The Change Optimist: Weekly News Roundup - October 25, 2026

Next-Gen BYD Tang EV AWD listed with 691 hp dual motors and 250 km/h top speed
BYD's next-generation Tang EV AWD is listed with dual motors producing 691 hp and a top speed of 250 km/h and is expected to launch in China in Q4 2026. carnewschina.com

BYD’s Rolls-Royce-like flagship EV is heading overseas
BYD will launch its largest, most luxurious electric sedan overseas, a coach-door flagship with a silhouette similar to the Rolls-Royce Phantom. It comes from BYD's Yangwang arm, which has showcased quad-motor e4 cars producing up to 1,300 horsepower and the DiSus-X body control system that can make the vehicle "dance," jump, and drive on three wheels. electrek.co

BYD is about to launch this luxury electric SUV with 623 miles of range
BYD is launching the Denza N8 next week, a five-seat luxury electric SUV that claims a CLTC range of 1,003 km (about 623 miles). It pairs BYD’s second-generation Blade Batteries with 1,500 kW Flash Charging technology that the company says can take compatible vehicles from 10% to 70% in five minutes and from 10% to 97% in nine minutes. electrek.co

Boot this: BYD Denza B8 driver gets booted, doesn’t care [video]
A BYD Denza B8 driver used the SUV's DiSus-P Ultra hydraulic suspension to lift the front-left wheel and drive off with a yellow-and-red traffic boot still attached. Footage on Chinese social media shows the plug-in hybrid rolling on three wheels, with the suspension independently controlling hydraulic pressure at each wheel to adjust damping and ride height. electrek.co

Chery pairs 12C liquid battery cells with 400 Wh/kg solid-state technology
Chery’s Rhinoceros Battery program pairs fast 12C liquid-electrolyte cells with a solid-state cell that the company cites at 400 Wh/kg, and it announced a dedicated Rhinoceros S pilot production line due to enter operation in 2027. Chery has already built a 0.5 GWh pilot line; vehicle-level testing is slated for 2027, and no customer delivery timeline has been announced. carnewschina.com

Chery Jaguar Land Rover's Freelander 8 large five-seater SUV set for October 31 delivery in China
Chery Jaguar Land Rover will begin customer deliveries of the large five-seater Freelander 8 in China on October 31, after the six-seat version started shipping on September 19. The model launched on September 3, comes in three five-seater configurations priced from 309,900 to 389,900 yuan, and offers an optional towing package rated to 2,000 kg. carnewschina.com

Geely EX2 rolls off its millionth unit two years after launch
Geely's EX2, sold as the Xingyuan in China, reached a cumulative production of 1 million units on October 20, 2026, about two years after its October 2024 debut. Geely hit intermediate production milestones of 200,000 units in May 2025, 600,000 in March 2026, and 800,000 in August 2026, while the EX2 posted 465,775 retail sales in China in 2025. carnewschina.com

Geely's Smart #2 set for November 5 launch in China with 410 km CLTC range
Scheduled for a November 5 launch in China, the Smart #2 offers a 410 km CLTC range and is styled by Mercedes-Benz's global design team to reinterpret Smart's two-seater heritage. Built on Geely's ECA compact EV architecture, it features a Bench Seat, an S-shaped wraparound cockpit, and a two-piece tailgate with an independently opening glass section. carnewschina.com

Huawei’s car unit joins CATL’s 2,520-station battery swap network
Huawei's Yinwang, also known as Newcool, signed a strategic cooperation framework with CATL and its swap unit CAES to join Choco-swap, which already has 2,520 stations across about 200 Chinese cities. The deal covers swappable packs and station integration for vehicles using Huawei's Qiankun driving system, and CATL says it plans to link the car, the station, and the cloud so cars can find a station, drive in autonomously, and complete swaps in about 99 seconds. electrek.co

