Autoblog and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Clearing the Path for Pedal-Free Vehicles The federal government is preparing to take a massive leap into the autonomous future. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration plans to officially propose updates to its long-standing safety guidelines. This shift will remove the manual brake pedal mandate for vehicles designed to operate entirely without human drivers. This change aims to modernize the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for the autonomous vehicle era. By eliminating this rule, federal regulators are clearing a major hurdle for purpose-built robotaxis. Vehicles like the steering-wheel-free Tesla Cybercab and Amazon's Zoox have faced significant production limitations under current rules. For years, strict federal regulations forced automakers to include physical driver controls. These rigid design requirements even led General Motors to scrap its innovative Origin autonomous shuttle program entirely. Federal efforts are accelerating as regulators ease rules to advance autonomous vehicle technology nationwide. Regulatory Revisions and Deployment According to a recent report by Automotive News, these revised rules will apply exclusively to fully driverless models. Standard passenger cars with steering wheels will still require traditional physical pedals. The proposed update ensures that critical safety metrics will remain unchanged. Autonomous vehicles must still meet strict braking performance limits and rigorous stopping distance requirements. This regulatory shift aligns with ongoing momentum as lawmakers attempt to fast-track self-driving cars into commercial service. This development follows significant investments from key industry players who have long lobbied for a unified federal framework. Tesla recently initiated its robotaxi network in Texas cities like Austin and Houston using a small fleet of modified production vehicles. The company achieved this milestone after the Model Y successfully passed new federal driver assistance tests. At the same time, Alphabet's Waymo continues to scale its commercial operations despite complex
Jun 28, 2026 · via autos.yahoo.com
From Plug‑In to Drive‑In: EVACS Redefines How Electric Vehicles Power Up POWELLS POINT, NC, UNITED STATES, June 28, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — A new advancement in electric‑vehicle infrastructure is emerging with the introduction of the Electric Vehicle Automatic Charging Station (EVACS)—a hands‑free, fully automated charging platform designed for residential garages, commercial fleets, and outdoor installations. EVACS reimagines the charging experience by allowing drivers to simply park and walk away while the system handles alignment, connection, and charge management. EVACS uses an adjustable track system capable of accommodating a wide range of wheelbases and tire widths. A height‑adjustable charging dock sits between protective tire guides and is shielded by spring‑loaded, weatherproof covers that open automatically as the vehicle enters. The system supports multi‑voltage charging, autonomous vehicle alignment, and future integration with manufacturer‑installed charging receptacles. A companion software application provides real‑time charge status, estimated time to full charge, and automatic notifications when charging is complete. EVACS is adaptable across multiple vehicle categories, including commercial trucks, recreational vehicles, UTVs, and golf carts. EVACS represents a new direction in EV infrastructure—one focused on automation, reliability, and compatibility with emerging vehicle technologies. Developer of the Electric Vehicle Automatic Charging Station (EVACS) Scott Paterson is an innovator focused on practical automation solutions for emerging transportation technologies. With a background in mechanical design and real‑world EV use cases, Paterson created EVACS to solve one of the most persistent challenges in electric‑vehicle ownership: the need for a reliable, hands‑free charging experience that works across diverse vehicle types and environments. His work emphasizes adaptability, user‑centered engineering, and scalable infrastructure solutions for both residential and commercial applications. For licensing or production inquiries, contact: S.D. Paterson Development Co. P.O. Box 1 Powells Point, NC 27947‑0001 Scott Paterson S.D. Paterson Development Co. +1 800-597-7660 email us here Visit us on social media: LinkedIn
Jun 28, 2026 · via desmoinesregister.com
