Andrew J. Hawkins

Houston is the next city in the US to get a robotaxi service, courtesy of Cruise, which just announced the launch today. The driverless vehicles will be available seven days a week from 9PM-6AM in Downtown, Midtown, East Downtown, Montrose, Hyde Park, and River Oaks neighborhoods. Robotaxi companies have been targeting bigger, more populous markets, as the pressure to start bringing in more revenue continues to grow. Waymo just started testing the waters in LA, and now Cruise is going after the fourth biggest city in the US.

This opinion piece in the New York Times argues we’re “driving blind” when it comes to autonomous vehicles, citing recent robotaxi crashes in San Francisco and the growing number of fatal Tesla Autopilot incidents. The writer argues that while the federal government regulates hardware, and the states oversee drivers, there’s no one testing to see whether the software operating these vehicles is up to snuff. And that amounts to “a loophole large enough for Elon Musk, General Motors and Waymo to drive thousands of cars through.”

Earlier this year, Tesla teased an image of a Model 3 parked on top of what appeared to be a wireless charging pad. Speculation grew when it was reported that Tesla was acquiring Wiferion, a German wireless charging startup known for inductive charging technology for industrial robots and EVs. Now, just a few months later, Tesla has reportedly sold the company to another German company, PULS. Robot Report suggests it was an “acqui-hire” move, in which Tesla hires the engineers and then sells off the assets.

The United Auto Workers have scored a major win in negotiations with General Motors. The automaker has agreed to place its EV battery factory under the union’s “master agreement,” which came after the UAW made it clear that it planned on expanding its strike to include some of GM’s most profitable facilities.