Li Auto's new i6 SUV achieves 811 km & 11.8 kWh/100 km in a range test without CATL's help
Li Auto livestreamed an 18-hour endurance run of its refreshed i6 SUV and recorded 811.4 km on a 96 kWh battery, averaging 11.8 kWh per 100 km in urban driving. The test ran around Lake Tai at 13 to 20°C with four occupants, luggage, and the air conditioning on, and the i6 will reach Europe as the Li 6 in Q1 2027 after Li switched cell suppliers from CATL to CALB and Sunwoda. carnewschina.com

Tesla ‘Cannot Guarantee’ Roadster Reservation Holders Will Ever Get a Car
Tesla rolled out the second-generation Roadster again, but reservations do not guarantee delivery. The reservation page notes that the car is still under development, requires up to $250,000 upfront, and only promises an approximate place in line rather than a confirmed build slot, with prices and specs potentially changing before production. thedrive.com

Musk pledges to give 'every kid in America' one of his SpaceX shares
Elon pledged to give every kid in America one SpaceX share in 2027, a move that would total more than $10 billion at the current $146 share price and equal roughly 1% of his $1 trillion net worth. He said the shares would go "directly to the public" but provided no details on the distribution, and his post came hours after Anthropic said it would put 5% of its shares into a new public benefit fund. techcrunch.com

Tesla (TSLA) proxy shows a board getting ready for a SpaceX merger
Tesla's proxy filing suggests the board is preparing for a potential merger with SpaceX and notes that Ira Ehrenpreis, who chairs Tesla's compensation and governance committees, joined SpaceX's board in February. The filing also lists a three-item ballot for the December 3 meeting at Gigafactory Texas, an auto-voting program for the next vote, and Musk's pay terms that pay out on a deal price alone. electrek.co

SpaceX and Tesla boards form special committees to review the merger
Boards at SpaceX and Tesla each formed special committees to independently review a proposed merger, bringing in independent directors and outside legal and financial advisers to vet the terms. That added oversight increases scrutiny from shareholders and regulators and makes a speedy approval less likely given the entangled ownership, conflict issues, and national security concerns such a tie-up would raise. techcrunch.com

Tesla says it will start selling Cybercabs by the end of the year
Tesla says it will begin selling its steering-wheel-free Cybercab to customers by the end of the year, even as federal regulators investigate whether the vehicle meets safety standards. Lars Moravy said the Cybercabs produced today are destined for Tesla's robotaxi fleet, and the company will start small as it learns about delivery, ownership, and fleet management. techcrunch.com

Tesla says customers can add their own vehicles to the robotaxi fleet next year — will it happen?
Tesla told investors on its Q3 earnings call that it aims to let owners opt their cars into a robotaxi network in Q2 2027. The pledge follows years of missed deadlines for unsupervised driving features, and it still faces steep regulatory hurdles before customer-owned vehicles can join the fleet. theverge.com

Tesla starts Optimus robot production in California as profit falls 43%
Tesla has begun production of its Optimus humanoid robot at the Fremont factory, using a manufacturing space that once built electric vehicles. Elon said the ramp will be slow and somewhat bumpy but predicted Tesla could make 20,000 robots per week by the end of 2027, even as the company reported a 43% drop in quarterly profit. techcrunch.com

Tesla FSD ‘subscriptions’ hit 1.74M, counted the way Musk’s pay package wants
Tesla says it now has 1.74 million active Full Self-Driving subscriptions, a 67% year-over-year jump, but that figure includes both upfront purchases and monthly plans under the definition tied to its 2025 CEO Performance Award. Elon must reach 10 million active FSD subscriptions to earn that pay package, and Tesla stopped selling FSD as a one-time purchase on February 14, 2026. electrek.co

Tesla blames battery supply for flat sales, but its prices keep falling
Despite ongoing price cuts, Tesla says battery availability was the limiting factor on vehicle volumes in Q3 2026. The company also reported its largest passenger-vehicle backlog in four years and posted record deliveries in Canada, Australia, Japan, and Taiwan. electrek.co