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, how AI is playing a part. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! A quick heads-up to readers: I will not publish an issue next week due to the July 4th holiday. I will see you all the following week. A series of stories this week highlight the continued — and apparently growing — scrutiny of Tesla’s automated driving system known as Full Self-Driving (Supervised). A fatal crash involving a Tesla that struck a home in Texas and killed a 76-year-old woman gained national attention after the driver told police that Autopilot — the company’s basic driver-assistance system, which has since been discontinued — was engaged at the time of the crash. Ashok Elluswamy, vice president of AI software at Tesla, shared a different account of the crash, claiming on X that the driver manually overrode “self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100% of the accel pedal in this residential area.” His comments suggest the vehicle was equipped with FSD (Supervised), and not Autopilot, but without an independent investigation we don’t know for sure. But we might, eventually. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have now opened investigations into the crash. Meanwhile, Tesla settled a lawsuit connected to a fatal 2023 crash involving a vehicle using FSD (Supervised). This crash is part of a different NHTSA investigation into Tesla FSD focused on whether the system could “detect and respond appropriately to reduced roadway visibility conditions,” such as “sun glare, fog, or airborne dust.” All of this attention comes as Tesla positions itself as an AI and robotics company. FSD (Supervised) is currently the
Jun 28, 2026 · via techcrunch.com
Opinions D.C. has a chance to lead on equitable transit through AVs Waymo never drives drunk, distracted, or enraged at fellow drivers As a child, my relationship with cars was defined by instability and fear. That changed when I got to ride in an autonomous vehicle (AV) for the first time in 2024. Growing up my father was obsessed with cars and he purchased and leased more than 30 vehicles. Unfortunately, this obsession ultimately drowned our family in unsustainable debt. Worst of all, my childhood was marked by the terrifying reality of riding in vehicles driven by family members under the influence. No one should have to face the fear of consistently having to put their life in the hands of a driver who simply should not be behind the wheel. Unfortunately, that trauma shaped much of my life. It is one of the reasons I chose to move to a city to build roots and start a family. I intentionally chose multimodal cities where reliance on a personal vehicle wasn’t necessary to live a meaningful and enjoyable life. However, in 2024, while living in Phoenix, Ariz., my relationship with transportation changed, for the better. I was introduced to Waymo, a fully autonomous ride-hailing service. What began as a curiosity quickly became a revelation. I fell in love with the service and what it offered: safety, comfort, and remarkable reliability. In fact, I valued the experience so much that I ranked in the top 3% of all Waymo riders nationwide that year. For someone who grew up terrified by the unpredictability of human drivers, riding in a vehicle programmed never to drive drunk, be distracted, or enraged at fellow drivers was transformative. It wasn’t just transit. It was peace of mind. Now, as a Ward 6 D.C. resident, I am
Jun 28, 2026 · via washingtonblade.com
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Jun 28, 2026 · via youtube.com
- BYD plans to debut its in-house developed Xuanji A3 chip in a new production vehicle under the Denza brand in 2027. - BYD unveiled the Xuanji A3 in May, China's first smart driving chip built on a 4nm process. BYD (HKEX: 1211) plans to equip a new Denza-brand production model with its in-house developed Xuanji A3 smart driving chip for the first time in 2027, according to a Sunday report by local media outlet LatePost. The company unveiled the Xuanji A3 on May 28, China's first smart driving chip built on a 4nm process. This marks a key step in BYD's vertical integration in the smart driving space, though the timing for mass production was not disclosed. A smart driving chip typically needs at least a year to go from tape-out to deployment in a vehicle, LatePost cited an employee of an ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) solution provider that develops its own chips as saying. The chip itself, algorithm deployment, and vehicle integration all need to be verified one by one, so the window for getting a chip into a car is hard to compress, the person said. Information released by BYD shows that a single Xuanji A3 chip delivers more than 700 TOPS of computing power. Three chips working together provide a combined total of over 2,100 TOPS, supporting L3 and L4 autonomous driving. The company said the Xuanji A3 consumes 20% less power per unit of computing power than comparable products. After optimization with in-house developed algorithms, its computing power utilization has improved by 100%. Developing proprietary chips is becoming a key strategy for Chinese EV makers to build a moat in the AI era. Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO), Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV), and Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) have all launched their own in-house developed smart driving
Jun 28, 2026 · via cnevpost.com
