Tag: transportation
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Tesla’s communications chief is leaving the automaker
Dave Arnold, Tesla’s director of communications, is leaving the company according to sources familiar with the move. Tesla confirmed to TechCrunch that Arnold was leaving in June. “We’d like to thank Dave for his work in support of Tesla’s mission, and we wish him ” a Tesla spokesperson said in a company-issued statement. “Dave will…
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Musk’s new lawyer fights ‘pedo guy’ defamation lawsuit claims, questions motive
SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s lawyer argued Tuesday in a court filing that the British cave diver who became embroiled in a public spat with his client and afterwards sued for defamation can’t recover damages due to his reputation wasn’t harmed. In court documents filed Tuesday, Musk’s new lawyer Alex Spiro of Quinn Emmanuel…
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VW’s new electric hatchback receives 10,000 pre-orders in first 24 hours
Volkswagen opened up pre-orders in Europe in a launch event Wednesday for a special edition of the first model in its ID brand. Within one day, the company received more than 10,000 registrations, a result that indicates growing demand for electrical vehicles. VW revealed Wednesday the title, some pricing and range specs for the model…
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Trump’s tariffs could knock Tesla’s Autopilot off course
The White House has refused to exempt the “brain” of Tesla’s Autopilot technology from punitive import tariffs, a decision that could endanger the company’s ambitions that were self-driving, TechCrunch has heard. At a special “autonomy day” event last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled innovative Autopilot 3.0 hardware, including a new custom chip meant to…
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Liam O’Connor, hired to help build Lyft’s bike and scooter business, has left after 7 months
The emerging business of supplying scooters and bikes on demand has not been very eloquent, and today comes among the newest lumps: TechCrunch has learned and verified that Liam O’Connor, an executive hired to help transportation company Lyft build its bike and scooter operations, has left after seven months with the newly-public company. The change…
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Tesla sued in wrongful death lawsuit that alleges Autopilot caused crash
The family of Walter Huang, an Apple engineer who died after his Tesla Model X with Autopilot engaged crashed into a highway median, is suing Tesla. The State of California Department of Transportation is also named in the lawsuit. The wrongful death lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court, County of Santa Clara, alleges that mistakes…
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Tesla to open up Model 3 orders in UK
Tesla is poised to open up orders for the Model 3 in several right-hand drive markets, beginning with the UK by early May, according to a tweet from CEO Elon Musk. The Model 3 order page will go live May 1 or 2 in the UK, followed by Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.…
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Tesla plans to launch an insurance product ‘in about a month’
Tesla is developing an insurance product, which could be launched in about a month, CEO Elon Musk said during a call with analysts Wednesday after its first-quarter earnings report. “It will be much more compelling than anything else on the market,” he said. Musk didn’t provide further details on what the insurance product may look…
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Elon Musk on taking Tesla private: ‘That ship has sailed’
Elon Musk would prefer if Tesla, which is famous for its volatile share price and is one of the most heavily shorted stock, were a private firm, but acknowledged during an earnings call Wednesday that it wasn’t likely. Musk can dream, can’t he? “Unfortunately that ship had sailed,” Musk said in response to a query…
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Tesla reports $702 million loss in first quarter
Tesla reported Wednesday wider-than-expected loss of $702 million, or $4.10 a share, in the first quarter after disappointing delivery numbers, costs and pricing adjustments to its vehicles threw the automaker off of its profitability track. The loss included $188 million of non-recurring charges. When adjusted for one-time losses, Tesla lost $494 million, or $2.90 a…