Tesla now says it needs its own maps for FSD after years of dismissing maps
Tesla says it is building its own maps to fix recurring FSD problems, such as reading speed limits, parking, and route selection. The head of AI announced the effort on Tesla's Q3 2026 earnings call, after years in which the CEO argued map-dependent systems were brittle. electrek.co

Tesla (TSLA) quietly cuts 2026 capex guidance to $20B
Tesla has lowered its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to "in excess of $20 billion," down from the "more than $25 billion" it guided in April, and the change appears in its Q3 10-Q rather than the shareholder letter. The company posted $1.53 billion in positive free cash flow in Q3 and has spent $13.01 billion so far this year, meaning that hitting $25 billion would have required about $12 billion in Q4, while the new floor requires roughly $7 billion. electrek.co

SpaceX records $561 million investment gain from stake in Elon’s Boring Co.
SpaceX reported an unrealized investment gain of $561 million from its stake in Elon Musk’s Boring Co., which accounted for more than half of the company's other income for the quarter. That boost helped push net income to just over $4 billion after the tunnelling venture, spun out of SpaceX in 2018, raised $3 billion in September, backed by the United Arab Emirates. cnbc.com

Tesla driver using Full Self-Driving struck and killed a man crossing I-80
A 71-year-old man was struck and killed while crossing I-80 in Vallejo, California, at about 2:30 a.m. The California Highway Patrol says dashcam footage shows the Tesla, which was in Full Self-Driving mode, applied its brakes and steered left to avoid him, but the vehicle’s right front struck the man. theverge.com

Ferrari CEO praises Tesla Roadster redesign as a bold industry move
Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna praised Tesla’s redesigned Roadster as a daring project, while noting that the car’s production timing remains uncertain after years of delays. reuters.com

Tesla cancels Cybertruck in Australia and NZ after 7 years of deposits
Tesla has cancelled the Cybertruck for Australia and New Zealand, voiding reservations nearly seven years after Australians began putting down A$150 deposits in November 2019. Customers will receive a full refund within 30 days, and reservation holders who order a new Model 3 or Model Y will receive a free one-year FSD (Supervised) subscription. electrek.co

Tesla’s $10B solar factory could get 35 years of tax breaks in Texas
Tesla’s proposed $10 billion Project Crystal Sun solar factory in Fort Bend County could receive up to 35 years of local tax breaks on its equipment after commissioners approved four incentive agreements in a 4-0 vote. Tesla still hasn’t committed to building the vertically integrated plant near Richmond, which aims to begin commercial production in Q1 2029 and has already secured a 10-year school property tax limitation from Lamar CISD. electrek.co

In search of a Starlink alternative, Ukraine partners with Nokia and satellite maker ICEYE
After SpaceX imposed speed limits on Starlink that caused fast-moving drones to disconnect and drop out of the sky, Ukraine is seeking alternate satellite links to keep its forces online. Ukraine's Ministry of Defence signed a letter of intent with Nokia and satellite maker ICEYE to develop new satellite and defence communication capabilities, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said reliable communications are a matter of national security. cnbc.com

Fortescue is using KUKA welding robots to handle 6 MW charging cables
Fortescue is using heavily modified KUKA welding robots from the automotive assembly line to lift and connect liquid-cooled copper cables that deliver 6 MW to its 264 short-ton Liebherr T264E electric haul trucks. Fortescue and Liebherr have been developing the 6 MW charging system since 2024, and a new company video shows robots handling cables that are too large, heavy, and hazardous for people to handle. electrek.co

