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I’m back from vacation. What did I miss? It turns out, quite a lot — including the end of Uber-Waymo partnership in Phoenix. Uber and Waymo still have robot taxi service partnerships in Atlanta and Austin. The question is not ifbut when Do these agreements end? But that’s not the most exciting question, in my opinion. I’m far more intrigued by how these two companies will behave when the remaining partnerships end.
There’s already tension with Uber executives taking not-so-subtle shots at Waymo. I expect that when the partnerships end, these thinly veiled barbs will be replaced with more direct action. One battleground will be politics, specifically markets where robotaxi companies are eager to enter.
This week we saw another interesting development in the autonomous vehicle industry on the federal stage. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administrator Jonathan Morrison issued a directive to developers of autonomous vehicles declaring that it is unacceptable for their vehicles to interfere with first responders or law enforcement.
The money quote: “Let me be clear: the failure to detect and appropriately respond to such situations represents a functional inadequacy. Emergency scenes are not rare or extreme “edge cases.” As such, NHTSA is issuing a call to action today to AV developers and operators to immediately focus their resources on addressing this problem.”
Morrison’s letter never calls out any robot taxi company, and it was sent to every AV developer listed in the Department of Transportation’s Standing General Order. But Morrison certainly appears to be directing the agency’s ire against Waymo.
A previous TechCrunch investigation found that Waymo — which operates the largest robotaxi fleet in the U.S., with vehicles in cities like Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco — has had repeated run-ins with first responders. And just this week, San Francisco supervisor Bilal Mahmood said he plans to submit a letter of inquiry to examine how autonomous vehicles affected public transit services and emergency personnel after a July 4 fireworks display that resulted in massive gridlock. Local news outlets reported that several Waymo robo-taxis had to be towed after running out of power during the long traffic jam.
Morrison’s letter has gravitas. But will there be significant consequences for AV developers? It’s hard to say at this point. So far, NHTSA has required companies to present the agency with “solutions” by the end of the month.
Another news from FB. Take a look at the new 2026 Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda, which was updated last week. It contains a long list of proposed changes to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) requirements, which govern vehicle design and equipment requirements. These proposed changes could help autonomous vehicle companies like Tesla and Zooxwhich develops vehicles without steering wheels, pedals or other features required of human-driven cars.
A little bird
Do you have a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.
Offer!
We usually focus on venture deals, but this week I wanted to highlight Rivian and the sale of 86.25 million Class A shares at a price of $15.50 each (that includes an additional 11.25 million in additional shares that the underwriters elected to purchase).
In total, Rivian said it expects to raise $1.32 billion in new capital. The increase comes at a notable time for the EV maker. The company began delivering its new R2 SUV last month and recently raised its sales forecast for 2026. The company said it now expects to deliver between 65,000 and 70,000 vehicles after beating its own expectations in the second quarter due to robust quarter-over-quarter growth in EDV and R1, combined with the introduction of R2 deliveries.
The company did not explain the reason for the increase. But as a reminder, Rivian is not yet profitable and scaling up production of the R2 – or any vehicle for that matter – is not cheap!
Other offers that caught my attention…
Prayer busa Los Angeles-based startup that built a digital marketplace where multiple dealers can bid on a car raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Ibex Investors. Mucker Capital, FJ Labs, Motley Fool Ventures, Data Point Capital, Walter Ventures and Car Dealership Guy’s Yossi Levi also participated.
Lyft said it plans to acquire Serveo’s bicycle parts business in Spain. Terms were not disclosed, but the company said it expects to close this year.
TaiSana UK battery startup, raised £4.65 million in a seed funding round led by Eos Advisory and Midlands Engine Investment Fund II. InnoEnergy, AFI Ventures, EverQuest Capital Partners, Exergon, Heartfelt Ventures, Adeline Arts & Science, Techmind, angel investor François Badelon and matching funding from Innovate UK also participated.
Notable reads and other goodies
AssuranceAmericaa US insurance provider, confirmed a data breach that affected the personal information and driver’s license numbers of 6.9 million people, making it the largest known leak of Americans’ driver’s license information this year.
Beta Technologiesthe electric vehicle takeoff and landing developer, completed operational flights conducted under the US Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration’s new eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. The flights covered about 275 nautical miles covering Virginia and Maryland.
Longtime supporters of Tesla will remember the heady days when Elon Musk fought against various short sellers of the company’s stock. Musk is more polarizing than ever, and one exchange-traded fund creator has found a way to capitalize on the negative sentiment with two new anti-Elon exchange-traded funds.
GM the Chevrolet brand built an all-American electric car. Senior reporter Tim De Chant asks: Why isn’t anyone buying it?
Manna Aerothe Irish-based autonomous drone delivery startup is scaling up in the US with a factory and operations center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which it says will employ 1,000 in the next few years.
Slate Auto merged with Crayola to offer its EV truck and SUV customers vehicle wraps in five crayons. (Reminder: The basic Slate EV vehicle isn’t painted. Instead, it comes in a gray composite that can be customized with a vehicle wrap. The company has hundreds of options to choose from.)
One more thing…
TechCrunch podcast Build mode just launched its third season, and it’s a blast. Build Mode is hosted by Isabelle Johannessen, who leads TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield program. Unlike Equity—the TC podcast I co-host with Anthony Ha and Sean O’Kane—Build Mode is designed to help early-stage founders.
The new season starts with Precursor Ventures founder and managing partner Charles Hudsonthat talks about what early-stage founders need to know before raising their first institutional round.
Check it out: The New Rules of Early Fundraising with Charles Hudson.
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