Transpo

Jeep owner Stellantis is working on a system that adds autonomy to its iconic SUV — and we’re not talking about highway driving... this is for 4x4 adventures.

In a teaser video we see two Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe hybrids with camera-looking equipment. One moves sans a driver while the automaker’s head of AI holds an iPad like a real off-roader.

That’s Audi’s German-language slogan meaning “advancement through technology.” Today, the automaker is living by these words remotely through its introduction of an in-car Cisco Webex meetings app designed for hybrid work.

Select 2024 Audi and future VW Group vehicles will have Webex available to download from the automaker’s in-car app store (or, you could tell your boss that they aren’t and have a peaceful commute), which includes TikTok as an option. The Cisco-Audi partnership comes after Webex became available on 2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Ford vehicles, plus in-car Zoom in a Tesla.

The EV charging guide app now has 3.5 million users according to EVgo, which acquired PlugShare in 2021. PlugShare’s been a boon to hundreds of early EV adopters looking for chargers. The interface is showing its age compared to Google Maps, but PlugShare users have logged over 6.5 million checkins worldwide and share useful tips on almost every charging station.

This was probably inevitable after Kitty Hawk, the ambitious “flying car” startup funded by Google co-founder Larry Page, shut down last year. Wisk was formed in 2019 as a joint venture with Kitty Hawk and aerospace giant Boeing, so without Kitty Hawk, Boeing had the choice to either cut off funding for Wisk completely or acquire the startup. It went with option B.

Swiss tennis player Roger Federer is the latest celebrity to cameo in Google’s navigation app Waze, and he’s doing so in not one, not two, but three languages: English, French, and German.

Plenty of celebrities including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terry Crews, and Stephen Colbert have leant their voice to Waze over the years, but Federer is the first to do it in this many languages.

Meet the Baojun Yep EV with a stated range of 303km (188 miles). It’s made by the GM joint venture SGMW for the Chinese market and features a “car watch” screen on the tailgate that can display different designs.

It’s proof that SUVs don’t, in fact, need to be giant child killers priced over $30k and powered by dinosaur juice.

The British automaker issued a recall for 6,400 electric I-PACE vehicles due to fire risks from an over-heated battery. Included in that recall is an undisclosed number of driverless Waymo vehicles. A spokesperson for the company said it was working with Jaguar on a software update that should fix the issue.

Car dealers are some of the richest, weirdest, most politically powerful, hard partying, and conservative people in the United States. They are also in complete denial about the increasing popularity of electric vehicles, according to this endlessly fascinating story in Slate. Case in point: over two-thirds of dealerships don’t have any EVs on the lot. Slate went to Texas for the annual dealership convention, NADA, which was suffuse with existential angst about battery-powered cars.

So there it was: Dealers stand between many electric cars and most American car buyers, but they aren’t just going to lay down and let some zero-emissions playthings roll them over. Some, I heard over and over, would rather not deal than deal with someone else’s dictates.

I mean, sure, seats that vibrate to music is... interesting? But why’d Land Rover have to say it promotes wellness? I’ll only believe if it studies show that it reduces road rage.

Electric bike maker Cowboy is in an intellectual property dispute over the new AdaptivePower feature it released in March via a free software update. Seems the company was originally developing the tech to automatically overcome resistance like wind and hills through a partnership with eBikeLabs before terminating the contract sometime last year. Unsurprisingly, eBikeLabs feels cheated. Coincidence? Decide for yourself after reading TechCrunch’s excellent explainer.

The once-meaningful TiVo brand (now owned by Xperi) wasn’t saved by launching its Android TV dongle, but it isn’t gone yet.

Dave Zatz points out that despite a delay in its plans for TiVo OS smart TVs, the company announced last week it scored a placement with BMW for in-car access to streaming and linear video content.

BMW’s implementation of the Powered by TiVo™ platform will include a variety of country-specific content, offering news, movies and access to media libraries. The video media platform is expected to roll out over-the-air in initial launch countries by the end of 2023 for customers of the all-new BMW 5 series and further models.

The new 5 Series sedans are first up, including the new all-electric version with almost 300 miles of range.

The Washington Post reports regulators have hit Elon Musk’s Boring Company with multiple complaints over careless, unpermitted work in Bastrop County, Texas.

Elon’s “Snailbrook” plans to build a private community around his SpaceX and Boring Company facilities — as well as local unease about the effects of Elon’s “move fast” ethos on the countryside — have been reported by The Wall Street Journal and the San Antonio Express-News.

From the Post:

Amy Weir, a local property owner, said Musk’s companies have “no doubt done amazing things,” but that there was no need for them to “reinvent wastewater treatment” when the city was ready to handle the job. The penalties for violating the permit were far too low, she added. “The owner of these companies spent $44 billion on Twitter, and it had no impact on his ability to continue to build these businesses,” she said.

VW is teasing the three-row version of its electric Microbus ahead of its official reveal next week. This is the version that will go on sale in North America in 2024. (The two-row version is currently available in Europe — look out for Thomas Ricker’s review this weekend in The Verge!) And while there’s not much to look at here — just some headlights, really — the longer Buzz is sure to generate some, well, buzz, especially among #Vanlife aficionados and families. You can watch the livestream of the debut here on June 2nd.

Hyundai and LG Energy are investing $4.3 billion to produce EV battery cells in the US. Production will begin by the end 2025 in Georgia, with an annual capacity of 30GWh in support of 300,000 EVs. LG Energy now has seven battery plants currently operating or being constructed in the US, in compliance with President Joe Biden’s clean energy tax law.

The last Twitter Space Elon Musk attempted to host didn’t go so well, but he’s trying again anyway. Instead of a politician announcing a run for president, however, he’s logging on to talk with Ford CEO Jim Farley about “Accelerating EV adoption.”

With competition for electric cars heating up — are we about to see a new partnership for Tesla? The event is scheduled to start at 5:30PM ET.

From a few leaked pics being discussed over at the Cybertruckownersclub we see a hybrid of the yoke and round steering wheel that retains the touch-sensitive buttons instead of stalks, no display directly in front of the driver, and a dashboard deep enough to curl up and take a nap upon after doing super serious truck stuff all day.

Seriously, it’s like, why doesn’t everyone just make really great, beautiful, complicated, glorious games like Tears of the Kingdom? That and other super sophisticated questions, today on the show. (Plus a fun chat with Senator Ed Markey.)

Can somebody teach me how to do this without real-life Ultrahand?