TechCrunch Mobility: A robotaxi ultimatum

TechCrunch Mobility：自动驾驶出租车的最后通牒

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, how AI is playing a part. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! 欢迎回到 TechCrunch Mobility，这里是您了解未来交通的中心，如今我们比以往任何时候都更关注人工智能在其中扮演的角色。想要在收件箱中接收此内容，请点击此处免费订阅——只需点击 TechCrunch Mobility 即可！

I am back from vacation. What did I miss? Turns out, quite a lot — including the end of the Uber-Waymo partnership in Phoenix. Uber and Waymo still have robotaxi service partnerships in Atlanta and Austin. The question is not if, but when will these agreements end? 我休假回来了。我错过了什么吗？事实证明，错过的还真不少——包括 Uber 和 Waymo 在凤凰城的合作宣告结束。Uber 和 Waymo 在亚特兰大和奥斯汀仍有自动驾驶出租车服务合作。问题不在于这些协议是否会结束，而在于何时结束？

But that isn’t the most intriguing question, in my opinion. I am far more intrigued by how these two companies will behave once the remaining partnerships end. There is already tension with Uber executives taking not-so-subtle shots at Waymo. I expect that once the partnerships end, these thinly veiled barbs will be replaced with more direct action. One battleground will be policy, specifically markets where robotaxi companies are angling to get access. 但在我看来，这并不是最引人深思的问题。我更感兴趣的是，一旦剩余的合作关系结束，这两家公司将如何表现。Uber 高管已经开始对 Waymo 进行不加掩饰的抨击，紧张局势已经显现。我预计一旦合作结束，这些含蓄的讽刺将被更直接的行动所取代。政策将成为一个战场，特别是那些自动驾驶出租车公司正试图进入的市场。

This week, we saw another interesting development in the autonomous vehicle industry on the federal stage. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administrator Jonathan Morrison issued a directive to autonomous vehicle developers, stating that it is unacceptable for their vehicles to interfere with first responders or law enforcement. 本周，我们在联邦层面的自动驾驶汽车行业看到了另一个有趣的进展。美国国家公路交通安全管理局（NHTSA）局长乔纳森·莫里森（Jonathan Morrison）向自动驾驶汽车开发商发布了一项指令，称其车辆干扰急救人员或执法部门的行为是不可接受的。

The money quote: “Let me be clear: the inability to detect and appropriately respond to such situations represents a functional insufficiency. Emergency scenes are not rare or extreme ‘edge cases.’ As such, NHTSA is today issuing a call to action for AV developers and operators to immediately focus their resources on fixing this issue.” 核心引语如下：“我必须明确一点：无法检测并适当应对此类情况，代表着功能上的不足。紧急现场并非罕见或极端的‘边缘案例’。因此，NHTSA 今天向自动驾驶汽车开发商和运营商发出行动呼吁，要求他们立即集中资源解决这一问题。”

Morrison’s letter never calls out any one robotaxi company and it was sent to every AV developer listed in the Department of Transportation’s Standing General Order. But it sure seems like Morrison is directing the agency’s ire at Waymo. A previous TechCrunch investigation found that Waymo — which operates the largest robotaxi fleet in the United States, with vehicles in cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco — has had repeated run-ins with first responders. 莫里森的信中没有点名任何一家自动驾驶出租车公司，且发送给了交通部常设总令中列出的每一家自动驾驶汽车开发商。但看起来莫里森确实将该机构的怒火指向了 Waymo。TechCrunch 此前的一项调查发现，Waymo（在美国运营着最大的自动驾驶出租车车队，车辆遍布洛杉矶、凤凰城和旧金山等城市）曾多次与急救人员发生冲突。

And just this week, San Francisco supervisor Bilal Mahmood said he plans to submit a letter of inquiry to examine how autonomous vehicles affected public transit services and emergency responders following a July 4 fireworks show that resulted in massive gridlock. Local news outlets reported that numerous Waymo robotaxis had to be towed after running out of power during the lengthy traffic jam. 就在本周，旧金山市政委员比拉尔·马哈茂德（Bilal Mahmood）表示，他计划提交一份质询函，以调查在 7 月 4 日烟花表演导致大规模交通拥堵后，自动驾驶汽车如何影响了公共交通服务和急救人员。当地新闻媒体报道称，许多 Waymo 自动驾驶出租车在漫长的交通堵塞中耗尽电量，不得不被拖走。

Morrison’s letter has gravitas. But will there be substantive consequences for AV developers? It’s hard to tell at this point. For now, the NHTSA has demanded companies present the agency with “solutions” by the end of the month. 莫里森的信很有分量。但自动驾驶汽车开发商会面临实质性的后果吗？目前还很难说。就目前而言，NHTSA 已要求各公司在本月底前向该机构提交“解决方案”。

