‍FYI: Our first-ever Ride AI summit is heading to Hollywood, Los Angeles on 4/2, and in case you missed it, we’ve begun announcing the first speakers and sponsors here. This intimate gathering will cut through the hype to explore what’s actually working in autonomous technology—and what it takes to scale these innovations in the real world. With incisive programming curated by Ed Niedermeyer and Timothy B. Lee, you’ll engage directly with executives and decision-makers who are transforming how we think about mobility.

Early bird tickets are on sale until Friday (2/7) for 15% off. If you’re planning to join us, we strongly recommend securing your spot now, because space is limited.

If you’re interested in sponsoring Ride AI 2025, please be in touch. If you’d like to explore speaking opportunities, we have a link for that too.

What You Need to Know Today

Automakers are scrambling in response to Trump’s latest tariffs. A lot is up in the air right now, but as of writing this, import fees have been increased by 10% for China, while a proposed 25% barrier on Canada and Mexico has been paused. If Trump’s trade policies were enacted as originally planned, car prices would increase by about $3,000.

The general consensus among carmakers on tariffs appears to be that they will do more to hurt business than revitalize US manufacturing.

This 2017 graphic from Bloomberg illustrates how many times a given auto part can cross the border in the modern supply chain.

Elon Musk claims Tesla will ship unsupervised robotaxis in Austin by June. According to him, the first fleet will be Tesla-owned, but eventually the plan is to let individual customers operate their own FSD-enabled robotaxis. This timeline is audacious even by Musk’s standards, but at least we won’t have to wait long to find out if it’s is real or not…

Relatedly: Musk revealed that, contrary to previous claims, FSD users will likely require another hardware update.

Also Tesla now offers a discount of up to 10% on Tesla Insurance for customers who frequently use FSD. At least the company is putting its money where its mouth is with its FSD safety claims.

Meanwhile Waymo, the top contender in the robotaxi race, continues to expand its lead, announcing plans to deploy service in more than 10 new cities in 2025, starting with San Diego and Las Vegas. The Alphabet-backed company also launched unsupervised autonomous ride-hail for employees in Atlanta this week, an important final step before opening up to the public.

As well, Waymo is sweetening the deal for Los Angeles commuters who combine robotaxis with public transit. The company’s new promotion offers a $3 ride credit to passengers who connect with select LA Metro stations (see map below)—a savvy move to fill the gap between its service area and LAX, where its autonomous vehicles don’t yet operate and Uber and Lyft still have an edge.

On the current head-to-head between Uber and Waymo—and what the pros and cons are for each: “Almost everyone who’s taken a Waymo has been blown away by the product. The ride is smooth, the ‘driver’ is safe, and it feels like you’re in the future… So it makes sense to ask the question, why would I ever ride in an Uber again?”

UVeye, a company that specializes in AI-powered automated vehicle inspections, has raised $191M in debt and equity.

Plus, an AV trucking startup, is expanding into developing ADAS systems.

Self-driving truck startup Waabi is teaming up with Volvo to develop and deploy autonomous trucks by the end of 2025.

It’s the end of an era in Detroit: GM is laying off half of Cruise’s workforce—including the CEO and other executives—as it prepares to shut down its robotaxi unit. The remaining Cruise staff will transition to new roles supporting the development of GM’s ADAS tech.

Autonomous vehicle testing in California dropped 50% in 2024, mostly due to the fact that Waymo is now operating commercially (not testing) in many markets and Cruise has shut down. But the declining number of tests is also due to the fact that there are fewer new entrants applying for AV permits in the wake of the first-gen players (Nuro, Zoox, WeRide, Waymo): “There has been a noticeable decline over the past three years in new permits issued by the DMV for testing vehicles with a human driver. In 2022, four permits were issued. The following year, two new permits were granted. The DMV gave just one new permit in 2024. Today, just 31 companies hold permits for testing with a safety driver — and of those, just 11 actually conducted public road testing in 2024.”

The autonomous vehicle industry finds itself in a unusual regulatory paradox. While most emerging tech sectors actively resist government oversight, some AV companies are actually seeking more federal involvement - not less. The reason? A maze of contradictory state regulations that makes scaling autonomous technology across the US unnecessarily complex.

As always, if you have questions or want to chat about any of this, please be in touch.

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