SpaceX alum's aviation start-up, Reliable Robotics, lands $115M, topping $1B valuation
A $115 million extension to Reliable Robotics' Series D, including $90 million in equity led by Nimble Partners and $25 million in debt from Silicon Valley Bank, pushed the round to $275 million and lifted the company's valuation past $1 billion. The Mountain View start-up, founded by former SpaceX engineers Robert Rose and Juerg Frefel, has raised $380 million to date and is working to win FAA certification for its retrofit autonomous flight system for existing aircraft. techcrunch.com

Eka is worth $1.45B thanks to a physical AI model that has experts raving
A start-up called Eka closed a $150 million Series A at a $1.45 billion post-money valuation after demonstrating a physical AI manipulation system that pairs a force-sensitive gripper with a new deep-learning model. Backers a16z and F-Prime led the round, and researchers said the robot adapted to many different objects without retraining and already exceeds human performance on certain dexterous tasks. techcrunch.com

Laplace Intelligence red-teams robots and self-driving cars before they hit the real world
Ann Arbor-based Laplace Intelligence runs automated red-teaming to stress-test robots and other physical AI systems, aiming to uncover failures before systems hit the real world. CEO Howie Sun says the company wants to build shared evidence that customers, insurers, and regulators can trust. techcrunch.com

Unitree Unveils Fearsome Bodyguard Robot
China’s Unitree released a teaser for its new “bodyguard” robot. Like with its uber-popular G1 model, it demonstrated that the humanoid robot, the H2-X “Kung Fu Legend: Guardian,” could pull off all sorts of physical feats — only this time it’s implied that these violent capabilities aren’t only for show. futurism.com

Unitree Founder Now Expects Robotics Breakthrough as Soon as 2028
Wang Xingxing, founder of Unitree Robotics, now expects a breakthrough in humanoids in as little as two years, predicting they can complete 80% of assigned tasks after receiving verbal orders. Wang had previously predicted it could take 10 years for humanoid robots to be deployed on a massive scale, but has changed his belief due to advances in AI models like OpenAI's GPT-6. bloomberg.com

If it quacks like a duck
Earlier this week, a video of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang playing with a flock of waddling Microducks during his keynote at the company’s GTC Berlin conference went viral. The robots, stomping their little feet and making tiny R2-D2 noises, sat, fell down dead for a “nap,” and somersaulted on voice command. They were so darn cute that by the next day, preorders of the Microducks surpassed 20,000 units, Hugging Face’s Clem Delangue said in a tweet. techcrunch.com

$1 Gas Gridlocks Georgia Town After Gas Station Price War Goes Nuclear
Rival Amoco and Sunoco stations on Marietta Street in Powder Springs kept undercutting each other, driving regular gas prices down to as low as $0.97 per gallon. The bargain hunting drew long lines that gridlocked the area, and police temporarily closed access to both stations until traffic eased. thedrive.com

Global Oil Price Hits $116 a Barrel, Highest Since April
Rising tensions involving Iran pushed global oil prices to about $116 a barrel, its highest level since April. Traders flagged the risk of supply disruptions, lifting oil futures and energy stocks. nytimes.com

Seattle plans 200 curbside EV charging stations – and you can request one
Seattle will install up to 200 public curbside Level 2 EV chargers by 2030, and residents can now request one near their home or apartment as the city focuses on neighbourhoods with the fewest public charging options. The chargers add about 12–30 miles of range per hour, and City Light charges $0.21 per kilowatt-hour at its Level 2 stations. electrek.co

Honda Is Building an Induction Charging Highway in Japan
Honda will install simplified inductive charging pads along a busy freeway on the east side of Tokyo Bay to collect real-world durability data. The new pads aim to cut maintenance costs, and the trial comes as Honda pares back North American EV plans after cancelling three new models, including the 0-Series SUV and the Saloon. caranddriver.com

Google Eyes Large ‘Virtual Power Plant’ for Data Centres
Google is funding a large virtual power plant that would pay homes and businesses to adjust electricity use when the grid is strained. The program is designed to aggregate flexible demand, helping data centres and other customers manage power needs without relying only on new generation. nytimes.com

