Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation.
I am sure you are waiting to learn the results of last week’s poll. Here is what I asked: What is the best business model for autonomous vehicle tech, keeping profitability in mind.
Far and away, readers think longer-haul delivery is the best bet, with forty percent picking this option. Robotaxis came in next with twenty-five point five percent of the vote, followed by licensing tech to automakers at nineteen point one percent and last-mile delivery with fourteen point nine percent. One reader emailed to point out that I did not include warehouse applications like autonomous forklifts. The longer-haul delivery category can be broken down further and is worth another poll, which we included in this week’s newsletter.
In the long list of arguments one might make to justify a one trillion dollar compensation package, having control over a robot army was certainly not on my mind. And yet, this is the argument Elon Musk made during Tesla’s third-quarter earnings call. Here is the rundown. On November sixth, shareholders will vote whether to approve a board-endorsed compensation package that would grant Musk up to twelve percent of Tesla’s stock. If the company hits its target market value of eight point six trillion dollars, that package would be worth about one trillion dollars.
The board and Musk have spent weeks lobbying shareholders to approve the measure, even as proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis have recommended that investors reject it. Musk is now in attack mode, which was on display at the end of the earnings call when he called the firms corporate terrorists and made his final pitch. His robot army argument centers on power and control, not so much money, though money can provide both.
My biggest concern line is if we build this robot army, do I have a strong influence over that robot army? I do not feel comfortable building a robot army if I do not have a strong influence, Musk said during the earnings call. He was referring to Tesla’s Optimus robot program and used it as an example of products he wants full control over.
That argument will hardly persuade Musk’s critics, particularly in the wake of his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency. But Musk does not need to convince his growing list of critics, unless, of course, they own Tesla shares.
This week, General Motors dropped the ax on the BrightDrop electric van program after four short years. It was not the biggest surprise in the world. After all, hundreds of unsold vans have been sitting untouched in lots in Michigan and Canada for months now. One source reached out to tell us that hundreds of them are in a lot in Flint, Michigan. GM cited a slower-than-expected market for commercial electric vans, but it did not go into detail about why BrightDrop failed so miserably.
Another source has given us a clue. The vans are pricey but well-liked and should save fleet owners money over time. Electric drivetrains are a great fit for last-mile delivery. What GM appears to have missed was the infrastructure piece, according to one insider. The company leaned hard on outside partnerships to build out so-called depot charging, instead of offering it as part of the fleet purchases. That turned a number of potential customers away and just generally caused headaches.
The big deal this week is about EVs and AI data centers. Yes, there is a connection. Redwood Materials raised three hundred fifty million dollars in a Series E round led by venture firm Eclipse, and included a new strategic investment by Nvidia’s venture capital arm, NVentures. The company’s valuation was not disclosed, but a source familiar with the round told TechCrunch it was about six billion dollars, a billion dollars higher than its previous valuation.
The chunk of this money is going toward Redwood’s new energy storage business, which is giving a new purpose to EV batteries it has collected that have too much life left to put through the recycling process. The company ties these retired EV batteries to renewable energy sources like wind and solar, or the grid, to power AI data centers or industrial sites.
Other deals that got my attention this week include Avride securing strategic investments and other commitments of up to three hundred seventy-five million dollars, backed by Uber and Nebius. None of these companies gave specifics when asked if this was all equity. One insider did say to pay attention to the other commitments bit, which suggests it was not a straight cash injection.
Spiro, the African electric motorbike startup headquartered in Dubai, raised one hundred million dollars in a round led by the Fund for Export Development in Africa, the development arm of Afreximbank. This is the largest raise ever for African e-mobility.
General Motors made several announcements at an event in New York City that were meant to show where it is headed. And yes, AI plays a central role. Before AI could take the stage, GM said it will overhaul the electrical and computational guts of its future vehicles. The company will roll out a new electric architecture and centralized computing platform in new vehicles, starting with the Cadillac Escalade IQ in 2028. That foundation will allow the company to deliver faster software, more capable automated driving features including eyes-off driving, and a custom conversational AI assistant.
Earnings season is upon us, and this quarter I am watching for data and executive commentary that helps me understand how tariffs and the expired EV tax credit are affecting the automotive sector. I do not have any clear takeaways yet and probably will not until the next quarter.
Tariffs are hitting, according to Q3 reports from GM and Ford. For instance, GM forecast that tariffs will reduce its 2025 profits by two point three billion dollars and Ford said it would take a two billion dollar bite out of the bottom line. But both of those projections are billions of dollars better than the automakers predicted earlier this year, and the automakers hope to offset those costs. CEOs from both automakers thanked President Trump for extending a relief measure from tariffs on automotive parts sourced from Canada and Mexico.
In other GM and Ford news, Ford will continue to pause production of its F-150 Lightning trucks as it prioritizes gas and hybrid F-Series versions in a bid to recover from a fire at its primary aluminum supplier Nevolis. Meanwhile, GM CEO Mary Barra said that the company will drop support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto from all of its vehicles. Also, GM has laid off two hundred salaried workers from its Warren Tech Center.
Tesla delivered a record number of vehicles in the third quarter of 2025, with results buoyed by US customers who took advantage of the expiring federal EV tax credit. That did not translate to greater earnings. Tesla’s third-quarter profit was one point four billion dollars, thirty-seven percent lower than it was in the same quarter last year.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation after seeing footage from early October of a Waymo autonomous vehicle maneuvering around a stopped school bus that was unloading kids in Atlanta.
Rivian is undergoing a bit of a shake-up that includes cutting six hundred people from its workforce, its third round of layoffs this year, and its founder and CEO is taking on yet another position, chief marketing officer. Rivian also agreed this week to pay two hundred fifty million dollars to settle a class-action shareholder lawsuit filed after the company suddenly hiked prices on its R1 pickup truck and SUV in 2022.
Meanwhile, I spent some time in the Bay Area with executives from Rivian’s micromobility spinout company Also. The company revealed three new products. If Also president Chris Yu and Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe are to be believed, there will be even more coming. For now, it is a slick modular pedal-assist e-bike and two pedal-assist quad vehicles, including a delivery van version that Amazon has already agreed to buy. The big compelling tech story here is vertical integration and software.