<\/a> an undisclosed amount in JetZero<\/strong>, a startup developing a blended wing body design.<\/p>\n Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai<\/strong> received some attention for remarks during the company\u2019s earnings call about its self-driving vehicle unit Waymo<\/strong>. In response to a question, he said, as part of a longer answer, \u201cThere\u2019s future optionality around personal ownership as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Waymo has talked vaguely about licensing its tech (presumably to automakers) before, so I wouldn\u2019t read too much into this. But it\u2019s certainly notable that Pichai said it in an earnings call.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tesla<\/strong> has started testing its autonomous ride-hail service with employees<\/a> in Austin and the Bay Area ahead of the company\u2019s planned robotaxi launch this summer.<\/p>\n Volkswagen of America<\/strong> and Uber<\/strong> plan to launch a commercial robotaxi service<\/a> \u2014 using autonomous electric VW ID. BUZZ vehicles \u2014 in multiple U.S. cities over the next decade.<\/p>\n The companies expect to launch a commercial service in Los Angeles by late 2026, although it will initially include human safety drivers. The news brought me back to 2017-18 \u2014 an era of partnership announcements, many of which never materialized. VW has a lot of work to do before it launches commercially, including gaining even the most basic testing permit.\u00a0<\/p>\n Aidan Gomez<\/strong>, the co-founder and CEO of generative AI startup Cohere, joined Rivian\u2019s board<\/a>. I don\u2019t want to read too deeply into the appointment, but it does signal Rivian\u2019s interest in applying AI to its own venture while positioning itself as a software leader \u2014 and even provider \u2014 within the automotive industry.<\/p>\n Faraday Future<\/strong> somehow still exists and its board has appointed founder Jia Yueting<\/a> as the company\u2019s co-CEO, three years after he was sidelined following an internal probe into allegations of fraud. Side note: A Securities and Exchange Commission investigation remains ongoing.<\/p>\n Tesla <\/strong>earnings supported a hypothesis I\u2019ve had cooking in my brain for a while now. The company exists in contradictory realities. In one, Tesla\u2019s profits are down 71% YoY<\/a>, automotive revenues continue to fall, and its energy business is exposed to the U.S.-China trade war. In the other, Tesla is really an AI company that finally has the attention of its CEO Elon Musk and is on the cusp of launching an autonomous vehicle ride-hailing service and a cheaper EV \u2014 although it has yet to do either.<\/p>\n Investors grabbed on to the Tesla-is-an-innovator reality with both hands and they really don\u2019t want to let go \u2014 even if the reality is that anti-Musk sentiment is affecting the brand and is even an official risk<\/a> in its regulatory filing. Musk\u2019s comments about allocating more time to Tesla<\/a> and less at DOGE helped push them there. If you want to catch up on all the nuggets in the earnings report and call, scroll through our Tesla earnings wrap-up<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Federal Trade Commission<\/strong> filed a lawsuit against Uber<\/a>, alleging the company charged customers for its Uber One subscription service without their consent.\u00a0<\/p>\n What is Lyft<\/strong>\u2019s loss is Uber<\/strong>\u2019s gain. Delta SkyMiles members in the United States can now start earning points when they ride with Uber <\/a>or order delivery through Uber Eats as part of a recently announced exclusive partnership between the two companies. (Lyft had a partnership with Delta.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\nA little bird<\/h2>\n
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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
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Autonomous vehicles<\/h3>\n
Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries<\/h3>\n
Ride-hailing\u00a0<\/h3>\n