Techcrunch Mobility: cost of Waymo

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The National Road Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced late this week that it plans to simplify the exemption process, Part 555 to make it faster for auto -making companies that want to spread self -driving vehicles designed without human controls such as driving or pedals.

The message sent to “stakeholders” (meaning those companies that work on AVS) are still somewhat transparent. Manufacturers will continue to prove that vehicles that do not offer traditional guidance wheels, the brakes managed by the driver, or the rear vision mirrors, provide an equivalent safety level as compatible vehicles and that exemption in the public interest.

The main GIST here is that NHTSA claims that the exemption process from the current 555 part is not perfectly suitable for automatic vehicles equipped with the driving system and that it is a long and complex process. In short: The agency wants to speed up things.

In other news related to the federal agency, Trump A released A few executive orders Related to drones and the fastest rapid travel.

Side note: I see my predictions (from the last edition) Trump Elon Musk Fallout will turn into one of these indirect relationships.

Let’s get into the rest of the news.

birdie

Last week, I Share our scoop on Johnny IVELOVEFROM that works alongside Rural Designers and the skunkWorks team will end up to get out also, Start Micromobility.

Well, some small birds appeared to share a little more and clarify the relationship. I learned that the project was called Inder. Rivian actually introduces Business brand for INDER But he left it later. The sources also shared that although the Lovefrom team brought its industrial design experience to this effort – it appears that the design of a great engine – was not involved in any UX user interface.

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Deals!

JetzeroLong Beach, the Jet aircraft company, plans to take this in California, which works on the Wing Blended aircraft, to build a factory in Greensburo, North Carolina. The company, which is supported by a variety of investment capital (such as VC trucks) and strategic investors such as UNICED Airlines and Alaska Airlines, said it will invest 4.7 billion dollars during the next decade In the project, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company said that construction on the facility is expected to start in the first half of 2026, with the first customer delivery operations in the early thirties of the twentieth century.

There are important details in this deal: It includes more than $ 1.1 billion of country performance incentives that will be paid over approximately 40 years and depend on Jetzero, which creates more than 14,000 jobs between 2027 and 2036, Reuters mentioned.

Other deals worth indicated …

Metra KimStart the battery material, 15.6 million dollars From a $ 50 million financing round.

Promise readings and other tales

Independent vehicles

And emo It costs horseback more than Uber or Lift – And People pay anywayAccording to OBI, the app that collects pricing and receiving times actual time through multiple riding services. The company published what it calls “the first in -depth examination of the pricing strategy in Waymo.” TL; DR: Waymo self-driving car is constantly more expensive than Uber and Lyft-and does not seem important.

Waymo Robotaxis has become a symbol of protests in Los Angeles after pictures showing several driver-without vehicles-with ice control drawings and cut tires-at fire. Waymo removed its remaining vehicles from the downtown Los Angeles area and plans to follow the criminal prosecution and collect damage from those who destroyed robots. The accident raises some Important monitoring questions On how to use many cameras and sensors on Waymo vehicles and whether they provide camera footage for the authorities to identify the demonstrators. Waymo did not answer our questions about this.

June 22 is great Tesla Robotaxi launch day In Austin, Texas, at least according to CEO of Tesla Elusk.

Road Uber announced plans to launch a Robotaxi driver service in London. This does not happen immediately, though, and timing is noticeable here: the UK government recently announced a quick framework for trading pilots who self -adherents in the spring of 2026, until late 2027.

Electric cars, batteries and shipping

InfiniteThe New York -based Micromobility is supported A16ZA. Skilled scooter Olto is called $ 3495 when shipping begins later this year. OLTO will include 40 miles of the range, with pulled from the Li -Ion 48 -volt battery.

Car technology

during appleWWDC 2025 event, a A few elements related to the car This is revealed, including that the company adds Tapbacks user and messages to CarPlay with iOS 26.