The evolution of Tesla’s FSD suite has been consistently defined by a singular engineering philosophy. The physical world can be navigated and interacted with best through pure vision and generalized artificial intelligence. In previous installments of our How FSD Works Series, we explored how FSD’s underlying neural networks construct three-dimensional spaces out of two-dimensional pixels and track moving objects through time. While that’s all very complex, one of the most persistent hurdles in autonomy doesn’t involve dynamic hazards; rather, it involves understanding the invisible, shifting, and human-oriented logic of road architecture. When an autonomous vehicle approaches a complex, unmapped, multi-lane intersection, it must determine which lane connects to which exit vector across the intersection. Competitors like Waymo and Zoox attempt to solve this by anchoring themselves to brittle, high-definition (HD) localized maps. Tesla, conversely, treats the problem as a living puzzle. According to a recent patent application, US 2026/0170852 A1, titled "Vision-Based Machine Learning Model for Lane Connectivity in Autonomous or Semi-Autonomous Driving," Tesla has unlocked this capability by repurposing an architecture typically reserved for generative AI and LLMs: the autoregressive transformer. Tokenizing Asphalt To understand how Tesla’s lane connectivity engine operates, it helps to look at how Large Language Models (LLMs) compose sentences. When a system like Grok generates text, it does not produce a complete paragraph at once. Instead, it breaks language down into discrete fragments called tokens, which are syllables or words, and predicts the most statistically logical next token based on the context of the tokens that preceded it. Tesla is applying this exact logic to road geometry. As the vehicle traverses a real-world environment, the vision suite streams raw imagery into FSD’s neural networks. These raw pixels are filtered through backbone networks and fused via a cross-attention transformer into a three-dimensional, top-down vector space known
Jun 28, 2026 · via notateslaapp.com
There’s a new autonomous vehicle (AV) in town: Waymo is launching a specially configured robotaxi, a few of which are circling the streets of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. The original Waymos are Jaguar I-PACE luxury SUVs with an added sensor stack including cameras, LiDAR, and radars. The new vehicles, which look like snub-nosed minivans, are made by Chinese auto manufacturer Geely on its Zeekr platform. Waymo then adds the sensor stack. There are more than 100 in the fleet, compared with thousands of I-PACEs. "The technology that collects data and makes our vehicles autonomous—the software, sensors, and computing systems—is developed in the US. Waymo installs the autonomous driving technology on stripped-down, disconnected OEM-provided vehicles in our Arizona manufacturing facility,” says Sandy Karp, a Waymo spokesperson and my tour guide on a recent ride. (Last year, the US banned most Chinese and Russian connected-car tech.) Waymo calls the finished product Ojai. It’s a city in Southern California, but no doubt a playful reference to the pronunciation of "oh, hi!" Its parent company, Alphabet, generally doesn’t have a sense of humor in its product naming, but its subsidiary, Google, did recently launch an AI image-generation product called Nano Banana. When Karp pulled up in my purple chariot, she asked where I wanted to go. San Francisco’s famously twisty Lombard Street, of course! Unfortunately, we couldn’t do that. Waymos are designed to take the fastest route, and eight switchbacks with tourists driving down in awe of San Francisco at 5mph will never be that. Functional Upgrades Over Luxury The first thing I noticed is that the sensors are better integrated into the Ojai. On the I-PACE, it looks like someone added a crown to a Jaguar. (Which is exactly what they did.) Waymo has optimized costs by reducing the number of
Jun 28, 2026 · via uk.pcmag.com
VDIK dialogue series "Future of Mobility": Autonomous driving – Europe would be ready, but … As „Road to Automechanika“ the VDIK, represented by its president Imelda Labbé, and Messe Frankfurt, represented by the Automechanika director, Olaf Mußhoff, presented the dialogue on the future of autonomous driving, because: This will also require "aftersales" in the form of service and maintenance, and even more so than standard passenger cars, since the performance of autonomous vehicles is given as 80,000 to 120,000 kilometers per year. And here Automechanika comes into play, with 4,500 exhibitors from over 80 countries. Moreover Mußhoff expects visitors from 170 nations, who are likely to account for 70% of the attendees. The remaining 30% come from Germany. And he hopes: „Es wird die beste und coolste Automechanika.“ Which develops with the industry and also includes autonomous driving, where service and aftersales, as mentioned, are likely to become very relevant. And this is gaining massive momentum outside Europe, as the first talk “Autonomous Driving in Europe – Status and Perspectives” by Prof. Dr. Andreas Herrmann, University of St. Gallen, director of the Future Mobility Center, showed. The automotive business model has never really been reinvented in its history It began with the sobering fact that the car, along with its business model, has never been wholly reinvented: It is built as hardware and then leased and sold as a new car or later as a lease return. Herrmann puts it succinctly: „Der Mensch kauft das Auto und fährt das Auto.“ And the vehicles are increasing: there are now over 1.4 billion, and with the vehicle density passenger-kilometers also rise, which leads Herrmann to pivot to the topic: 90% of all accidents are human-made. There are as many as 3,000 serious accidents per year caused by spilled hot beverages in cars!
