Andrew J. Hawkins

We may found out soon enough, as TechCrunch senior reporter (and Verge alumni) Sean O’Kane discovered that Bezos is secretly funding an EV startup called Slate Auto. The company is connected to another Bezos venture, Re: Build Manufacturing, and is reportedly working on a two-door, sub-$25,000 electric pickup as its first EV. Slate is also planning a lineup of accessories for owners to customize their vehicles. Sounds interesting, but I don’t envy Bezos trying to launch a new EV company amid market chaos and a global trade war. To be sure, the guy loves competing with Elon Musk!

The Amazon-owned autonomous vehicle company said it was bringing its retrofitted test vehicles to Los Angeles, equipped with safety drivers, as it gets closer to launching a public service. Zoox now operates test vehicles in the Bay Area, including San Francisco, Las Vegas, Seattle, Austin, and Miami. And it plans on launching publicly in Las Vegas and San Francisco later this year. LA is already has one robotaxi service operated by Alphabet’s Waymo — though its unclear when Zoox will make its vehicles available to the public there.

Palace intrigue is back, baby! The feud started Saturday morning, when Elon Musk blasted trade advisor Peter Navarro on X (now deleted), saying “he ain’t built shit.” Navarro responded on Fox News that Musk “doesn’t understand” trade deficits, and dismissed him as a “car assembler.” That lead to Musk’s most recent retort, calling Navarro “truly a moron” and “dumber than a sack of bricks.” Musk also defended Tesla as “the most American-made cars,” but has also acknowledged that the company is still exposed to tariffs through some of its imports.

With 25 percent tariffs on all car imports now in effect, Jeep’s parent company is mulling ways help mitigate the negative effects of the new fees. So far, those plans have included employee discounts for customers and temporary layoffs of factory workers. Now Stellantis is considering a program in which its suppliers could apply for financial assistance in paying the new tariffs, Bloomberg reports. It’s unclear how much help Stellantis would provide, or even how long this help could last. But it’s an example of the lengths the auto industry is willing to go to avoid having to pass the full cost along to customers.

Security researcher Jane Manchun Wong has discovered another hidden Waymo gem, this time related to the robotaxi operator’s use of footage from its interior cameras to train generative AI. According to a screenshot of an unreleased privacy policy, Waymo is offering customers the opportunity to opt-out from having their “personal information,” including “interior camera data associated with your identity,” to train generative AI models. Waymo uses this data to “tailor products, services, ads, and offers to your interests.” Coming soon to a robotaxi near you?