Uber plans to launch a premium robotaxi service in Houston by mid-2027, marking the second U.S. market under its partnership with EV maker Lucid and autonomous vehicle startup Nuro. The service will eventually expand to "dozens of cities" in the coming years, with Uber going head-to-head with rival Waymo in San Francisco and Houston. The robotaxi program will feature Lucid Gravity SUVs equipped with Nuro's self-driving system, with a combined engineering fleet of 100 autonomous vehicles testing [...]

Dawn Aerospace has secured $25 million in funding to scale up its work in in-space transportation and suborbital spaceplanes. The company, valued at $196 million, plans to use the funding for a global rollout of its services, establishing teams in the United States and Europe. Dawn currently sells thrusters for spacecraft and has grown its annual revenue from $3 million in 2022 to $15 million, with the company now cash-flow positive. The company is developing an in-space [...]

The Boring Company has commissioned its second tunnel boring machine, Prufrock MB2, in Nashville, effectively doubling its tunneling power. MB2 features improvements over its predecessor, including increased efficiency and the ability to install tunnel liners simultaneously with mining. The machine is fully electric and operates with zero personnel in the tunnel during normal operations. With MB1 already tunneling and MB3 shipping in August, Nashville is becoming a key testing ground for scaled tunnel boring. The city's strong [...]

China has launched a massive electric container ship, the Ningyuan Dian Kun, which operates with zero emissions and achieves speeds of 11.5 knots. The 10,000-DWT ship measures over 419 feet in length and has a capacity of 740 TEUs. It is powered by ten containerized batteries delivering 19,000 kWh, which can be recharged via a shore power hookup or swapped out for fully-charged containers. The ship implements intelligent systems, including autonomous navigation and route planning, allowing it [...]

Rivian, an EV startup, has laid off hundreds of employees, accounting for less than 2% of its workforce, primarily in service and customer segments. The layoffs come after the company started delivering its R2 SUV, aiming to enter the mainstream market dominated by Tesla. Rivian has yet to turn an annual profit, incurring a $3.6 billion loss last year and delivering over 42,000 vehicles. The company's automotive segment lost around $6,000 per vehicle in Q1 2026. This [...]

A Texas Department of Transportation official expressed support for the Tesla Cybercab, an all-electric ride-hailing vehicle, at the Texas Innovation Invitational. The official, Executive Director Marc Williams, noted the vehicle's design and lack of traditional driving controls as a significant shift in mobility and vehicle design. The Cybercab is a purpose-built, fully autonomous, two-passenger vehicle designed for ride-hailing services. Tesla has a strong relationship with Texas, with its headquarters and manufacturing plant located in the state. The [...]

Rivian is undergoing a significant transformation in its business strategy, shifting from the high-end SUV and truck market to the moderately priced segment. The company aims to increase sales and achieve profitability, but faces a substantial challenge in scaling up production and sales to reach the estimated 500,000 vehicles per year needed for profitability. To address this, Rivian has announced layoffs, cutting hundreds of workers, approximately 2% of its workforce, in an effort to reduce costs and [...]