Andrew J. Hawkins

Transportation editor

Andrew J. HawkinsMar 28, 2023

The Succession-lidar connection revealed.

Watching the Season 4 premier of Succession, I remember asking myself, what’s up with this opulent mansion where the Roy children are plotting their comeback? Who lives there? Why so many statues? So many questions!

The answer blew my mind. The mansion, which is located in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, is owned by Austin Russell, the 28-year-old co-founder and CEO of Luminar, the lidar manufacturer and autonomous vehicle software company. As ex-Uber CEO Travis Kalanick once said, “Laser is the sauce.” How true.

The mansion in Succession’s season 4 premiere belongs to a real-life billionaire with a struggling company

[Quartz]

Andrew J. HawkinsMar 27, 2023

Important Tesla Cybertruck windshield wiper update.

We here at The Verge are heavily invested in the greatest debate of our time: what kind of windshield wiper Tesla will eventually install on its hilariously impractical Cybertruck. Previous versions include comically large and comically undersized. Now, according to Electrek, it appears Tesla is toying with the idea of no wiper at all. Just naked and free. The EV version of Drew Barrymore joyfully dancing in the rain.

Who needs a windshield wiper anyway?

Image: Cybertruck Owners Club

Lucid Motors recalls Lucid Air sedan for a defect that could cause a loss of power

Andrew J. HawkinsMar 27, 2023

Ford teases new ‘Millennium Falcon’-like electric truck, codenamed ‘Project T3’

Andrew J. HawkinsMar 24, 2023

Andrew J. HawkinsMar 22, 2023

The Great American Bus Crisis.

A private bus route from my town in New Jersey to New York City was just cancelled because the pandemic has wiped out ridership. But apparently the problem is much, much worse than just that one route.

Nearly half of private US bus companies have shut down since 2019, according to the American Bus Association, and more could close as work-from-home policies have altered commuting patterns and more people turn to driving amid the pandemic.
“There were about 3,000 bus companies in 2019, there’s closer to 1,500 or 1,600 bus companies left,” American Bus Association President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Pantuso said in an interview. “It’s possible we could lose more.”

That is very bad.

New Jersey to NYC Commuters Face Disruption as DeCamp Bus Route Ends

[Bloomberg.com]

The E-BIKE Act is back and better than ever

Andrew J. HawkinsMar 22, 2023

Pete Buttigieg still believes in smart cities

The US Department of Transportation is making a big bet on smart city technology with the release of $94.8 million in federal funding. But in an interview, Secretary Buttigieg warned that not every project ‘is going to prove out.’

Andrew J. HawkinsMar 22, 2023

Waymo is taking on the task of writing a safety case for the entire AV industry

Andrew J. HawkinsMar 22, 2023

Andrew J. HawkinsMar 21, 2023

This may be one of the best Tesla burns I’ve ever read.

Tucked away in this Bloomberg report about growing concerns in Biden-land about Elon Musk’s status as an “untouchable” rich guy with lots of foreign entanglements in this absolute gem (emphasis mine):

One US official described Tesla as a Chinese company with an American subsidiary. The company’s factory in Shanghai accounted for more than half of its global production last year. Biden himself has said that the entrepreneur’s foreign ties are “worthy of being looked at.”

10/10. No notes.

Elon Musk's Twitter Purchase May Have Put Him Out of Reach of Washington

[Bloomberg.com]