Andrew J. Hawkins

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe confirmed in an earnings call today that the company has “amended” its deal with Amazon to allow it to sell electric vans to other companies. Rivian still plans to deliver 100,000 vans to Amazon eventually. But now it can also make deals with other companies too. This is good for Rivian because its delivery van has better profit margins than its R1T truck and R1S SUV. Scaringe said it will have several pilot programs with new companies to announce in the coming months.

Normally, going on strike means forgoing your salary as a condition of withholding your labor from your employers. Not so for the United Auto Workers. According to the Wall Street Journal, UAW members are set to receive an average of $100 a day for the time they were out on strike. Who’s paying this money, you may ask? Why, the automakers of course: Ford, GM, and Stellantis. It’s an incredibly unusual arrangement and a sign of the union’s commanding victory in its dealings with the companies.

A couple weeks ago, I flew out to Hollywood to check out Serve Robotics, a company that’s using a fleet of shopping cart-sized robots to make Uber Eats deliveries. We spoke to the people who are working behind-the-scenes to make robot delivery happen, including supervisors, field agents, and even the CEO. We even interviewed the guy behind the viral TikTok account where he just yells at the robots.