Elon goes to China, Rivian sells shares for $3 billion and Fiat’s cutest little electric vehicle

Photo credit: Rivian

Welcome back to The Station, your central hub for all past, present and future ways of moving people and packages from point A to point B.

This is Rebecca Bellan and yes, I’m still steering the ship.

The biggest news this week was Elon Musk’s visit to China, a move that has the potential to strengthen Tesla’s ties with the world’s largest auto market. It’s Musk’s first visit since the COVID-19 pandemic, and his commitment to China isn’t surprising given how much China’s vehicle sales are outpacing the automaker’s global sales. China accounted for more than half of Tesla deliveries in the first quarter.

Despite Twitter being banned in China, Musk has still managed to become a legend among the Chinese people, Rita reports. The CEO has over 2 million followers on Weibo, where Musk shares his admiration for China, opposition to supply chain disruption, and plans to expand his business in China.

“The Chinese space program is far more advanced than most people realize,” Musk wrote on Weibo.

His nice talk has earned him the nickname “Iron Man”.

Bits of Musk’s visit to China are still evolving and we’ll keep you posted, but here’s what we know so far. Musk began his journey with a dinner with Zeng Yuqun, chairman of CATL, one of the largest battery makers. Recently, there have been talks of a CATL-Tesla partnership to build cheaper batteries in the US, but no concrete conclusions yet.

Musk also paid a visit to the Shanghai Gigafactory, where he met the people behind Tesla’s popular Model 3 and Model Y.

We’ll be on the lookout for more news on what Musk is doing in China. And so to the rest!

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microbullying

Cake expands to India via partnership with Pepfuels under the brand name CollarEV.

cowboy is being sued by eBikeLabs, a French startup developing embedded software for e-bikes, for patent infringement and copying eBikeLabs’ technology in its latest feature, AdaptivePower. Cowboy has denied the claims, accusing eBikeLabs of running a defamation campaign. As Romain Dillet reports, “This is a chaotic story about a business relationship that has failed between a small startup that doesn’t have big pockets and a popular consumer brand that wants to protect its reputation.”

Zoomo will start the offer Urban Arrowoffers electric cargo bikes on its e-bike subscription platform.

inhabitant of Santa Barbara You can borrow e-bikes weekly in the new e-bike lending library.

Honda has filed patents for two new moped-style electric scooters called Dax:e and Zoomer:e. Both are ready to enter the Indian market.

Zeus launched a solar panel charging pilot program in Regensburg, Germany. As part of the pilot, scooters parked at the company’s three “Zolar stations” will be charged by the sun. Maybe they should be called Helios Stations, right?!

Porsche has launched two new e-bike cross-performance models that look like they can smash mountains.

City Spotlight: Atlanta

On June 7th, TechCrunch will (practically) take place in Atlanta. We have a number of great programs planned, including the Mayor himself, Andre Dickens. If you are an early-stage Atlanta-based founder, apply to pitch in front of our panel of guest investors/jury for our live pitching competition. This year, the winner will receive a free booth at TechCrunch Disrupt to showcase their company in our startup avenue. Register here to attend the event.

Photo credit: Bryce Durbin (opens in a new window)

offer of the week

Lucid group plans to raise $3 billion through an equity offering, the majority of which will come from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). PIF already owns more than 60% of the company and has agreed to purchase 265.7 million shares in a private placement for approximately $1.8 billion, at a price of approximately $6.80 per share. The remainder is to be raised from a public offering of 173.5 million common shares, according to the company.

Shares immediately fell 9% in after-hours trading as investors pondered how much more cash Lucid would need to offset mounting losses and dwindling available capital. And it’s all amid a looming recession, a Tesla-initiated price war, and the aftertaste of large-scale layoffs in March.

Sure, Lucid can bring in more cash, but the company really needs to fix its spending problem. In the first quarter, Lucid’s cash and cash equivalents decreased to $900 million compared to $1.74 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022.

Other offers that caught my attention this week…

Boeing has completely taken over the eVTOL startup Wisk Aero. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Boeing already owned a portion of Wisk and had pledged $450 million in capital back in January.

A British consortium that also includes a mining company Glencore will invest US$9 billion in Indonesia’s mining and EV battery sector. Indonesia has the world’s largest nickel reserves.

General Motors and South Korea’s PoscoChemical Received CA$150 million from the Canadian federal government and Quebec to build a battery materials facility. The companies aim to have the C$600 million project up and running by 2025.

lionia Paris-based e-bike refurbishment startup, has raised €1 million in funding to run 300 refurbishments per month and expand globally.

Ola Electric, an Indian manufacturer of electric two-wheelers, is said to be preparing for an IPO later this year. The company was valued at $5 billion in its most recent funding round in 2022.

Notable reading and other tidbits

Autonomous Vehicles

A California A bill that would require the presence of a trained human safety operator whenever a heavy autonomous vehicle travels public roads has passed the state legislature. It now goes to the Senate and, if passed, to the governor’s office. The AV industry argues that the bill undermines California’s competitiveness and defeats the entire purpose of self-driving trucks. The drafters of the bill are concerned about highway safety and job security for truck drivers.

cruise is expanding hours of operation in San Francisco for certain drivers who have access to its free service. For some, the rides start at 9:00 p.m. and last until 5:30 a.m

entrance announced a partnership with the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure to deploy 2,000 electric vehicles, 200 autonomous vehicles, eight charging stations and Einride’s SaaS product Saga across 550km of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. The partnership is expected to materialize within the next five years. Einride did not share the financial terms.