Plug-in hybrids emit far more CO2 in real-world driving than official tests show
Plug-in hybrids produce nearly as much carbon dioxide in real-world driving as conventional gasoline and diesel cars, according to Transport & Environment, which says official test figures understate emissions. autonews.com

Rivian is now the #2 US EV brand, up from #10, as Big Auto marginalizes itself
Rivian climbed from tenth to second in US EV brand rankings this year, taking the spot formerly held by Chevrolet. The shift came after a major sales spike in Q3 2025, ahead of changes to EV incentives, and was followed by declines across most brands. electrek.co

TechCrunch Mobility: Rivian's next act
Rivian aims to be more than an EV maker, with CEO RJ Scaringe outlining a push toward deeper vertical integration and in-house AI for its in-vehicle assistant. The company is building an end-to-end automated driving stack for passenger cars and robotaxis with Uber, developing 5 nm custom silicon with Arm and TSMC, and leading a $5.8 billion VW Group joint venture focused on electric architecture and software, as well as a micromobility skunkworks initiative. techcrunch.com

Rivian's CEO says autonomy will enable dramatically different vehicle designs
Rivian is prioritizing the development of autonomous driving software and says it's willing to delay profitability to fund that push. Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe told TechCrunch Disrupt he expects autonomy, beyond models like R2 and R3, to allow vehicle form factors very different from the company's current SUVs and trucks. techcrunch.com

Rivian buys world model start-up to accelerate self-driving ambitions
Rivian has acquired UK start-up Third Dimension, which turns images and video into lifelike 3D worlds, to speed development of its ADAS and the self-driving stack for the robotaxis it plans to supply to Uber. The 15-person team will join James Philbin's autonomy and AI group and help expand Rivian's AI hub in London. techcrunch.com

Ferrari Luce EV starts at $560,800 in the US, $80K less than expected
Ferrari’s first electric car, the Luce, will start at $560,800 in the US, with American deliveries planned for the second quarter of 2027. That price is about $80,000 below the widely cited €550,000 figure because Italy’s 22% VAT was included in the European number, making the pre-tax Italian price roughly €450,800 (about $506,000). electrek.co

GM just revealed an electric drive 3500 dually with VERY limited colour options
GM revealed an electric-drive, one-ton 3500 dually configured as a cabless “Unmanned Ground Vehicle” available only in Army green, designed for autonomous military logistics and casualty evacuation. It uses GM's dual-rear-wheel Chevy Silverado 3500 HD skateboard architecture, and GM has developed an extended-range electric 3500 pickup chassis. electrek.co

GM Is Already Pouring Cold Water on Manual C9 Corvette Rumours
GM is ruling out a manual Corvette for the C9, suggesting that the idea won’t move forward. Tony Roma, executive chief engineer for the Corvette and performance cars, says reintroducing a manual would be costly, particularly since the C8 uses an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. thedrive.com

GM is giving OnStar an AI makeover
GM is turning OnStar into a personal in-car AI assistant, starting with the 2027 Cadillac Lyriq EV and rolling out to other models. At its GM Forward event in New York, the company said a new OnStar mobile app will arrive in 2027 to replace the OnStar Guardian app and the separate Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC vehicle apps, and to sync with the in-car software. techcrunch.com

GM promises smarter cars, faster updates, and autonomous dry-cleaning runs
GM says it will cut vehicle development times in half and introduce a central compute unit 40 times more powerful than today's systems. The company also plans to deploy autonomous driving in its highest-volume trucks and SUVs and to trial delivery tasks such as autonomous dry-cleaning runs. theverge.com

GM Aims to Bring ‘Eyes-Off’ Driving to AI-Powered Cars Within 2 Years
GM plans to let drivers take their eyes off the road in limited conditions within about two years by embedding AI driving software into its next-generation electric vehicles. The push includes accelerated development and testing tied to its operations in China, though broader deployment will depend on regulatory approvals. nytimes.com

