Andrew J. Hawkins

Transportation editor

Andrew J. HawkinsJan 30

It turns out Elon Musk didn’t exactly ‘refuse’ the invite to Jeffrey Epstein’s island.

“Epstein tried to get me to go to his island and I REFUSED,” Musk tweeted last year. But in newly released documents, Musk is revealed to have emailed Epstein several times about visiting his island. “What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?” Musk asked in a November 2012 email.

“When should we head to your island on the 2nd?” Musk again asked Epstein in a December 2013 email. There’s a lot more: searching “Elon Musk” in the Justice Department’s Epstein database currently generates 1,122 results.

Epstein Library

[Justice Department]

Tesla throws in the towel on car sales

Andrew J. HawkinsJan 30

Gavin Newsom wants to resurrect the EV tax credits that Trump killed.

California will outline its own $200 million EV incentive program next week, after officials meet with Detroit automakers to discuss the next phases of its plan to regulate tailpipe emissions. The Trump administration has eliminated incentives for EV purchases, stymied energy efficiency policies, and gutted pollution regulations in general. California is challenging those efforts in court.

California accelerates work on EV rules, tax credits that Trump opposes, state's top air regulator says

[Reuters]

Waymo is finally starting passenger trips at SFO — but not to the terminals

Andrew J. HawkinsJan 29

Gemini will be your tour guide while using Google’s walking directions.

Google says you can now use the AI chatbot to ask questions while using walking or cycling directions in Google Maps, which already worked for driving directions.

When you’re exploring around town and navigating with Maps, Gemini can be your personal walking tour guide. Just ask, “OK Google, what neighborhood am I in?” If you’re hungry, follow up with “What are top-rated restaurants nearby?” and Gemini will recommend delicious options along your route based on Maps’ fresh, comprehensive information about the real world.

Update: Google’s blog post says it’s rolling out now on both iOS and Android.

Waymo robotaxi hits a child near a school, causing minor injuries

Andrew J. HawkinsJan 29

Tesla discontinuing Model S and Model X to make room for robots

Andrew J. HawkinsJan 28

Elon Musk invests $2 billion in Elon Musk.

In its earnings report today, Tesla disclosed a $2 billion investment in xAI “as part of their recent publicly-disclosed financing round.” Bloomberg reported earlier this year that xAI, which also owns X.com and the Grok AI chatbot, burned about $7.8 billion in the first nine months of 2025. Tesla claims that the investment in xAI is “intended to enhance Tesla’s ability to develop and deploy AI products and services into the physical world at scale.”

Tesla Q4 2025 earnings report

[Tesla]