Another week has seen more announcements about robotaxis and self-driving cars, with companies like Waymo, Uber, and Avride launching or planning to launch services in cities. This comes as the autonomous vehicle tech industry is scaling up quickly.
However, concerns are being raised about safety and regulation. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has asked Waymo for more information about its self-driving system after reports of illegal passes near school buses. Recently, a Waymo robotaxi ran over KitKat, a bodega cat, killing him.
Meanwhile, Lucid Motors has been experiencing changes in leadership and staff, with several top executives leaving the company. Electric aircraft maker Beta Technologies has secured a deal to supply air taxi company Eve Air Mobility with its electric pusher motors, valued at $1 billion.
Other deals include Autolane’s $7.4 million funding round, Element Fleet Management’s acquisition of Car IQ for $80 million, and Heven AeroTech’s $100 million Series B funding round led by IonQ. Wayve has also acquired German startup Quality Match.
The future of transportation is a topic of debate, with some predicting that robotaxis will reach mass adoption before the end of the decade. A recent poll in TechCrunch’s Mobility newsletter showed that most readers believe this will happen, but with low confidence that 2026 will be the year for widespread adoption.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/07/the-accelerator-is-on-the-floor-for-autonomous-vehicles