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Senior reporter (and resident battery skilled) Tim De Chant traveled to Normal Motors’ sprawling Warren Technical Middle exterior Detroit to study extra concerning the automaker’s plans to scale back the price of its subsequent slate of EVs. The upshot: GM is banking on LMR batteries and a brand new Battery Cell Growth Middle that’s seen because the bridge between its R&D efforts and full-scale manufacturing.
Kurt Kelty, GM’s VP of battery and sustainability, offered contemporary particulars concerning the firm’s $900 million initiative and the way this new chemistry will protect vary whereas slashing prices. As an illustration, the Chevrolet Silverado EV could possibly be $6,000 cheaper. Read the story here.
As with most corporations lately, AI additionally makes a cameo look. Though I ought to observe that AI performs greater than only a supporting position at GM. I not too long ago interviewed Sterling Anderson, GM’s chief product officer, and Jason Fischer, who’s govt director of digital integration engineering, about among the modifications inside the corporate and the way it’s utilizing AI. That story is coming subsequent week, however I’ll provide you with a little bit of a teaser.
GM is utilizing a group of out of doors AI fashions, in addition to ones it has created in-house that can be utilized throughout massive swaths of the enterprise and that — right here’s the punchline — will velocity up its automobile growth cycle. I’ll have extra particulars in my article, and don’t fear, for those who miss it, I’ll spotlight it in subsequent week’s e-newsletter.
Lastly, final week I wrote concerning the Ferrari Luce EV and the way it doesn’t matter that it has been so broadly criticized. I obtained some fantastic emails from you all on the subject — thanks! The ballot, nonetheless, confirmed that as a lot protection because the Luce obtained, lots of you actually don’t care about it.
Within the ballot I requested, ‘Do you adore it, hate it, or detached to it?’ Most of you, about 44%, are detached, whereas the rest are equally cut up between love and hate.
The extra I take into consideration the way forward for the Luce EV, the extra I believe this may develop into a ragebait buy amongst those that can afford it and are deemed worthy by Ferrari to purchase it.
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Offers!
The looming SpaceX IPO is the deal of the last decade, definitely for the bankers and for CEO Elon Musk. However it might additionally have an effect on Tesla shareholders.
As a part of the IPO registration course of, an organization will typically file quite a few amendments earlier than making its public markets debut. SpaceX has filed a couple of already. And our eagle-eyed senior reporter Sean O’Kane noticed a brand new sentence added to the S-1 doc that has some huge implications: “We might concern a big quantity of fairness in reference to future transactions.”
Whereas it’s definitely doable that SpaceX will use the $75 billion it’s anticipated to boost to snap up a wide range of corporations, the more than likely M&A goal is Tesla. This sentence was included within the threat elements and seems to be making ready future buyers for the opportunity of a serious dilution occasion. Read the full story.
There’s one other attention-grabbing deal noticed by O’Kane — this time involving Carvana and Slate Auto, the electrical automobile startup backed by Jeff Bezos. In line with paperwork obtained by TechCrunch, Carvana has been granted the option to invest in Slate Auto. As O’Kane notes in his article, this might trace at a deeper partnership between the 2 corporations.
Different offers that obtained extra consideration …
Layup Elements, a startup making an attempt to develop into the Amazon of composite components, raised $42 million in a Sequence A funding spherical led by dual-use enterprise fund Marlinspike, with participation from new buyers Cerberus Ventures and Pinegrove Enterprise Companions, in addition to present backers Founders Fund and Lux Capital.
Mach Industries, the three-year-old protection tech startup that now has 5 autonomous automobiles in growth, raised a $300 million Sequence C at a $1.8 billion valuation. The spherical was led by Infinite Capital and Ribbit Capital and contains backing from Bedrock Capital, Sequoia Capital, and Khosla Ventures.
