Transportation

The case involves a woman passenger who sued Uber after being sexually assaulted by a driver, accusing the company of failing to take basic precautions to protect customers.

A Waymo made the unfortunate decision to drive on light rail tracks in Phoenix with a passenger inside while a train was approaching. The passenger made the right call to abandon the robotaxis, even if it meant getting out in the middle of traffic. Valley Metro, which oversees light rail service, says there were no significant delays as a result of the incident. This comes a few weeks after a blackout caused a massive Waymo traffic jam in San Francisco.

The charge is related to the automaker’s plans to reduce some of its EV production in the face of cooling demand and a less hospitable regulatory environment. It comes a week after Ford said it would take a similar financial hit on its EV investments, and a few months after GM took a $1.6 billion writedown on EVs. When will the EV bloodletting end?

Stellantis is discontinuing its plug-in hybrid lineup for Jeep and Chrysler, as the automaker pivots away from electrification to gas guzzlers and extended-range electric vehicles. It’s kind of a surprising move, given the sales momentum around hybrids these days in the face of slowing demand for EVs. But when you recall that Jeep’s 4xe lineup has been plagued by recalls, including one recently for a high-voltage battery defect that poses a risk for fire, than it starts to make a little more sense.

Waymo has a new name for its Zeekr-produced autonomous minivans that are set to roll out this year. Ojai, named for the city northwest of Los Angeles, was chosen because most American consumers aren’t familiar with the Geely-owned Zeekr brand, according to InsideEVs. That may be true, but try saying “Waymo Ojai” five times really fast.

The Sony-Honda brand unveiled the higher-riding, roomier equivalent to the Afeela 1 at its CES keynote earlier this week, saying it could go into production in 2028. While the luxury EV market is a bit saturated these days, the concept is sure to appeal to anyone who loves Afeela’s approach to in-car entertainment and wants more room than the sedan version offers.

The electric aviation company aims to double its manufacturing footprint as it plans to get its first commercial air taxi service off the ground in 2026. This is Joby’s second factory located in Dayton; it started production of propeller blades at its first facility late last year. The company has said it would launch its first air taxi service in Dubai later this year.

Afeela cars will get themes featuring Sony franchises like Gran Turismo and Astro Bot, including custom wallpapers and e-motor sounds. Driving with the delightful sounds of Astro Bot does feel like it could be fun.

Sorry, had to get the first Afeela pun out of the way ahead of the CES 2026 Sony Honda Mobility press conference. The shows kicks off at 8PM ET / 5PM PT, and you can watch it on YouTube.

The New York Times has a bunch of neat graphs depicting how the first year of congestion pricing in Manhattan has resulted in 27 million fewer car trips through the central business district. While we’re still partial to the Moshes Brothers’ tracking tool, this data is helpful for understanding how the new tolling scheme has led to faster commute times, cleaner air, and more funding for public transportation. Suck on that, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy! (I can say that because I live in New Jersey.)

The developer, who declined to name the company that employs them, writes that extra fees that seem designed to help delivery workers actually just go to into a “corporate slush fund used to lobby against driver unions.” They also claim that the company is engaging in tip theft by lowering a delivery driver’s base pay when paired with customers who are known to be generous tippers: “The result is that your generosity isn’t rewarding the driver; it’s subsidizing us. You’re paying their wage so we don’t have to.” There’s some debate as to whether the claims are as bad as the OP makes them seem, but it seems like there’s general agreement that the gist of the post is legit. Which company do you think this is about?

The automaker’s sales drop was a lot steeper than Tesla’s, recording a 31.3 percent year over year decline in the fourth quarter of 2025. For the whole year, Rivian sold 42,247 vehicles, an 18 percent drop compared to 2024. Both figures were in line with Rivian’s expectations, the company said.

In 2011, the Tesla CEO didn’t see BYD as a competitor, laughing out loud at the mere suggestion, just like Steve Ballmer did in response to the iPhone. Microsoft no longer makes phones, and the Chinese auto giant is expected to officially surpass Tesla in global annual sales for the first time.

The MTA stopped selling its iconic blue and yellow MetroCards as of January 1st, 2026, replacing them with the tap-to-pay OMNY system. The New York Times took the MetroCard for one final spin.

James Moylan passed away on December 11th at the age of 80. Moylan spent 34 years at Ford, where, according to Jalopnik, he came up with the “Moylan Arrow” in April 1986. The tiny arrow that helps you avoid pulling up on the wrong side of the fuel pump is so simple that it seems like it could have been there from the start, but it actually made its debut on the 1989 Ford Escort and Mercury Tracer.

According to Not A Tesla App, one owner shared a service message saying there’s an Engineering Investigation ongoing, and some service staff have said a third revision of the wiper is in testing.

In addition to an update for its power outage problem, Waymo is also working on an AI Ride Assistant. That’s according to security researcher Jane Manchun Wong, who found details on the bot’s system prompt from Waymo’s mobile app code.