Andrew J. Hawkins

Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle company has “reached a preliminary agreement” with the world’s largest automaker “to explore a collaboration focused on accelerating the development and deployment of autonomous driving technologies,” according to a just-published blogpost. Does that mean we’ll soon be getting driverless Rav4s? Too soon to say, but the agreement also includes Woven, which is Toyota’s autonomous subsidiary. And the announcement specifically mention’s Toyota’s expertise to enhance next-generation personally owned vehicles (POVs)” — which we know is on the mind of Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.

Robyn Denholm, who was appointed chair of Tesla’s board of directors after the SEC forced Elon Musk to step down, just sold over $32 million worth of shares in the company. As Electrek notes, it appears that she is close to liquidating her entire position in Tesla, with only 85,000 shares left and 300,440 stock options expiring later this year. Several Tesla investors have urged the board to rein in Musk, who’s political alliance with the Trump administration has done irreparable damage to the company’s brand. But under Denholm’s leadership, the board has done essentially nothing to curb Musk’s worst tendencies.

The excellent Tim Stevens joins The Vergecast to talk all things Slate, which recently unveiled its first product, an extremely barebones, all-electric, two-seater pickup truck.

More incoming tariff flip-flopping from the White House, The Wall Street Journal reports today. Trump is expected to rollback some duties on automakers so they don’t end up paying for multiple tariffs on materials like on steel and aluminum. You know, they stuff they usually make cars out of. And here’s the kicker: Trump may end up actually reimbursing some car companies for their tariffs based on the value of the vehicle! Folks, this is what real leadership looks like. According to the Journal:

The state’s Department of Motor Vehicles proposed updating its autonomous vehicle regulations to include testing heavy-duty trucks. California currently allows light-duty autonomous vehicles, but not ones weighing over 10,001 pounds. Labor groups have tried passing legislation requiring human safety operators in autonomous trucks, but California Governor Gavin Newsom has vetoed the bill twice.