Andrew J. Hawkins

Uber and one of the ridehail company’s many robotaxi partners, Wayve, announced today that they will begin testing Level 4 autonomous vehicles in London on public roads as soon as 2026. The timing coincides with the UK Secretary of State for Transport’s announcement of “an accelerated framework for self-driving commercial pilots, following the Automated Vehicles Act becoming law last month. Trials have been underway for a while, but always with a safety driver in the front seat. Now the companies can remove the driver from the vehicle, but in doing so they will accept full liability if the vehicle crashes.

Did something happen today?

The ship, operated by UK-based Zodiac Maritime, was abandoned off the coast of Alaska after sailors were unable to contain the blaze. According to The Register, the ship was loaded with around 3,000 vehicles, 800 of which were EVs. Nearly two dozen sailors were rescued by the US Coast Guard. I’m reminded the last time this exact thing happened in 2022.

That’s the assessment from US Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who just released a 300-page report (PDF) detailing key findings, including “missed deadlines, budget shortfalls, and overrepresentation of projected ridership.” Duffy is ordering the agency in charge of the project to respond in 37 days, or risk contract terminations. And he frames the demand as being “good stewards” of US tax dollars — even as Trump’s “big beautiful bill” is projected to grow the federal deficit to $2.4 trillion. Of course, Trump has been angling to kneecap California’s high-speed rail project for years now.