GM is betting that compute and AI will help it compete with Chinese automakers
At its GM Forward event in New York, GM unveiled a fourth-generation EV platform that emphasizes new battery chemistries, redesigned electric motors, and an all-new central computer and electrical architecture. That central compute will link acceleration, steering, braking, and active safety into a software-first vehicle, which GM says can understand context, reduce friction, and give people back moments otherwise spent driving. techcrunch.com

GM Wants Your Truck to Run Errands Without You
GM says the updated Cadillac Escalade IQ will let owners sit in the driver’s seat and watch a movie while the SUV handles highway driving, with the feature arriving in 2028. The eyes-off system builds on Super Cruise, which GM says is not SAE Level 3, and the company plans to expand the technology to gas-powered full-size light-duty trucks and SUVs. thedrive.com

Forget "Malaise 2.0," GM says it's still all-in on EVs and autonomy
GM says it remains committed to electric vehicles and autonomous driving as it updates its vehicle software, central computing, and OnStar services. The automaker’s plan will require customers to accept more software-driven features, while GM continues to develop gas-powered and electric models in parallel. arstechnica.com

The 2027 Ford Mustang Mach-E gains a standard long-range battery and a new price
Ford's 2027 Mustang Mach-E now comes standard with an 88 kWh extended-range battery, bringing the base price below $40,000. The Mach-E is offered in five trims, Select, Premium, GT, Rally, and a new Trail, with the Trail available as a $2,295 package for the Select eAWD that adds tuned front and rear struts and springs, a Rally-shaped steering rack, 19-inch High Gloss Dark Carbonized Gray wheels, and raises ride height 10 mm in the front and 15 mm in the rear. electrek.co

Honda Wants in on the Body-on-Frame pick-up Game, Too
Honda will source its first body-on-frame pick-up from Mitsubishi, building a Triton-based model it plans to sell mainly in Southeast Asia starting in 2028. It could later reach other markets, though any North American Honda truck would likely mirror an existing local product, possibly through a badge-engineering deal like the one between Mitsubishi and Nissan for the Frontier. thedrive.com

Hyundai Elantra N Monochrome Looks Sleek but Isn’t for America
Hyundai’s Elantra N Monochrome dials back the model’s usual blue-and-red livery with blacked-out and body-colored trim to highlight the car’s lines, but the edition will initially be sold only in Korea, Canada, and Australia, not the United States. It arrives in two trims, both with Alcantara interior touches, while the Upper Trim adds carbon-fibre exterior pieces and black forged wheels. caranddriver.com

Kia’s electric SUV and van are getting a new job as police cars
Kia unveiled patrol versions of its EV5 SUV and PV5 van at the 2026 International Public Security Industry Exhibition in South Korea, fitted with custom lights, sirens, and police badging. The company called the EV5 a perfect fit for police use and pointed to electric cars' instant torque, lower maintenance, and near-silent operation. electrek.co

Kia believes it has a way to beat China’s cheap EVs in Canada
Kia is positioning the EV3 and a new lineup as affordable, well-equipped EV choices, with the EV3 starting at CAD $39,744 in Canada. The company says the timing of Canada’s deal allowing up to 49,000 Chinese EVs at a 6.1% tariff could be an opening, and COO Elias El-Achhab said Kia is trying to be the first affordable EV brand in the country. electrek.co

Foxconn pays $727M for half of Mitsubishi Electric’s car parts unit in EV push
Foxconn is buying a 50% stake in Mitsubishi Electric Mobility for ¥115 billion ($727 million), creating an equal joint venture to combine Mitsubishi Electric’s electric powertrain, software, and vehicle control technologies with Foxconn’s capabilities. Mitsubishi Electric Mobility is a traditional Tier 1 supplier that makes alternators, ignition coils, and radar sensors, and the deal values the business at an enterprise value of ¥320 billion ($2 billion), with closing expected on October 1, 2027, after antitrust reviews. electrek.co