Jun 28, 2026 · via vision-mobility.de
- Japanese study shows driving a manual stimulates the prefrontal cortex. - Nintendo’s Brain Age creator led the research into manual gearboxes. - Manual cars account for just 1% to 2% of new vehicle sales in Japan. Petrolheads pour their energy into saving the manual transmission in cars like the Porsche 911 GT3, the kind of halo machine that gets magazine covers and forum crusades. The cheap commuter cars losing their third pedal get no such defense, and they’re disappearing far faster. A study out of Japan adds a wrinkle to the argument anyway, because the case for rowing your own gears may reach past the fun of it and into the health of your brain. More: Suzuki’s Every PA Still Has Crank Windows, But It Also Has A Manual The research comes from Professor Ryuta Kawashima, who runs neuroimaging work at Tohoku University’s Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer. Kawashima is no obscure academic. He built the science behind Nintendo’s Brain Age series, the puzzle games that sold millions on the promise that the mind responds to exercise like any other muscle. What The Clutch Does To Your Head According to a report from local outlet Best Car Web, the study found that the physical sequence of driving a manual lights up the prefrontal cortex, the region that handles memory, attention, and decision-making. Reading traffic speed, dipping the clutch, picking a gear by hand, and metering the throttle all happen at once, and keeping them coordinated demands a level of engagement that holds the driver’s attention from one moment to the next. In a country aging as quickly as Japan, asking the brain to juggle those inputs every day functions as a kind of low-grade workout it would otherwise skip. Stimulating neural pathways helps preserve cognitive function in a
Jun 28, 2026 · via carscoops.com
In today’s world, more and more daily tasks are being fully automated. Robotic devices can work independently, and they are often more efficient than humans. Yet, in some aspects, technology still cannot match what nature has created. One example is vision. Advanced cameras are used in modern robots and self-driving cars, allowing them to detect and recognize objects quickly and accurately, but there is one thing with which they still struggle: sudden changes in lighting. A research team from Pennsylvania State University may have found a solution. Driving at night is quite a challenge even for humans, not to mention robots. There is glare from streetlights, bright headlights from oncoming vehicles, and dark skies in the background. The human eye adapts to these lighting contrasts pretty quickly without us noticing it too much, but there is quite a complex mechanism behind that, and here's how it works... Specialized cells in our retinas called rods help us see in low-light conditions, while cone cells are responsible for allowing us to recognize colors and small details in bright light. When bright and dark conditions are present at the same time, pigments in the rod cells briefly “bleach” and then slowly regenerate, while cones continue functioning normally, letting us distinguish all the details. This process is what the research team tried to recreate using tiny electronic sensors called photomemristors. “Memristor” combines the words “memory” and “resistor.” A photomemristor is a special type of memristor designed specifically to detect and store information about light. Measuring less than a millimeter thick, this sensor basically acts like a neuron in our brain, processing and keeping the information even after the original signal is gone. Photomemristors are already widely used in optical systems and advanced cameras, but they are designed for consistent lighting conditions. It means that
Jun 28, 2026 · via newatlas.com
- United States - / - Transportation - / - NYSE:UBER Is Uber (UBER) Turning Uber Eats Into Its Core Retail Platform Or A Capital-Intensive Side Bet? - Earlier this week, Uber Technologies announced that Uber Eats in the U.S. has added Kiehl’s, FedEx Office, Blick Art Materials, Academy Sports + Outdoors, and Choice Pet, expanding the app’s on-demand delivery reach well beyond restaurant food into everyday retail categories. - This push to position Uber Eats as a broad, multi-category retail marketplace sits alongside Uber’s growing autonomous vehicle partnerships, together signaling a wider shift in how the company aims to serve both mobility and shopping needs on a single platform. - We’ll now examine how Uber’s push into non-food retail delivery through Uber Eats could reshape the company’s existing investment narrative. The future of work is here. Discover the 29 top robotics and automation stocks leading the charge in AI-driven automation and industrial transformation. Uber Technologies Investment Narrative Recap To own Uber today, you need to believe its multi-product “super app” strategy can keep deepening user engagement while its growing bets on autonomous vehicles and retail delivery do not overwhelm profitability. The latest Uber Eats retail additions support the cross-platform story but are incremental to the near term catalyst, which is continued execution on profitable growth. The biggest current risk remains capital intensive AV expansion and related execution and regulatory uncertainty, which this week’s news does not materially change. Among recent developments, Uber’s partnerships with Nuro, Lucid, Stellantis and Wayve to roll out Level 4 robotaxis globally are most relevant, because they sit alongside the retail push as part of a broader effort to blend human drivers, AVs and multi category delivery on one platform. These AV alliances could eventually influence both cost per trip and how effectively Uber can
