Andrew J. Hawkins

InsideEVs has a good breakdown of how much each version of Rivian’s newly announced second-generation R1T and R1S vehicles is going to cost. Tellingly, the company has yet to put a price to its monster quad-motor trim, with 1,025 hp, 1,190 lb-ft of torque, and a 0-60mph time of under 2.5 seconds. I suppose the company wants to let the specs breath before clubbing you over the head with the amount.

The robotaxi company now covers 315 square miles in Metro Phoenix, making it “the largest autonomous ride-hail territory in the United States” — a totally real and not-at-all-made-up superlative. Even so, the incremental growth shows that Waymo is getting more confident in its driverless capabilities. But some argue the real confidence is when it can start adding multiple new cities in a year. And Waymo still feels like it’s not quite there yet.

Ford CEO Jim Farley touted a recent milestone: 200 million miles traveled for customers using the automaker’s hands-free driver assist system, BlueCruise. That’s enough for a roundtrip from the Earth to the Sun. Meanwhile, Tesla said its customers using Full Self-Driving have gone over 1 billion miles — or enough for a trip to Saturn. Who will be the first to reach Pluto?

Under a new state bill, cities could limit the number of autonomous vehicles on their roads, and set maximum fares that companies could charge. The bill, which passed the State Senate and is now being considered by the Assembly, is in response to a number of incidents in which robotaxis blocked emergency vehicles or caused traffic jams. Lawmakers say they want to regulate robotaxis the same way they do human-driven for-hire vehicles.

The GM-owned robotaxi company is manually testing its cars in the Texas capitol, as it continues to slowly work its way back to some semblance of a commercial service. Cruise is also operating some of its vehicles in autonomous mode in Phoenix. The company suspended its robotaxi service last year after one of its vehicle struck and drug a pedestrian for over 20 feet in San Francisco.