One more news item from the feds. Take a look at the new 2026 Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda, which was updated last week. It contains a long list of proposed changes to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) requirements, which govern vehicle design and equipment requirements. These proposed changes could help autonomous vehicle companies like Tesla and Zoox, which are developing vehicles without steering wheels, pedals, or other features required on human-driven cars. 再补充一条来自联邦政府的消息。请关注上周更新的《2026 年监管计划和统一议程》。其中包含了一长串对联邦机动车安全标准（FMVSS）要求的拟议变更，这些标准管理着车辆设计和设备要求。这些拟议的变更可能会帮助像特斯拉和 Zoox 这样的自动驾驶汽车公司，它们正在开发没有方向盘、踏板或人类驾驶汽车所需其他功能的车辆。

Deals! / 交易动态

We usually focus on venture deals, but this week I wanted to highlight Rivian and the sale of 86.25 million Class A common shares priced at $15.50 each (that includes an added 11.25 million in additional shares that underwriters opted to buy). In all, Rivian said it expects to raise $1.32 billion in new capital. 我们通常关注风险投资交易，但本周我想重点介绍 Rivian 以每股 15.50 美元的价格出售 8625 万股 A 类普通股（其中包括承销商选择购买的额外 1125 万股）。Rivian 表示，总计预计将筹集 13.2 亿美元的新资本。

The raise comes at a notable time for the EV maker. The company started delivering its new R2 SUV last month and recently raised its sales forecast for 2026. The company said it now expects to deliver between 65,000 and 70,000 vehicles after outperforming its own expectations in the second quarter due to robust growth quarter-over-quarter in EDV and R1, coupled with the introduction of R2 deliveries. The company didn’t explain the reason for the raise. But as a reminder, Rivian is not yet profitable and scaling up production of the R2 — or any vehicle for that matter — isn’t cheap! 这次融资对这家电动汽车制造商来说是一个值得注意的时刻。该公司上个月开始交付其新款 R2 SUV，并最近上调了 2026 年的销售预测。该公司表示，由于 EDV 和 R1 的季度环比强劲增长，加上 R2 开始交付，其第二季度表现超出了自身预期，目前预计交付量将在 6.5 万至 7 万辆之间。该公司没有解释融资的原因。但需要提醒的是，Rivian 尚未盈利，扩大 R2（或者任何车辆）的生产规模成本并不低！

Other deals that got my attention … 其他引起我注意的交易……

Bidbus, a Los Angeles-based startup that built a digital marketplace where multiple dealers can bid on a car, raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Ibex Investors. Mucker Capital, FJ Labs, Motley Fool Ventures, Data Point Capital, Walter Ventures, and the Car Dealership Guy’s Yossi Levi also participated. Bidbus 是一家位于洛杉矶的初创公司，建立了一个数字市场，让多家经销商可以对同一辆车进行竞价。该公司在由 Ibex Investors 领投的 A 轮融资中筹集了 1500 万美元。Mucker Capital、FJ Labs、Motley Fool Ventures、Data Point Capital、Walter Ventures 以及 Car Dealership Guy 的 Yossi Levi 也参与了投资。
Lyft said it plans to acquire Serveo’s bike-share business in Spain. Terms weren’t disclosed, but the ride-hailing company said it is expected to close this year. Lyft 表示计划收购 Serveo 在西班牙的共享单车业务。交易条款未披露，但这家网约车公司表示预计将于今年完成收购。
TaiSan, a U.K. battery startup, raised £4.65 million in a seed funding round co-led by Eos Advisory and the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II. InnoEnergy, AFI Ventures, EverQuest Capital Partners, Exergon, Heartfelt Ventures, Adeline Arts & Science, Techmind, angel investor François Badelon, and matched funding from Innovate UK also participated. TaiSan 是一家英国电池初创公司，在由 Eos Advisory 和 Midlands Engine Investment Fund II 共同领投的种子轮融资中筹集了 465 万英镑。InnoEnergy、AFI Ventures、EverQuest Capital Partners、Exergon、Heartfelt Ventures、Adeline Arts & Science、Techmind、天使投资人 François Badelon 以及来自英国创新署（Innovate UK）的配套资金也参与了投资。

Notable reads and other tidbits / 值得阅读的内容及其他花絮

AssuranceAmerica, a U.S. insurance provider, confirmed a data breach that affected the personal information and driver’s license numbers of 6.9 million people, making it the largest known spill of Americans’ driver’s license information this year. 美国保险提供商 AssuranceAmerica 证实发生了一起数据泄露事件，影响了 690 万人的个人信息和驾照号码，这是今年已知规模最大的美国人驾照信息泄露事件。
Beta Technologies, the electric vehicle takeoff and landing developer, completed operational flights conducted under the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration’s new eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. The flights covered about 275 nautical miles covering Virginia and Maryland. 电动垂直起降（eVTOL）开发商 Beta Technologies 完成了在美国交通部和联邦航空管理局（FAA）新的 eVTOL 集成试点项目下进行的运营飞行。飞行航程约 275 海里，覆盖弗吉尼亚州和马里兰州。
Longtime followers of Tesla will remember the heady days when Elon Musk battled various short sellers of the company’s stock. Musk is more polarizing than ever, and on… 特斯拉的长期关注者会记得埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk）与该公司股票的各路卖空者激烈交锋的那些日子。马斯克现在比以往任何时候都更具争议性，而且在……