Jun 27, 2026 · via simplywall.st
The U.S. Department of Transportation is proposing one of the most significant updates to federal vehicle safety regulations since autonomous driving technology began emerging. If approved, the change would eliminate the requirement for a physical brake pedal in vehicles designed to operate without a human driver. The proposal comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as part of the agency's Automated Vehicle Framework. Federal officials say the goal is to modernize decades-old safety regulations that were written with human drivers in mind. The proposal applies only to vehicles designed exclusively for automated driving systems (ADS). Conventional vehicles and autonomous models that still include manual driving controls would continue to follow the existing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Importantly, the proposal does not reduce braking performance requirements. Instead, it changes how fully autonomous vehicles are allowed to meet those standards when no human driver is expected to operate the vehicle. Removing Controls That Drivers Will Never Use Under the proposed update to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 135, manufacturers would no longer be required to install hand- or foot-operated brake controls in vehicles built exclusively for autonomous operation. That means future robotaxis and purpose-built self-driving vehicles could be certified without traditional brake pedals. Vehicles such as Tesla's Cybercab, which was unveiled without a steering wheel or pedals, are examples of the type of design the updated regulation could accommodate. The proposal only applies to vehicles that will never be driven by a person. Autonomous vehicles that retain steering wheels, brake pedals, or other manual controls would still be required to meet all existing federal standards governing those components. Safety Standards Would Still Remain Although the proposal removes the requirement for a physical brake pedal, it does not eliminate braking performance requirements. Every qualifying autonomous vehicle would still
Jun 27, 2026 · via autos.yahoo.com
The specialized hardware Tesla is engineering for its autonomous ride-hailing ambitions is starting to make its way through official regulatory channels. While factory teams work hard on scaling Cybercab production, a recently published patent gives us a closer look at the purpose-built robotaxi’s wheel design. Visual Design in the Patent Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office published patent number US-D1130251-S last week, which officially protects the ornamental design of the Tesla Cybercab’s wheels. While the design patent doesn’t give away much in terms of technical specs, it reinforces the tire design and wheel configuration we’ve seen in public so far. The patented wheel design is defined by a flat, gold hubcap that snaps over the rim, closing off air pockets to maximize aerodynamic efficiency. Aesthetics may have factored into that decision as well, with Tesla likely using these covers to mask the chunky tire profile and unique wheel setup. A Closer Look at the Gold Wheel Covers A recent X post from @Tslachan featured a closer inspection of these wheel covers to show how they are built, sharing a photo where the gold disc was being pulled away from the wheel rim. The outer edge of the cover appears to be made from a flexible rubber material that runs flush against the stock Continental tire’s sidewall. Using flexible rubber prevents the cover from eating into the rubber during tire flex, as a harder material would add to the friction wear. You can even see where a bit of black tire material has rubbed off onto the inside of the shield. Meanwhile, the central part of the cover that resides over the rim looks to be made out of a harder material, possibly an automotive-grade plastic like ABS or polypropylene. An Unprecedented FWD Layout The physical measurements of the
Jun 27, 2026 · via notateslaapp.com
