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Everyone needs to get around. How we do it will change more over the next decade than it has in the last century. Legacy automakers, like Ford and GM, are scrambling to become technology-savvy companies, and the tech industry is trying to cash in on the change. New players, like Rivian and Tesla, are disrupting the industry and sometimes stumbling. We look at how self-driving hardware and software make the automobile better or, in some cases, deeply flawed. We cut through the hype and empty promises to tell you what's really happening and what we think is coming. Verge Transportation cares about all moving machines and the place they have in the future.

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Is Rivian working on a high-performance R1X?

After the bombshell reveal of the R3 and R3X earlier this month, it probably wouldn’t surprise you to learn that the EV company also has high-performance versions of the R1T and R1S vehicles in the works. A member of the Rivian owners forum (flagged by Breaking News) noticed a trademark filing with the USTPO for “R1X,” which suggests there could be a Tesla Plaid-rivaling Rivian on deck.


Rivian ‘R1X’ Trademark Reveals New Flagship Performance...

[Rivian Forum – Rivian R1T & R1S News, Pricing & Order...]

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Hertz CEO out after Tesla flub.

Stephen Scherr, the man who bet heavily on EVs to transform the future of the company, is stepping down after just two years in the role. He’s being replaced by Gil West, the former COO of Cruise robotaxis. West was one of several execs dismissed by GM after that body-dragging incident.


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Tesla reached a settlement with a Black employee who won two trials over racial abuse.

The terms of the settlement are confidential, reports CNBC. Owen Diaz had previously told the court that supervisors failed to intervene when his coworkers used “daily racist epithets” against him and other Black employees at the Fremont, California plant where he worked.

He was awarded $137 million in 2021 but asked for a retrial after a judge reduced the amount to $15 million in 2022.


The Zoox come out at night.

Amazon’s robotaxi company is expanding its operating conditions in the two cities where it has been testing its autonomous vehicles, Foster City and Las Vegas. The robotaxis will start driving at night, as well as in light rain and damp road conditions. They will also starting driving at speeds of up to 45 mph on multi-lane roads. And in Las Vegas, it will start tackling roads along the south end of the Strip. Zoox’s purpose-built AVs (no steering wheel, no pedals) will start accepting real passengers later this year.


Zoox robotaxi at night
Gadzooks! It’s a Zoox at night!
Image: Zoox
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Watch these Toyota engineers build Pokémon’s Miraidon from soup to nuts.

While everyone was getting worked up about the announcement of the next Pokémon game, the Toyota Engineering Society was busy working on a special project to create a life-sized Miraidon, the motorcycle-like legendary dragon mascot from Pokémon Violet.

Even though we’ll probably never get a chance to see the thing actually zooming around, it’s still cool as hell seeing it come together in this video about the collaboration.


Microlino electric bubble car review: urban delight

Fun, fun, fun till a trailer towed my baby away.

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Rivian’s smaller R3 and R3X electric SUVs look great, but they’re not ready to ship.

Automotive journalist Jason Cammisa got inside Rivian’s “one more thing” surprise vehicles, posting some short clips to show off the hot hatch styling and massive wheels of the R3X, as well as the dual-opening rear setup.

A lack of backseat legroom isn’t that surprising. But the potential bad news is that Cammisa says, “I wouldn’t expect to see the first ones until 2027.”


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Waymo opens up in LA.

The robotaxi company is ready to start inviting regular people on its waitlist (50,000 and counting) to use its fully driverless vehicles. The vehicles will only operate in a 63 square-mile section that includes Santa Monica and DTLA. And while the initial rides will be free, future rides will not — thanks to a recent thumbs-up from regulators.

The company plans to follow similar rollout in Austin, Texas, “later this year.” The future of autonomous vehicles still seems super cloudy, but Waymo is trying its best to prove the doubters wrong.


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Tesla’s litigiousness is why Doug DeMuro hasn’t reviewed the Cybertruck yet.

Tesla’s threat to sue anyone who tries to resell their Cybertruck within the first year has owners “spooked,” which is why the polarizing electric truck hasn’t shown up on his auction site Cars and Bids. He also hinted at some sort of retaliation from Tesla when he reviewed one of the first Model 3s back in 2017. “It wasn’t pretty,” the popular YouTuber chuckled. Say more!

Eventually he’ll review the Cybertruck, he says. His neighbor even has one! DeMuro was just hoping to promote his auction site as part of the review. That’s capitalism, baby!


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BYD’s electric vehicles are moldier than usual.

The Chinese company, which overtook Tesla last year as the top global seller of EVs, is running into challenges as it seeks to cement its dominance in other markets like Europe. Challenges such as too many cars, not enough customers. Oh, and mold.

The issue wasn’t so much the existence of mold, which is known to grow in cars shipped over long distances, but concern that the vehicles didn’t receive professional treatment with an ionization process to remove spores fully.


