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Sean O’Kane writes that two focus on chief designer Jeff Hammoud, with one claiming HR failed to discipline him for being “prone to irrational outbursts of anger” that were “often directed at women in leadership.”
These previously unreported lawsuits and settlements follow the now-settled lawsuit from 2021, where a former exec said Rivian had a “toxic bro culture that marginalizes women.”
The company has been trading emails with the city’s autonomous vehicle taskforce about deploying a robotaxi service next year, according to Bloomberg. Texas has fewer regulatory hurdles for autonomous vehicle operators than California. But there are still a lot of unanswered questions. Austin residents: be on the lookout for driverless Teslas hopping curbs and rear-ending other cars.
The struggling EV company said it was furloughing 88 employees and idling its factories in Oklahoma “while it works to finalize securing the capital necessary to move forward with its operations.” Canoo has delivered EVs to NASA and the US Army. But one-off deliveries to government agencies can’t float an entire business.
The automaker has received the green light to push new Drive Pilot software that enables its cars to operate as fast as 95km/h (just shy of 60mph) on the Autobahn.
Level 3 autonomous systems still require a driver behind the wheel, but they can go hands-free and even distract themselves by doing something else, like watching a movie.
The self-driving computer in some new Teslas is apparently failing, according to Electrek:
The problem is linked to a new version of Tesla’s HW4 (sometimes called AI4) onboard self-driving computer. Internally, some refer to the new version as AI4.1. The computers are short-circuiting. The cause is still being investigated, but one source told Electrek that one of the possible causes is the low-voltage battery short-circuiting the computer during the camera calibration process.
The full report has more, including that remedies could include a computer replacement or a potential software patch that Electrek says would “help temporarily.”
The VW-owned exotic brand had planned to release an EV in 2028 based on the Lanzador EV concept revealed last year. At a press event in Italy, Lamborghini president Stephan Winkelmann told reporters, “We do not think 2029 is late to have an electric car. We do not think that, in our segment, the market will be ready in 2025 or 2026.” Lamborghini did make time to launch the Temerario plug-in hybrid this year.
Shaquille O’Neal ordered a custom coupe version of the electric sedan, equipped with floating Superman-logo center caps on the wheels and a front rebadge that replaces “Lucid” with “Diesel.”
He’s gifted his extra long legs with a custom-stretched Lamborghini before.
Ford UI supervisor Ruth Vann shares news on a Sync 4A update that puts all the camera feeds on one screen, migrates settings like Pro Trailer Hitch Assist and Zone Lighting into easier-to-access apps, and merges audio sources into one Media app.
Less touching and more eyes on the road is probably better for anyone driving an almost 7,000-pound electric pickup.
The project will add a new 1 million-square-foot painting facility at its Georgetown location. Toyota had already invested $1.3 billion into the Kentucky site in February to kick off its electrification efforts.
Zheng Gao worked at Tesla for eight years, most recently as head of autopilot hardware design. He also spent nine years at Apple on its connector and input device product design team. At Zoox, he’ll lead the hardware engineering team, where he’ll be under pressure to meet the Amazon-owned company’s deadline to launch a commercial robotaxi service in 2025. Zoox’s co-founder has previously dinged Tesla for promoting self-driving technology that “doesn’t work.”
The mail agency was supposed to have 3,000 electric delivery trucks by November, but instead defense contractor Oshkosh has only delivered 93. And the trucks that have been delivered are in rough shape:
The trucks required significant fixes before they could be declared fit for use. Oshkosh employees found parts installed incorrectly, shoddy construction and faulty software, according to three people familiar with the situation.
[The Washington Post]
Last year, Joseph Inzerillo announced SiriusXM’s new logo (below) and plan to conquer new audiences. Now he’s out, as the company cuts spending on marketing to “high-churn” streaming audiences with plans to cut an additional $200 million in annual costs.
CEO Jennifer Witz announced it’s “doubling down” on automotive customers, using streaming as a companion in the app and in Teslas.
The US Postal Service is supposed to add 66,000 electric trucks to its fleet by 2028 using $3 billion from Biden’s climate legislation. But Reuters is now saying that Donald Trump is likely to kill the effort by cancelling the contracts with supplying automakers Oshkosh and Ford. It’s yet another example of Trump’s eagerness to unspool his predecessor’s efforts to promote EVs.
Dodge is getting ready to launch its first electric muscle car, the Charger Daytona. And clearly the company is feeling a little insecure about alienating its so-called “Brotherhood of Muscle.” The first ad strikes a weirdly combative tone, rejecting the environmental case for going electric and bashing other EVs on the road as “weak” and “soulless.” Meanwhile, influencers got their first taste of the Charger’s fake “Fratzonic Chambered” exhaust noises this week. And most people say they think it sounds like Roblox.
The auto manufacturers? The insurers? The NHTSA just fell down on the job? Could be that more people just drive with their brights on all the time. Personally, I think we should send all of them to the Hague to get this sorted out.
Shout out to r/fuckyourheadlights, a bastion of sanity.
[www.theringer.com]