Serve robotics And Above have expanded their existing partnership. Over the next few years, about 2,000 of Serve’s small autonomous delivery robots will deliver groceries via the Uber Eats platform in multiple markets across the United States

Electric vehicles, batteries and charging

Arcimoto introduced its new tiny three-wheel flatbed truck called MUV. It has customizable rear storage space, a top speed of 120 km/h and a range of around 102 miles in the city. The MUV is available now for $23,500 and Arcimoto intends to sell fleets.

Choose 2024 Audi and other VW group Cars will be available for Webex to download from the automaker’s in-app car store. Webex is also available for the 2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class and in Ford vehicles.

fiatThe new Topolino Tiny EV is so cute we could scream. The redesigned Citroen Ami is a retro-looking four-wheeler with a convertible top and ropes instead of doors, and apart from a teaser image, that’s pretty much all we know about it. He probably won’t be any faster than the Ami, which tops out at around 28mph, so he’ll be a no-go for the States. That’s sad because, again, he’s super cute and better for the environment and cityscapes than an electric Hummer.

fordJim Farley, CEO of ‘s, said the automaker may not break even on its electric vehicles until 2030.

Geely is preparing to enter the Thai electric vehicle market.

The 2023 Mercedes Benz The EQS SUV is a practical, luxurious car with top-of-the-line technology in the form of a hyperscreen and a handful of driver assistance features. It is ideal for tech-savvy families who like the finer things in life and lots of space. Only drawback? The exterior is a bit boring. As Tim Stevens describes it, “The result is a little blob that disappears in every parking lot.”

North StarThe latest software update from includes YouTube. As with other similar iterations, users can stream video while standing, such as while waiting for a pickup or charging their vehicles. The Polestar 2 software update also includes an updated version of Apple CarPlay, which allows you to project Apple Maps onto the instrument cluster.

Rivian unveiled its smaller, lower-cost R2 SUV design over Memorial Day weekend during a question-and-answer session on Instagram. CEO RJ Scaringe stood in front of a clay model of an R2 covered in black cloth, outlining a boxy compact vehicle.

Tesla says all of its Model 3 sedans are now eligible for the full $7,500 EV tax credit.

Toyota has committed an additional $2.1 billion to its North Carolina battery factory. The automaker also announced that its first US-made electric SUV will be built at its Kentucky plant.

Volkswagen has finally unveiled its US version of the Volkswagen ID.Buzz minivan after years of teasing. Not surprisingly, the equipment of the US van is much larger than that of the European bus. The whole feeling is retro meets cool, and in fact it makes us wonder: Can VW make minivans cool? Taking the nostalgia aspect into account, the answer is undoubtedly yes. And VW will need that as it moves into EV land.

Volvo revealed some interior details of its new EX30. As far as we know, good old Scandinavian design is really catching on to optimize space in the small SUV.

Other

participation apples WWDC this month? Check out this new website of flight tracking tool flighty to find others traveling to the event and connect with them, maybe even en route!

Delta Airlines is being sued in a class action lawsuit for alleged greenwashing. The company has pledged $1 billion in 2020 to become carbon neutral. However, the plan relied on carbon credits to offset the airline’s pollution.

The National Road Safety Authority proposed a new rule that would require all new cars and trucks sold in the US to be equipped with automatic emergency braking systems.

Tesla has been given the all-clear by NHTSA after the agency closed an investigation into Tesla for allowing in-dash games while driving.

Bored with the default navigation voice Waze? Now you can have Roger Federer Give detailed instructions because why not?

wingcopter And Siemens have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop and launch an integrated drone delivery solution for the transportation of laboratory diagnostics and other medical supplies in Africa.

ride hail

ford launched a new pilot called Ford Drive, which will give Above Drivers in San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles have access to flexible leases for Mustang Mach-Es.

indulge diversifies its all-Tesla rideshare fleet with about 50 Kia Niro electric vehicles.

Above, lyft, DoorDash and other app-based ride-hail and delivery companies may have to reimburse California gig workers millions of dollars for unpaid vehicle expenses between 2022 and 2023. The back payment results from a provision in Prop 22 that grants low-income drivers a vehicle reimbursement fee of $0.30 per active mile driven. This fee should increase with the rate of inflation, but it has stagnated in the last year and a half.

Above forgoes the 5% discount on rides it formerly offered to members of its Uber One subscription service. Instead, riders can now earn 6% Uber Cash on rides, which they can spend on more Uber items. It’s a bold move and could result in those of us seeking instant gratification giving up our membership. But if it works out for Uber, the company could see even more spending from its subscribers.

* In a previous newsletter, some words were accidentally missing from the following post. Here is the complete sentence. QuantumScape, the solid-state battery company, is (in a way) in transition. The company plans to increase its focus on the consumer electronics sector in order to raise the necessary capital to commercialize automotive-grade cells.