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VanMoof is (nearly) back up and running.

The version 2.0 rollout of the company now owned by McLaren Applied, is well underway, having resumed production of spare parts and signed 50 repair and service locations across seven countries, with more cities on more continents including North America coming “later this year.”

The company also says it will “soon” make an announcement about the resumption of sales for its re-engineered e-bikes.


Is your car snitching on your driving habits?

A driver’s insurance rate went up based on a 130-page report detailing his Chevy Bolt’s drives over six months, shared by GM with data broker LexisNexis through the OnStar Smart Driver program, reports The New York Times.

According to the Times, Kia, Subaru, and Mitsubishi also contribute to the LexisNexis data portal, while another company, Verisk partners with Ford, Honda, and Hyundai. Subaru says it only shares odometer data when authorized, while Ford says it will share data for usage-based programs based on a customer’s in-car menu confirmation.

Update March 12th, 2024, 2:42PM ET: Added details on the partnerships and what data is shared.


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Boeing’s door plug incident is under criminal investigation.

The US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigation will consider whether Boeing complied with its 2021 settlement with the DOJ in light of an Alaska Boeing 737 Max that recently lost a chunk of fuselage mid-flight, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Alaska Airlines reportedly called such investigations “normal.” In February, an investigation revealed that four bolts were missing from the door plug when it left Boeing’s factory.


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A Cybertruck owner shopped around and found out.

Tesla’s owner agreement expressly forbids owners to “sell or otherwise attempt to sell” the truck within a year of buying it, or the company would take action, including refusing future sales.

Well, someone in the Cybertruck Owners Club forum says they tried listing theirs “on multiple sites to feel it out” anyway, and the company canceled their two (2!) other reservations.


Be careful selling your Cybertruck! Tesla found sale listings...

[Tesla Cybertruck Forum - News, Discussions, Community - Cybertruckownersclub.com]

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Do ads work for Uber?

According to The Wall Street Journal, ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft “say people are receptive to their ads,” with customers “less likely to cancel” their rides if they’re distracted by advertisements while they wait.

Uber has been cramming ads wherever it can, but it doesn’t work everywhere. The Journal writes that people hated them in push notifications so much that Uber cut those out in under a day, but folks don’t mind movie trailers on in-car tablets.


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Was the Apple Car always going to be a van?

Mark Gurman collected many of the concepts the company considered for its recently shuttered Project Titan in his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg today.

It’s a concise summary of Apple’s design thoughts over the ten years it devoted to trying to enter the automotive industry. Gurman writes of one idea:

The Apple car’s circa-2020 design resembled the Canoo Lifestyle Vehicle — a futuristic van with rounded edges — but it had dark black windows with an adjustable tint. There was all-glass sunroof, a pure white exterior and whitewall tires with a black center.


Watch Rivian’s R3X and R2 roll around in real life.

It’s unclear where this video (and a couple of others posted to a Rivian forum) originally came from, but we won’t have to wait until 2025 (or beyond) to see either of Rivian’s upcoming electric SUVs on the streets.


The Microlino electric bubble car.

While cars in general are embiggening, in some cities a new breed of electric microcars is trending. They’re cheaper to own, easier to park, consume less public space and energy, and maneuver around obstacles that would otherwise block big SUVs and snarl traffic.

Here’s a preview ahead of our full review of the Microlino Dolce, coming soon.

(Update, 3/11 1:30PM ET — And now in widescreen.)


Rivian’s CEO has ‘complete certainty’ EVs will win

The company’s future is cloudy, as EV sales growth stagnates. But RJ Scaringe says the more affordable EVs will help win over new converts.

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More about that base model Rivian R2.

After today’s R2 event, MKBHD took a closer look at the new SUV and its sibling R3 / R3X with Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe for his Auto Focus channel.

In this section of the video, Scaringe notes that while the R2 can have an estimated range that stretches beyond 300 miles, the base RWD version for $45,000 will have a smaller battery with an estimated 270-mile range. We’ll have even more on these new EVs tomorrow.


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Rivian puts its Georgia factory plans on pause.

In the fog of the release of its new R2 (and R3! and R3X!) vehicles, the news just dropped that the company’s massive $5 billion facility east of Atlanta is now officially on pause. That means Rivian will need to find room at its existing factory in Normal, Illinois, for this new EV trio if it hopes to stick to its early 2026 production plans.


Watch Rivian’s R2 reveal event in 5 minutes.

All the highlights from Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe’s presentation of the smaller, cheaper R2 SUV are right here, as well as the surprise debut of an even smaller electric crossover, with the R3 and sport-trim R3X taking the stage.


And that’s a wrap!

There’s a lot more to say about the R2, and of course the R3 and R3X. So be sure to keep an eye out for our impressions of Rivian’s first big reveal since the launch of the R1 platform. And thanks for following along! What did you think of the R2 and R3? Leave us a comment and let us know.