On this week’s episode of TEN – Transport Evolved News! Slate confirms the starting price for its first EV models, Xiaomi sets a new Nurburgring record with a self-driving car, and the U.S. Federal Government bans Polestar from sales in the U.S., despite Volvo being exempted from the same ruling used to ban Polestar. These stories and more, on today’s show! Watch the show today on YouTube, or (if you’d prefer – we would) – PeerTube! 👥 Sponsors - Electric Vehicle Association - EnergySage - Win an EV with CCAN Action Fund! 1 - Support the Show: - Buy us a coffee - YouTube channel - TE Swag - Amazon affiliate - Donate Bitcoin: 1QRZRGCCXUKPDZ2DZ9KX9JYJXMZDYHYGFZ0MN4WH - Join the Conversation: - Subscribe to our Main Channel, Transport Evolved or our second channel, Transport Evolved Take Two - Don’t forget to check out Kate Walton-Elliott’s new venture, Antithesis Press! Episode Timeline - 00:00 – Introduction and sponsor shoutouts! - 00:33 – Welcome to the show - 00:45 – Slate confirms pricing for the Slate Truck - 01:46 – Renault unveils new Megane e-tech electric - 02:47 – Škoda PEAQ launches - 03:48 – ACEA shows EV sales for May in Europe hit 20% market share and The ICCT crowns Mercedes-Benz leader in electric big rigs in Europe - 04:55 – Tesla on Autopilot kills senior after crashing into home, leading to NHTSA probe and Tesla blames the driver - 05:54 – 2026 Jeep Recon EV is now on sale - 07:01 – Audi launches new Q4 e-tron - 08:01 – Subaru keeps Solterra EV price under $40k for 2027 - 08:51 – California will sue the Department of the Interior over attempts to stop wind farms - 09:40 – Polestar kicked out of the U.S. Sponsor Segment: CCAN Action Fund - 11:05
Jun 27, 2026 · via transportevolved.com
Tesla appears to be making some serious moves behind the scenes to bring autonomous driving to the world of heavy freight. The new, refreshed Tesla Semi was just spotted rolling around public roads rigged up with some very familiar-looking gear. It looks like the team is officially gathering the ground truthing data needed to train Full Self-Driving (Supervised) for the big rig. The sighting comes courtesy of a video posted by @teslaownersSV on X. The post pointed out that the new truck was seen driving near Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California, with its "roof loaded with ground truth validation equipment." This roof-mounted framework is pretty similar to the type of validation hardware we’ve seen strapped to passenger models right before Tesla enables its FSD software on them. The X post also highlighted the presence of washers for the new Semi’s expansive array of cameras. Caught the new Tesla Semi testing in Fremont today — roof loaded with ground truth validation equipment, full camera suite with washers, and it’s already ‘autonomy ready.’ — Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) June 27, 2026 The future of freight is getting closer! 🔥🚛 pic.twitter.com/UjDkAA1nLl Built for Autonomy When Tesla unveiled its new Class 8 electric truck design last fall, it came stamped with an autonomy-ready promise. It features 10 external cameras alongside an internal cabin camera. Right now, those sensors handle standard safety features like automatic emergency braking and lane-keep assist, but this newly spotted validation rig indicates that a full rollout of FSD (Supervised) is actively being worked on. As customer deliveries continue to scale up out of Tesla’s dedicated Semi factory in Nevada, here’s a quick refresher on how the two available configurations stack up (check out our full breakdown of the Tesla Semi’s specs to learn more): | Spec | Standard Range
Jun 27, 2026 · via notateslaapp.com
Key Points - Rivian stock trades at a deep discount to Tesla. - Rivian's AI efforts should excite growth investors. Tesla(NASDAQ: TSLA) is one of the biggest companies in the world. But Tesla's auto sales have actually been on the decline for several years now. With shares trading at 13.5 times sales, it's clear that the market doesn't just value the company as an EV stock. Instead, Tesla is now arguably a bona fide AI stock, with a valuation premium to match. What exactly makes Tesla an AI stock? There are many aspects to the equation, but perhaps the biggest reason deals with autonomous driving. Self-driving cars have been promised for decades. But AI is advancing self-driving capabilities faster than ever before. And Tesla has one of the leading positions in a market enabled by autonomous cars: robotaxis. Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again.In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue » "We think $8 trillion to $10 trillion for the entire autonomous taxi opportunity throughout the world, from almost nothing," predicts Cathie Wood, the CEO of Ark Invest, a major Tesla shareholder. "That's how quickly AI is going to cause these things to happen." Tesla's core auto manufacturing business, combined with what could become a $10 trillion robotaxi opportunity, helps justify the company's $1.2 trillion valuation. But there's another EV stock following a similar path to growth yet trading at just 3.2 times sales, with a market cap under $20 billion. Here's why every growth investor should be taking a closer look at Rivian(NASDAQ: RIVN). Rivian is ready to follow Tesla's recipe for growth While Tesla's history is
Jun 27, 2026 · via theglobeandmail.com
