Apple recently updated its CarPlay webpage to note that the phone projection system is available in 800 models, up from 600 the previous week. With General Motors planning to phase out CarPlay in its upcoming lineup of electric vehicles, it seems fair to ask whether this represents the most vehicles that will have ever have access to it. Or will CarPlay continue to grow, GM’s decision notwithstanding?
The latest “San Francisco residents hate all these robotaxis” dispatch just dropped, and it’s starting to seem that the complaints largely stem from our collective wish that autonomous vehicles would bend the everyday traffic rules that we, as humans, do everyday. Drive a little faster than you’re supposed to. Barrel ahead through thick fog and low visibility. Rolling stops. Double and triple parking. Maybe if the robot cars weren’t such fussy rule-followers we would like them more. Just saying.
Two days after the IRS published its list of EVs eligible for the federal tax credit, Rivian’s R1T truck and R1S SUV are back on. But the vehicles will only qualify for the half credit of $3,750, and only if you buy the version that costs less than the $80,000 MSRP cap. That’ll be tough, but it is technically possible. Two versions of the R1T, the dual motor with standard battery pack and the one with the larger battery, both retail for under $80,000, while only one version of the R1S will qualify.
The autonomous vehicle boom is fizzling. According to a recent report from F-Prime Capital, AV investments have “significantly slowed” in 2022, declining nearly 60 percent as compared to the previous year. That reflects an overall decline in robotics investment — $12 billion in 2022, down from $18 billion in 2021 — but it also speaks to the current reality facing many AV operators right now. They’re laying people off, struggling with regulators and a skeptical public, or shutting down altogether. In short, it’s tough out there for a robot car.
