Electric Cars

The EV company announced plans to sell 25,000 vehicles to Estonia-based mobility company Bolt for a robotaxi service in Europe. The robotaxi will be based on Lucid’s upcoming midsized Cosmos vehicle and will be Level 4 capable. This is Lucid’s second major robotaxi deal, after announcing plans to deploy 20,000 vehicles with Uber and Nuro in the US. With Lucid burning cash and facing heavy market pressure, these types of deals are a possible bridge to a more secure financial future.

The bill would require all new cars, including electric vehicles like Tesla, to be capable of receiving AM radio broadcasts. It now advances to the Senate, where a companion bill has already racked up 60 cosponsors. The bill’s main sponsor Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) celebrated the House passage in a statement:

The electric automaker has until September 30th to answer a series of questions about how its steering-wheel- and pedal-less Cybercab complies with federal safety standards.

The second-generation Tesla Roadster appears to be set for a reveal on October 1st. That’s nearly nine years since the prototype was first shown off in November of 2017, and we’re still probably at least another year or so out from availability.

Miami is looking like the next market for Elon Musk’s steering-wheel-less autonomous vehicles. But a few of the gold two-seaters were spotted in New York City — albeit with steering wheels and human safety monitors driving manually. It’s likely just a marketing maneuver, since fully autonomous vehicles are prohibited in New York. Governor Kathy Hochul recently reversed a decision to allow Waymo to deploy its vehicles outside the city after pushback from labor groups.

YouTuber Josh West thought he was going to show his wife a good time by booking a Cybercab for their date night in Austin. Instead, a hard-braking episode left her with a sore neck, and then the Cybercab tried to drop them off in an empty parking lot at night. “Kind of wonky,” an amiable West says. “Definitely work left to do.”

After taking the wraps off its all-electric SkyNomad SUVs in July, Xiaomi has officially launched the four-car lineup in China, which starts at RMB 209,900 (~$31,275) for the N70 Pro model.

Some of the pro-Tesla content creators that the company invited to its closed-door Cybercab event are starting to post their first rides.

Right now, Tesla is holding a private event with a bunch of pro-Tesla influencers to celebrate the “launch” of its autonomous Cybercab vehicle. But in a break from the past, the company is not livestreaming the event. Several influencers posted on X that the company made them sign NDAs and barred them from posting any content until the event is over. Not really the sign of confidence a lot of investors were looking for!

According to the company’s newly launched Robotaxi website, children under the age of 13 are not permitted to ride in the Cybercab — even if they’re riding with an adult. Kids between the ages of 8-13 are allowed in Tesla’s Model Y robotaxis, but only when riding with an adult. And those under 8 are not allowed at all. Even stranger, the Cybercab’s compliance documents (PDF) include detailed instructions for installing child seats. Which is it, Elon?

We still have no word on when this supposed event is taking place. All we know is that it’s in Austin, which predictably has seen a surge of gilded Cybercabs hit the streets. Reuters says it’s supposed to start at 5:45PM ET, citing a Cybercab engineer’s tweet that I can’t seem to verify. Either way, we’ll be monitoring the event and will hopefully have more updates to share later today.

Hat tip to investor Reilly Brennan, who noted in his Future of Transportation newsletter that Waymo software engineer Reed Morse has been beefing with Tesla fans on X over sensors and service area maps. Morse said Tesla is “mostly bluffing” its way through its upcoming Cybercab launch. It’s just more evidence that despite being the undisputed leader in driverless robotaxis, Waymo still feels the need to point out the fallacies in Tesla’s approach to robotaxis.

NBC News identified 43 videos that appear to show Tesla drivers asleep at the wheel, 17 of which were posted this year alone. This is, of course, a well-worn problem for Tesla, which has tried to curb the trend with stricter driver monitoring systems. But drivers are easily subverting these guardrails with sunglasses, allowing them to continue sleeping despite eye-tracking technology.

The low-volume truck that Elon Musk once claimed would sell over 250,000 units annually is now about $5,000 more expensive, according to Reuters. Two trims are going up in price: the dual-motor version is now $74,990, up from $69,990; and the all-wheel drive Cybertruck is $84,990, up from $79,990. Tesla has futzed with the truck’s lineup before, introducing a $60,000 all-wheel drive version and jacking up the Cyberbeast trim by $15,000. But it’s done little to juice sales, with only 3,519 Cybertrucks delivered in Q1 2026, down 45 percent year over year.

Guests are being invited to “experience the future of full autonomy” at the event in Austin, Texas. The gold-tinted driverless vehicle has been popping up around the country, although often with a steering wheel and pedals, as employees continue to gather data. In the lead up to the event, the company has increasingly been operating its fleet of Model Y robotaxis without human supervision.

Eleven automakers, including Tesla and Xiaomi, launched software updates to comply with China’s largest recall ever over mechanical door release handles that may be hard to find or ​operate during emergencies. China previously banned Tesla-style concealed door handles because people were getting trapped inside their cars. The country also ordered Tesla to add driver monitoring to over 2 million vehicles to make sure drivers keep their eyes on the road, Electrek reports.

Nevada’s transportation authority unanimously approved permits for Tesla, Waymo, and Uber, paving the way for up 7,000 robotaxis to flood the streets of Clark County over the next 12 months, TechCrunch reports. Tesla received approval for 5,000 robotaxis — though the company’s reps said they’d be thrilled if they get to 2,500 — while Waymo and Uber were authorized for 1,000 each. Amazon’s Zoox already has a permit for 100 robotaxis in the city. The vote positions Las Vegas as the next major robotaxi market, with Amazon, Uber, Waymo, and Tesla all battling for customers.

Swedish trucking company Einride says it will buy 500 Tesla Semis, representing the largest order for the electric Class 8 truck yet reported. But as Electrek notes, it’s not clear that Einride has enough money to fund the purchase. The trucking company has about $77 million in the bank, which is less than the estimated $145 million it will cost to buy the Tesla Semis.