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Welcome back toTechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news program and insights on the future of transit .
This workweek , it was all aboutRivianand its splashy reveal of not one , but three succeeding EVs . I attend the event to see the vehicle up close . Perhaps , more importantly , I also went to talk to executive , investors and customers to get a better savvy of where Rivian is headed and how kinfolk are feel about this EV upstart that is still far from turning a profit . I even ran into former Waymo CEO and now Rivian board memberJohn Krafcikwho was in attending and wander a positive spirit about the companionship ’s future tense .
I also interview founder and CEORJ Scaringeafter the event . Much of our conversation rivet around the R2 and a handsome and hopefully fruitful bet to tilt product to its existing manufacturing plant in Normal , Illinois or else of a yet - to - be - built plant in Georgia . Stay tuned in the next Clarence Day or so for a arrant summation of the interview . I will give you one tormentor : relevancywas a theme .
Check out our reportage of theR2 give away , the surpriseR3 and R3x , howreservations are goingand afun cinematic featurefound in one of the many R2 “ dangerous undertaking ” supplement .
This calendar week ’s news also includes article aboutGMresuming sale of Chevrolet Blazer , a financial update fromTuro , another EV reveal that render a little muscle and more !
One more thing … I ’ll be inAustinforSXSWthis coming week .
Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
I am moderating two panels , and I hope to see your grin boldness in the audience . The first panel , at 4 p.m. March 12 , is entitledHow Sustainable Mobility is transform the Last - Mile of Deliveryand will featureShawn Xuof Lowercarbon Capital , Anjali Naikof Cartken andAbby Wheelerof Uber .
The following day , and also at 4 p.m. , I will moderate a venire calledMobility at the Speed of Trust : AV Purpose , insurance , and PerformancewithDarran Anderson , who is director of scheme and innovation at Texas DOT , Jay Blazek Crossleyof Farm&City andKatrin Lohmann , who is president of Volkswagen ADMT .
Please say hi if you ’re in town !
A little bird
No little birds this week — at least ones that cater confirmable information I could share . Y’all have apportion lots of spicy rumors though ! Please keep reach out ; no tip is too small .
What I can share is an overview of the conversations I overheard at theRivian R2 reveal , which was held March 7 at the South Coast Theater in Laguna Beach , California . ( Rivianbought and restoredthe theatre last year ) .
Among staff , from the lowly to the higher ups , there was a mixing of excitement and relief once the event was over . The humour was overconfident , but some employee were clearly still processing the layoffs that occurred recently . I hear from a few folks that upper execs had undervalue the bombilation around the R3 and R3X — the two surprise reveals . significantly , the R3 and R3x vehicles do n’t have a yield particular date . ( At least not a public one . )
The guests I spoke to or overheard talking — a combination of media , loyal customer and investors — were overwhelming positivist about what they come across . There were a few grumbles about the locating of the charging interface and I pick up more than a few wonder if Rivian could carry on financially through 2026 , when the company is expect to begin production of the R2 .
bring a tip for us ? EmailKirsten Korosecatkirsten.korosec@techcrunch.comorSean O’Kanesean.okane@techcrunch.com . If you choose to stay on anon. , click here to adjoin us , which includes SecureDrop ( instructions here ) and various encrypted electronic messaging apps .
Deal of the week
WillTuroever IPO ? Fellow TechCrunch reporterAlex Wilhelmand I have a running joke about the party ’s long - check IPO ; the company first file an S-1 to go public in early 2022 , and proceed to update the document quarterly in cookery for an eventual offering . Alas , the venture - backed , peer - to - peer auto letting Robert William Service updated the S-1 once again with its 4th - quarter and full - year fiscal performance .
That advise , as Wilhelm notes , that a public offering is still a key priority for Turo . Why else discommode with the add paperwork ?
While this is n’t a sight , per se , I do conceive it ’s deserving highlight how the company is fare , per its latest financial reportage .
