San Francisco's Robotaxi Dilemma: Innovation vs Safety and Accessibility | Aug 18th, 2023

Plus, Riese & Müller changes the way they deliver their e-bikes with new eco-friendly packaging, and Lamborghini is getting ready to unveil its first-ever electric supercar.

Issue [#200] - Every week, we deliver analysis and curation of emerging mobility news - post a job listing here!

Micromobility

Verge Motorcycles, an Estonian electric superbike company, hired a new CFO to expand globally. Mark Wilson, who previously worked for Aston Martin Lagonda Plc and McLaren Automotive, joined the team with over twenty years of experience raising funding and expanding international operations in the automotive sector. The company says this appointment is crucial for Verge as it grows in the US and expands globally / Tech.eu

Many countries have Right to Repair laws that allow consumers to fix their devices without paying expensive fees to the manufacturers. However, e-bike makers want e-bikes to be exempt from these laws. They argue that e-bikes have complex and risky parts like lithium-ion batteries that need special equipment, knowledge, and training to handle safely, and only qualified experts should do the repairs / Electrek

Starting from the week of Sept. 4, Upway, an e-bike reseller, will launch a repair service only for VanMoof owners in this area. Upway aims to give new life to unwanted e-bikes and sell them at a lower price to customers. Upway also decided to offer this service because of the electronic and mechanical problems that they noticed in VanMoof models a few months after they began reselling them, according to Upway's CEO and co-founder, Toussaint Wattinne / Bicycle Retailer

Riese & Müller, a luxury electric bike company, is changing the way it delivers its e-bikes to customers. Instead of using cardboard bike boxes like most other e-bike makers, Riese & Müller has developed a new reusable and eco-friendly packaging. The packaging is made of polypropylene and has Velcro closures. It can protect the e-bikes better and reduce waste /  Electrek

Product Launches & Updates

Lamborghini is getting ready to unveil its first-ever electric supercar. The company teased a darkened image of the car's upper body, showing its sleek and futuristic design. Lamborghini will reveal the car, which will likely be a concept, on August 18th, during Monterey Car Week. The vehicle will be a new addition to the Lamborghini family and not an electric version of an existing model / Engadget

Tesla has made some changes to its electric vehicle pricing. The company has reintroduced the "standard range" trim level for its Model S and Model X, which lowers the price by $10,000 and the range by around 80 miles. The Model S now costs $78,490 and can go 320 miles on a single charge, while the Model X now costs $88,490 and can go 269 miles. This could make Tesla more competitive in the EV market, as some customers may prefer to pay less for less range / TechCrunch

The e-scooter company Veo, which got the permit to operate in New York City, will expand into retail by launching its Cosmo X, a scooter with a seat and no pedals, in the U.S. market. The company will test the waters with a limited pilot of 1,000 scooters in 2023. According to Veo's co-founder and CEO, Candice Xie, they decided to go for this vehicle and this timing for their direct-to-consumer strategy because they have a large and loyal user base, and their vehicles are well-liked in all markets. The Cosmo X is one of their top-selling scooters / Medium

Ola has just introduced its new electric scooter models, which are designed to make electric mobility more accessible and affordable for more riders. The electric scooters have a stylish and modern design with a large color screen display that offers mapping features and other technology, can reach a top speed of 90 km/h, have an improved powertrain that gives better acceleration, a new electrical system, and many more features. The best part is that the electric scooters are priced at a lower entry price for now! / Electrek

Ridehailing, Carsharing & Delivery

Which competitors are thriving, and which are falling behind, as robotic delivery hits an inflection point / OttOmate

According to the book Disrupting D.C.: The Rise of Uber and the Fall of the City, a group of American scholars claims that Uber won over DC by positioning itself as a solution for problems the government couldn't solve. It became popular because the city wanted to avoid its own responsibilities and let a startup handle things. Uber was seen as a way to make cities better, but the authors disagreed with using innovation as a city policy / Bloomberg

