Waymo Expands Robotaxi Service to Freeways; Einride Announces SPAC Merger

"...It seems like a day doesn’t go by without Waymo making some kind of expansion announcement...."

"...But as I have argued in this newsletter before, there is another “expansion” I think is more important...."

"...That freeway-to-airport moment will be the big unlock for Waymo...."

"...Until someone over there slides me their balance sheet, I can’t say...."

"...It will certainly be a popular option for travelers...."

"...That doesn’t mean the economics will pencil out...."

"...Read on for more news, including Einride’s SPAC bid, deals for Harbinger and Teradar, as well as how Via fared in its first earnings and a looming shutdown for Rad Power Bikes...."

"...Plus! Scroll down to get the results of the Tesla poll...."

"...A few little birds told us Lucid Motors has zeroed in on a candidate for the top role...."

"...It’s expected to be someone outside the organization, which is perhaps no surprise; in August, we shared here that the company and the executive hiring firm it’s using had cast a very wide net and was even cold-calling some candidates...."

"...This would likely mean that Marc Winterhoff, who’s been serving as interim CEO, would slide back to the COO role he occupied before Rawlinson left...."

"...Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at [email protected] or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at [email protected]...."

"...Another SPAC has entered the AV world! Mergers with special acquisition companies may not be officially “back,” but they are certainly popular among autonomous vehicle companies...."

"...Einride does generate revenue, which may sound obvious but there have been plenty of pre-revenue transportation companies that have SPAC’d in recent years...."

"...For now, its primary source of revenue is coming from its software-as-a-service product and a fleet of 200 heavy-duty electric trucks used by companies like Heineken and PepsiCo...."

"...Its unusual-looking autonomous podlike trucks are still in pilot mode...."

"...Other deals that got my attention this week …..."

"...Notable reads and other tidbits..."

"...One more thing …..."

"...Remember the poll in last week’s newsletter? I asked which product goal is Tesla most likely to achieve by 2035?..."

"...The options are based on real goals laid out in Musk’s $1 trillion compensation package:..."

"...And y’all are split between two options: Tesla delivering 20 million vehicles, which received 34.7% of the vote, and “None of these will be reached,” which received 32% of the vote...."

"...The one item you seem to agree on is that Tesla is unlikely to deliver on the other three goals...."

"...About 9.5% of readers picked the 1 million robots option, 12.6% chose 10 million active Full Self-Driving subscriptions, and 10.5% picked 1 million robotaxis in commercial operation within 10 years...."