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Senior Reporter (and Resident Battery Expert) Tim Dechant traveled to general motors The sprawling Warren Technical Center outside Detroit to learn more about the automaker’s plans to reduce the cost of its upcoming range of electric vehicles. The result: GM is betting on LMR batteries and a new Battery Cell Development Center that is seen as the bridge between its R&D efforts and large-scale production.
Kurt KeltyGM’s vice president of batteries and sustainability, provided new details about the company’s $900 million initiative and how this new chemistry will preserve range and reduce costs. For example, the Chevrolet Silverado EV could be $6,000 cheaper. Read the story here.
As with most businesses these days, AI also makes a guest appearance. Although I should point out that AI plays more than just a supporting role at GM. I recently interviewed AndersonGM product director, and Jason FischerCEO of Virtual Integration Engineering, about some of the changes within the company and how AI is being used. That story will be out next week, but I’ll give you a little teaser.
GM is using a collection of external AI models, as well as others it has created internally, that can be used across large sectors of the business and that (here’s the punchline) will speed up its vehicle development cycle. I’ll have more details in my article and don’t worry, if you miss it I’ll highlight it in next week’s newsletter.
Finally, last week I wrote about the Ferrari Luce EV and it doesn’t matter that it has been so criticized. I received some wonderful emails from all of you on the subject. Thank you! The survey, however, showed that no matter how much coverage Luce has received, many of you don’t really care.
In the survey I asked: ‘Do you love him, hate him or are you indifferent to him?’ The majority of you, around 44%, are indifferent, while the rest are equally divided between love and hate.
The more I think about the future of the Luce EV, the more I think it could become a hot buy among those who can afford it and who Ferrari deems worthy of buying it.
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Offers!
what is coming SpaceX The IPO is the deal of the decade, certainly for bankers and CEO Elon Musk. But it could also affect Tesla shareholders.
As part of the registration process for an initial public offering, a company typically files numerous amendments before debuting on the public markets. SpaceX has already presented some. And our eagle-eyed senior reporter Sean O’Kane spotted a new phrase added to the S-1 document that has big implications: “We may issue a significant amount of equity in connection with future transactions.”
While it is certainly possible that SpaceX will use the $75 billion it is expected to raise to acquire a variety of companies, the most likely M&A target is Tesla. This phrase was included in the risk factors and appears to be preparing future investors for the possibility of a significant dilution event. Read the full story.
There’s another interesting deal uncovered by O’Kane, this time involving carvana and Automatic whiteboardthe electric vehicle startup backed by Jeff Bezos. According to documents obtained by TechCrunch, Carvana has been granted the option to invest on automatic whiteboard. As O’Kane points out in his article, this could indicate a deeper partnership between the two companies.
Other offers that received more attention…
Layout partsa startup that tries to become the Amazon of composite pieces, raised $42 million in a Series A funding round led by dual-use venture fund Marlinspike, with participation from new investors Cerberus Ventures and Pinegrove Venture Partners, as well as existing backers Founders Fund and Lux Capital.
Mach Industriesthe three-year-old defense technology startup that now has five autonomous vehicles in development, raised 300 million dollars Series C with a valuation of $1.8 billion. The round was led by Infinite Capital and Ribbit Capital and includes backing from Bedrock Capital, Sequoia Capital and Khosla Ventures.
Molfar Defense TechnologiesA Polish-Ukrainian defense startup developing anti-drone radar systems, closed the first tranche of its €2 million funding round. Swedish investor Front Ventures committed €1.5 million. Tech.Eu reported.
I breatheThe African electric mobility startup raised $215 million in a round that raised its valuation to nearly $1 billion. Bloomberg reported.
Notable readings and other tidbits
Avride General Director Dmitri Polishchuk shared some statistics about autonomous vehicle startups on LinkedIn. The company has completed 60,000 trips for Uber users in Dallas since its launch in December. (Avride robotaxis appear on the Uber app in Dallas.) The company’s vehicle fleet, which includes test cars and Uber robotaxis, has traveled more than 1.3 million miles, of which one million were driven in the first five months of 2026.
electric electric bicycles launched its third brand in six months, an initiative in which the company has invested around 10 million dollars. How is this seven-year-old company expanding while so many others are going under? I did some research on the company and interviewed its co-founder to find out. Read the full story.
Uber The annual lost and found index has provided a rather peculiar anthropological snapshot of its users over the past decade. This year, the company also published a list of items. left in robotaxis which are available through the Uber app. There are some strange items on the list! It also got me thinking about how Uber is clearly finding every possible way to get into (and make money from) the nascent autonomous vehicle industry. To my point: Uber is planning to put 500 data collection vehicles on tour this year as part of their new AV Labs division.
Waymo I had a couple of interesting news this week. One of his robotaxis was used in a robbery and the case sheds some light on how Waymo handles all the passenger images it collects. And the Alphabet-owned company announced a deal with B2U to use batteries from its retired all-electric robotaxis. support electrical networks in California and Texas.
Woven capitalToyota growth fund, promoted Jarek Khoilian and Manas Punhani as directors. Reminder: Woven Capital launched its $800 million fund II in September 2025.
One more thing…
With subaru As we launch some new electric vehicles, I thought it would be good to remind myself what the original was like. I am referring to the Solterra, which was born from a partnership between Toyota and Subaru to jointly develop a platform dedicated to battery electric vehicles.
I spent a week with a pearl white. 2026 Subaru Solterra premium trim model starting at $38,495. Leaving aside for a moment that my friend’s Ring camera identified the Solterra as a mini golf cart, this electric vehicle has something to offer. Yes, it is basic. And of course, it won’t shoot like a Tesla, Lucid or Porsche Taycan. But it’s not necessary.
The headline here is that Solterra has improved and really needed it.
The 2026 model has a ton of notable updates that improve power, range, and usability.
The front and rear motors have been updated, along with a new controller that improves power distribution and control, and together they produce an improved 233 horsepower (the XT version bumps this up to 388 hp). Like most other electric vehicles out there, the Solterra now has an integrated NACS charging port, the system developed by Tesla. Range has also improved to an EPA-estimated 288 miles, which is notable considering Subaru increased battery capacity by just 2 kWh and managed to increase range by more than 50 miles. There is also a preconditioning setting to prepare the battery for charging, which greatly improves charging time.
Subaru also revamped the tech inside, adding a 14-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and making 15W wireless smartphone chargers as standard.
Subaru doesn’t offer true one-pedal driving in the Solterra, a standard-bearer for electric vehicles. Instead, the Subaru has paddles located on the back of the steering wheel that allow you to increase regenerative braking if you wish. But it won’t come to a complete stop like other popular one-pedal electric vehicles. While this may put off long-time EV owners, it could be more appealing to car buyers who want their EV to act like their old gasoline car.
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