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President-elect Trump wasted little time choosing cabinet members, including naming former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy as the next transportation secretary. If Duffy’s nomination is confirmed by the Senate, the new secretary will oversee an annual budget of about $107 billion, not to mention a wide range of issues that will affect the tech world, including energy efficiency standards , advanced driver assistance technologies and autonomous vehicles. .

I took a look at his legislative record and there is nothing really related to transportation, except for a bill regarding logging vehicles. It is therefore difficult to predict exactly what his priorities will be. Stay tuned.

Two other fun things. During an episode of TechCrunch’s Equityco-founder and CEO of Salesforce Marc Benioff talked about some of his favorite gadgets. And you guessed it, cars and trucks – many of which are electric vehicles – were in the lead.

And it’s not really related to transportation, so forgive me. Tesla The Optimus bot has a new friend: Kim Kardashian.

Before we get to the news, a housekeeping note: We won’t have an edition of TechCrunch Mobility next Thursday due to the Thanksgiving holiday. For all my US-based readers – as well as those celebrating this holiday abroad – stay safe on these roads. I know what I’m going to give with this vacation: good health and the ability to do what I love, which includes writing this newsletter.

A little bird

Do you have any advice to give us? Email Kirsten Korosec at [email protected], Sean O’Kane at [email protected] or Rebecca Bellan at [email protected]. Or consult these instructions for instructions on how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.

Offers!

Last month, AI pony joined the list of Chinese companies listed on the US stock market after several years Beijing ban on raising offshore capital. Now we know what Pony AI is aiming for.

Pony AI wants to raise around $260 million, up from its previous goal of around $224 million. Sean O’Kane reported. To achieve this goal, Pony will sell up to 20 million American depositary shares.

That amount remains below the much higher $425 million target that Pony was targeting earlier this year before its board approved a reduction in its minimum valuation from about $8 billion to $4 billion. dollars.

Other offers that caught my attention…

Loosethe San Francisco-based electric vehicle battery swap company, raised $25 million from new investor Mitsubishi Corporation.

Class8a Toronto-based truck fleet operations startup, formerly called FleetOps, raised $22 million in a Series A round led by Xplorer Capital. New investor Commerce Ventures and returning backers Inspired Capital and Resolute Ventures have also joined.

Écolectrowhich manufactures hydrogen-producing electrolyzers, raised $10.5 million in a Series A round led by climate fund Toyota Ventures with participation from Cornell University, New Climate Ventures, Starshot Capital and Techstars.

ePlanea startup based in India developing electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, raised $14 million as part of a Series B funding round co-led by Speciale Invest and Antares Ventures. The all-equity funding round also included participation from Micelio Mobility, Naval Ravikant, Java Capital, Samarthya Investment Advisors, Redstart (from Naukri) and Anicut. The round valued the startup at $46 million post-funding, more than twice its previous valuation of $21 million.

Returna New York-based startup that developed software to help fleets manage the charging of their electric vehicles, raised $11 million in a Series A round led by CRV with participation from Accel.

Notable readings and other information

Autonomous vehicles

Cruise admitted to submitting a false report in an attempt to influence a federal investigation into a security incident last year. The GM subsidiary agreed to pay a $500,000 criminal fine as part of a deferred prosecution agreement.

May Mobility starts to test driverless shuttles (autonomous Toyota Sienna minivans) in Ann Arbor.

Nuro begin deploy a test fleet of its R3 vehicles without driver and without passengers in the Bay Area and in Houston, two months later change your business strategy to license its audiovisual technology to automobile manufacturers and mobility providers. The reason? Show potential customers what they have.

Xiaodi Houco-founder and former CEO of an autonomous trucking startup YouSimpleurged a California district court to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent the company from moving its remaining U.S. assets to China. This fight is getting complicated.

Electric vehicles, charging and batteries

Hyundai has revealed the new Ioniq 9, a three-row SUV expected to arrive in the United States in spring 2025. Learn more from the contributor Emme Room about this new electric vehicle and its many features.

Remember the Ram Ramcharger? GOOD Stellantis has released new details about STLA Frame, the underlying vehicle platform on which the Ram Ramcharger will ultimately be built. TL;DR: It’s a multi-energy platform, meaning it can serve as the basis for an internal combustion, hybrid, battery electric, or even gasoline vehicle like the Ram Ramcharger.

THE $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit is lit Trump’s block.

Embedded technology

Ford agreed to pay a $165 million penalty to federal regulators after moving too slowly to recall vehicles with faulty backup cameras.

People

General engines has cut 1,000 more jobs in the United States, none of whom were hourly employees. And Ford said that would be the case cut 4,000 additional jobs in Europe as part of a cost-cutting strategy as the growth rate of electric vehicles has slowed.

Riviencommunications manager, Sarah O’Brien, who previously held a similar role at Teslaleft the electric vehicle manufacturer. She has joined LoveFromthe creative collective founded by former Apple design director Jony Ive.

In the meantime, Volkswagen called on a former Rivian executive Kjell Gruner has manage its activities in the United States.

This week’s wheels

What is “This Week’s Wheels”? This is an opportunity to discover the different transport products that we are testing, whether it is an electric or hybrid car, an electric bicycle or even a ride in an autonomous vehicle. Future vehicles include the Lucid airmore time in the next generation Rivien R1S, and the Volkswagen ID Buzz. Stay tuned.