Molfar Defence Applied sciences, a Polish-Ukrainian protection startup creating anti-drone radar techniques, closed the primary tranche of its €2 million funding spherical. Swedish investor Entrance Ventures dedicated €1.5 million, Tech.Eu reported.
Spiro, the African electrical mobility startup, raised $215 million in a spherical that pushed its valuation near $1 billion, Bloomberg reported.
Notable reads and different tidbits
Avride CEO Dmitry Polishchuk shared a few stats concerning the autonomous automobile startup on LinkedIn. The corporate has accomplished 60,000 journeys for Uber riders in Dallas since launching in December. (Avride robotaxis present up on the Uber app in Dallas.) The corporate’s fleet of automobiles, which incorporates check automobiles and the Uber robotaxis, has pushed greater than 1.3 million miles, with one million of that lined within the first 5 months of 2026.
Lectric eBikes launched its third model in six months — an initiative the corporate has sunk about $10 million into. How is that this seven-year-old firm increasing whereas so many others tanked? I dug into the corporate a bit and interviewed its co-founder to seek out out. Read the full story.
Uber’s annual Misplaced & Discovered Index has offered a moderately quirky anthropological snapshot of its riders over the previous decade. This 12 months, the corporate additionally launched a listing of things left in robotaxis which might be obtainable through the Uber app. There are some odd gadgets on the record! It additionally obtained me eager about how Uber is clearly discovering each means doable to push into — and become profitable from — the nascent autonomous automobile trade. To my level: Uber is planning to place 500 data-collection vehicles on the street this 12 months as a part of its new AV Labs division.
Waymo had a few attention-grabbing information gadgets this week. One among its robotaxis was used in a burglary and the case sheds some gentle on how Waymo handles all that rider footage it collects. And the Alphabet-owned firm introduced a cope with B2U to make use of the batteries from its retired all-electric robotaxis to support electricity grids in California and Texas.
Woven Capital, Toyota’s development fund, promoted Jarek Khoilian and Manas Punhani as principals. Reminder: Woven Capital launched its $800 million fund II in September 2025.
Yet another factor …
With Subaru rolling out some new EVs, I believed it could be good to remind myself what the unique was like. I’m speaking concerning the Solterra, which was born out of a partnership between Toyota and Subaru to collectively develop a platform devoted to battery electrical automobiles.
I spent every week with a pearl-white 2026 Subaru Solterra premium trim mannequin that begins at $38,495. Placing apart for a second that my buddy’s Ring digicam recognized the Solterra as a mini golf cart, this EV does have one thing to supply. Yeah, it’s primary. And certain, it’s not going to fireside off the road like a Tesla, Lucid, or Porsche Taycan. However it doesn’t have to.
The headline right here is that the Solterra has gotten higher — and it actually wanted it.
The 2026 mannequin has a bunch of notable updates that enhance the ability, vary, and usefulness.
The entrance and rear motors have been up to date — together with a brand new controller that improves energy distribution and management — and collectively produce an improved 233 horsepower (the XT trim pushes it as much as 388 hp). Like most different EVs on the market, the Solterra now has an built-in NACS charging port, the system developed by Tesla. The vary has additionally improved to an EPA-estimated 288 miles, which is notable contemplating Subaru elevated the battery capability by solely 2 kWh and managed to extend the vary by greater than 50 miles. There’s additionally a preconditioning setting to arrange the battery for a cost, which significantly improves the charging time.
Subaru revamped the tech inside as nicely, including a 14-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and making wi-fi 15 W smartphone chargers for traditional.
Subaru doesn’t supply true one-pedal driving within the Solterra, a regular bearer of EVs. As an alternative, the Subaru has paddles situated on the again of the steering wheel that allow you to enhance the regenerative braking in order for you. However it received’t come to an entire cease like different fashionable EVs which have one-pedal driving. Whereas longtime EV homeowners could be turned off by this, it could possibly be extra enticing to automobile patrons who need their EV to behave like their previous gas-powered automobile.
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