Turo saw an 18 % uptick in twelvemonth - over - year revenue to $ 879.8 million . That seems like good word until you appear at Turo ’s growth pace , which has dramatically declined in the last two years . Revenue growth did percolate up a bit in Q4 2023 compared to the same after part the previous year , a data detail that could help it argue to public - market investors that its deceleration is not necessarily irreversible , Wilhelm wrote .
Also , Turo is actually profitable , which is no small thing . Gross margin did devolve from 54.3 % in 2022 to 51.4 % in 2023 and the company post its smallest operating profits since 2020 last year . However , Turo is still in the black and that has me betting that an IPO is come in 2024 .
Other deals that got my attention …
REE , an automotive engineering science company and nominate full by - telegram electrical truck and platforms , closed its public offering of 2.3 million Class A ordinary share , raising about $ 14.95 million . Multiple investor enter in the beat , led by M&G Investment Management , REE ’s largest shareholder .
Serve Robotics , an sovereign sidewalk speech fellowship , dependent to trade in on the OTCQB Venture Market operated by the OTC Markets Group Inc. The company ’s common shares are now trading on the OTCQB under the ticker symbol “ SBOT . ”
Notable reads and other tidbits
Uber Eatshas add awake localisation - sharing capabilityto supporter messenger find customers in difficult - to - find locations , including public place such as campus court , parks and playgrounds .
Wazelaunched afew new featuresto help substance abuser sail tricky roundabouts , get alarum when a speed limit is about to transfer and get admonition about speed bulge and sharp curve . interrogative for readers : Am I the only one surprised that Google has n’t defeat off Waze ?
Autonomous vehicles
Baidu’sautonomous ride hailing platformApollo Gois now offering 24/7 self-governing driving rides in selected areas of Wuhan , China . This is the third major operational expansion of Baidu ’s robotaxi service in 2024 . The company was of late sanction for robotaxi pilot operation on highways to Beijing Daxing Airport .
Waymosaid it will start letting its autonomous vehicles crossbeam Austinwithout a safety operatorbehind the bicycle , a important footfall before the companionship launch the program up to the populace . The announcement come less than a week after the Alphabet - own company received a critical license that allow it tocharge for robotaxi ridesin Los Angeles , San Francisco highway and the dandy SF Peninsula .
Electric vehicles, batteries & charging
Faraday Futurehit a novel not - so - desirable milestone . The troubled EV companyissued its first recallthat address all 11 vehicles — yes less than a 12 — it build last yr . The recall centers around a problem with the word of advice spark for the airbags in the company ’s FF91 SUV .
General Motorsresumed sale of theChevrolet Blazer EV — and at a cheaper damage — more than two months after the auto manufacturer perpetrate the vehicle over software problem .
Rad Power Bikeslaunched four novel e - bikes and a freshly engineered bombardment equipped with caloric insubordinate engineering to prevent overheating or fires . The new batteries are potted with a passion - take over rosin that protect against erosion and overheating , according to the company . It encapsulates each barrage fire cell , and if overheating come , the resin is supposed to stop the caloric event from overspread .
Stellantisintroduced twoall - electrical versions of the Dodge Chargerpacked with the kind of features muscle railroad car sports fan have number to expect — decent down to a system that essay to mimic the rumble of a Hemi V-8 engine . Will the carrying into action benefit in the all - electric Dodge Charger be enough to woo customers who are emotionally attached to the grumble gas - power version ? I ’m not so sure .
Tesla’sfactory outside Berlin , Germany wasforced to shut downafter a suspected fire-raising plan of attack on the local power grid . The shutdown , which was expected to last at least a week , could cost the company an estimated $ 100 million .
This week’s wheels
What better way to get to the Rivian R2 event than to drive aRivian R1S SUV ? The company offered up one of the vehicle from its press fleet and I climb up at the chance . Why ? I have n’t driven a Rivian in more than a year , I want to test the Rivian EV charging internet and see how recent software updates have changed the vehicle experience . Plus , I desire to spend time in the third - row R1S ahead of the company ’s reveal of the R2 , which is a small , more affordable SUV .
Quick thought process :