PAUSE CALLED: Private hire union calls for London autonomous vehicle trials to be halted over safety and jobs fears - Perry Richardson - 2 hours ago - 2 min read App Drivers’ and Couriers’ Union (ADCU) has called for an immediate pause to the expansion of autonomous passenger vehicle trials in London, warning that the technology could put public safety, accessibility and more than 100,000 private hire jobs at risk without stronger oversight. The union has submitted formal evidence to the London Assembly Transport Committee as part of its inquiry into autonomous passenger vehicles, with the consultation closing today. In its submission, the ADCU argues that no further rollout of trials should take place until comprehensive safety, economic and equality assessments have been completed. According to the union, autonomous vehicle deployment risks increasing congestion, weakening transport accessibility and causing significant disruption to London’s private hire workforce unless safeguards are introduced before wider adoption. It is calling on the Transport for London and the Mayor of London to play a more active regulatory role by requiring London-specific safety testing, greater transparency around incidents and near misses, stronger accessibility standards and a legally enforceable “Just Transition” plan for affected workers. The ADCU also argues that many Londoners are concerned about the pace at which autonomous vehicle pilots are progressing without what it describes as sufficient public consultation or democratic scrutiny. The union says technological innovation should benefit the public rather than primarily serving the commercial interests of global technology companies. The submission follows comments made earlier this week by David Lammy, who said he did not believe society could “stand in the face of innovation” when discussing autonomous vehicles. Responding in a public Facebook statement, the ADCU said its position “has never been to stand in the face of innovation,” adding that
Jun 27, 2026 · via taxi-point.co.uk
Today’s teens are putting a new spin on joyriding. Why steal a car when you can just summon a robotaxi and get up to all sorts of shenanigans while it tools around town? Because it’s phenomenally less cool than driving a stolen Porsche? Whatever. With no one at the wheel, who’s going to stop you? Case in point: a posse of teens who were recently spotted hanging out the windows of a Waymo cab as it weaved through Santa Monica traffic, as if about to perform their own version of a Buster Keaton stunt. Photos show at least two boys with most of their bodies poked out the windows — taking selfies for the ‘Gram, naturally. Residents who spotted their antics were in disbelief. “What was shocking was how young they were, especially the boy sitting in the very front, who appeared to be maybe 8 to 9 years old,” onlooker Rojia Shahsavani told KTLA. Shahsavani says she told the teens to stop, but they didn’t listen. Concerned for their safety, she tailed the robotaxi and called Waymo customer service to narc on the little troublemakers. “They reassured me they would be able to pull the car over in a better spot where traffic was not an issue,” she said. But the Waymo kept going, and the teens kept partying. Eventually, Shahsavani lost sight of the robotaxi, and it’s left her worried about both the teens’ safety and how self-driving cabs could endanger other motorists. “Technology becomes more common, but public safety has to evolve with it and that was alarming,” she told WTLA. Waymo policy says that in California, children under 18 need to be accompanied by an adult. It’s not entirely clear what age the teenagers were, but enforcing these rules could be a problem for the Google-owned
Jun 27, 2026 · via futurism.com
Aistaland GT7 launches in China: An electric shooting brake with 768 hp, starting from 30,900 USD On June 26, 2026, Aistaland officially launched the GT7, a mid-to-large pure electric shooting brake. Developed in collaboration between GAC Group and Huawei, the vehicle is built on an 800V high-voltage architecture and is positioned as a high-performance model. The GT7 is available in five configurations, with prices ranging from 209,900 yuan (30,900 USD) to 329,900 yuan (48,500 USD). Design and dimensions The GT7 adopts a low-slung, wide-body shooting brake design, optimised with 14 aerodynamic enhancements, including active grille shutters and a “clam-shell” aluminium front hood. It features Huawei’s Xpixel smart projection headlights, capable of projecting a 120-inch image. The vehicle measures 5050 mm in length, 1980 mm in width, and 1470 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3000 mm. It offers various wheel options up to 21 inches, paired with Pirelli P Zero tyres. Intelligent cockpit and driving The GT7 is equipped with the new-generation HarmonySpace cockpit and a 21-speaker Huawei Sound system. A standout feature is the 88-inch Huawei X HUD. In terms of intelligent driving, the GT7 is equipped with the Huawei Qiankun ADS 5 system. Supported by an 896-line high-precision LiDAR and the WEWA 2.0 architecture, the system enables “car-to-car” navigation capabilities. The vehicle has undergone over 300,000 km of L3-level conditional autonomous driving road testing. Performance and chassis The GT7 is available in single-motor and tri-motor configurations: - Single-motor version: Produces 340 hp, with a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of 5.8 to 5.9 seconds. It offers CLTC ranges of 770 km and 900 km. - Tri-motor version: Delivers 768 hp, achieving 0-100 km/h in 2.98 seconds, with CLTC ranges spanning from 675 km to 900 km. The vehicle supports 6C ultra-fast charging, capable of charging from 10% to
Jun 27, 2026 · via carnewschina.com