You now have a new option to order food at major US airports like JFK. OTG, an airport food management company, is replacing the iPads at the venues with QR codes. You can scan them with your phone, choose your food, pay with Apple Pay or credit cards, and have it delivered to your gate! / The Verge

After a controversial vote on August 10, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) allowed Waymo and Cruise to operate in San Francisco 24/7. While Prashanthi Raman, vice-president of global government affairs at Cruise, calls this a "historic industry milestone," many city officials argued that these robotaxis have frequently interfered with emergencies. Moreover, several people from the disability community requested the vehicles to be more accessible for people with disabilities / The Guardian

A security researcher from SafeBreach, a cybersecurity company, discovered that user accounts of Moovit, a mobility-as-a-service provider and journey planner app, could have been hacked and used to get free rides and users' personal information. Calling it "the perfect attack," he stated that owing to the three vulnerabilities he found in the Moovit app, he could not only access the user's registration information but also use another user's credit card without the target knowing / TechCrunch

Cruise and Waymo's robotaxis are now allowed a 24/7 service in San Francisco, but the passengers are not going to make it any easier for them. And Uber and Lyft drivers have some tips for them: be a little bit more flexible while following the rules, clean up after intoxicated passengers, and always be prepared for unexpected situations / WIRED

Investment & Deals

TechMet, a startup specializing in acquiring critical metals for EVs and renewable energy, has secured $200 million in equity funding. With the backing of the US government, the company is on track to achieve a valuation exceeding $1 billion in the near future / Tech.eu

Zeelo, a startup specializing in "smart bus" services for employers and schools, has successfully raised $14 million in funding to support its expansion in the United States / TechCrunch

Following a fire incident, Nikola's shares experienced a decline as the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer recalled all of its battery-electric semi trucks / CNBC

ElectraMeccanica and Tevva have announced a proposed merger agreement to establish themselves as a market leader in zero-emission commercial vehicles. Their initial focus will be on the United Kingdom, followed by expansion into Europe and the United States /  Business Wire

VinFast has successfully cleared its final hurdle, a mere formality, to complete its SPAC merger with Black Spade Acquisition Company and subsequently list on the Nasdaq stock market. With all formalities concluded VinFast's new ticker symbols are now live and actively trading / Electrek

Cities & Policy

New regulations proposed by the Department of Transportation (DOT) aim to permit the use of wider, pedal-assist electric cargo bikes. This forward-looking step has the potential to reduce truck traffic significantly, including within the DOT itself / StreetBlogs NYC

California recently implemented a $2,000 rebate for low- and moderate-income electric vehicle customers, increasing the total amount of state rebates to $9,500 / Electrek

Qualified retailers offer a minimum rebate of $1,100 to low-income residents, while moderate-income Coloradans who meet the criteria can qualify for a $500 rebate / Denver 7

New Products, Features & Data Points

Amid concerns about spying, Tesla provides reassurance to its Chinese users regarding data security / TechCrunch

Anaheim-based LSV manufacturer, GEM, releases GEM Go app for easy navigation of low-speed roads / Electrek

Ford has appointed Peter Stern, the former chief of Apple TV Plus, to lead its customer software team. In this role, Stern will be responsible for spearheading an initiative aimed at integrating hardware, software, and services to develop and promote innovative customer experiences / The Verge

Altos Radar, a California-based company established in January, has successfully secured its initial funding round of $3.5 million from notable investors, including ZhenFund, Monad Ventures, and Yifan Li / TechCrunch

The advanced BlueCruise driver assist features from Ford will be exclusively offered as a subscription service / Engadget

Jobs Board

Here's a selection of job openings from our partners. Want to see your listing here? Click here for pricing/details.

Principal Engineer at Amaze - Los Angeles (Remote)

Sr. Engineer at Amaze - Los Angeles (Remote)

Software Architect at Amaze - Los Angeles (Remote)

Community Manager at Amaze - Los Angeles & New York

Operations Manager at Amaze - Los Angeles & New York

Account Executive at Amaze - Los Angeles

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