Subaru is killing off gas cars and will only sell EVs in Europe
Subaru will stop selling combustion-engine cars in Europe by the end of 2027, blaming the European Union’s emissions and driver-assistance rules. The Outback ends production this year; the Impreza, Crosstrek, and Forester follow in 2027, and from 2028, Subaru will offer three Toyota-developed EVs: the Solterra, E-Outback, and Uncharted. electrek.co

Subaru Reveals First Details of New EV Platform Coming in 2029
Subaru has revealed early details of an in-house EV platform and shown a test mule based on an Outback with two compact electric motors delivering about 510 horsepower and all-wheel drive. Its new battery, developed with Panasonic Energy, uses 4,000 cylindrical cells and is claimed to be 25 percent lighter than Subaru’s previous pack. caranddriver.com

Toyota’s best-selling Corolla is going electric, and it will be made in China
Toyota will produce an electric Corolla in China starting in 2028, while continuing to offer hybrid and gas-powered versions. The next-generation compact was shown as a concept at the Japan Mobility Show and follows more than 57 million Corollas sold worldwide since 1966. electrek.co

Car buyers are demanding lower prices and better tech. Automakers must deliver both
Car buyers now expect both lower prices and better tech, but what they prioritize depends on the market. Bain found Chinese shoppers rank technology and features ahead of price, while buyers in the US and Europe still put price first, prompting Bain to tell automakers that Western firms must strengthen tech offerings and Chinese brands must build stronger prestige. cnbc.com

Polestar and Oxford wired up drivers to measure how performance feels
Researchers from the University of Oxford and Polestar fitted 12 drivers with eye trackers and heart-rate monitors and ran calm and dynamic laps at Gotland Ring in two versions of the Polestar 4. The 544 hp dual-motor with Performance pack produced 32% higher peak acceleration, required 15% less steering effort, and earned higher subjective experience scores than the 268 hp rear-motor car. electrek.co

Waymo plans to quintuple its fleet to 20,000 vehicles
Waymo plans to expand its fleet to about 20,000 vehicles, according to a report cited by Reuters, as the autonomous-ride company prepares for a larger commercial footprint. reuters.com

Waymo starts offering rides at the Las Vegas airport
Waymo is now picking up and dropping off passengers at Harry Reid International Airport, expanding Waymo One into a major tourist gateway. Riders can request trips through the Waymo One app, giving travellers an autonomous option alongside taxis, ride-hailing, and rental cars. techcrunch.com

Lucid’s 25,000 Bolt robotaxis will run on Nvidia’s self-driving software
Bolt will outfit at least 25,000 Lucid-built robotaxis with Nvidia’s Alpamayo Stack, beginning a data-collection program in Madrid in 2027. Alpamayo pairs "reasoning AI" with classical perception and planning on Nvidia’s Hyperion hardware with Halo’s safety tools, and Lucid already supplies vehicles running Nuro’s software for Uber’s Gravity robotaxis in the US. electrek.co

Uber rival inDrive eyes 2027 robotaxi tests in Central Asia with Pony.ai and Nvidia
InDrive will test Pony.ai’s Gen-7 robotaxis in Kazakhstan, with trials set to begin in Astana in the first half of 2027. The initial runs will include a safety operator; Nvidia will supply its Hyperion AI platform and Halos safety system, and inDrive plans to offer the vehicles through its ride-hailing app. techcrunch.com

Feds want robotaxis to signal ‘I’m driving’ with cyan-colored lights
NHTSA has proposed rewriting Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 to accommodate autonomous vehicles, including a requirement that driverless cars display a cyan-colored marker lamp when no human is at the wheel. The rulemaking would loosen lighting rules meant for human-driven cars and standardize how robotaxis communicate with pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users. theverge.com

You read the whole darn thing! Thank you.