TechCrunch Mobility: Tesla Cybercab hits the road — and a snag

TechCrunch Mobility：特斯拉 Cybercab 上路，却遇阻碍

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Depending on which corner of social media you frequent, the Tesla Cybercab event was either proof that the company is a robotaxi leader delivering the future or an overhyped affair with little substance. Whatever your view, Wall Street wasn’t impressed by the Cybercab event in Austin, which was unusually quiet and lacked the festival-like atmosphere of past Tesla events. CEO Elon Musk didn’t even attend — a notable and puzzling absence, especially considering he has spent years arguing that Tesla’s future — and its value — hinges on robotics and AI. 根据您常逛的社交媒体圈子，特斯拉的 Cybercab 发布会要么被视为该公司作为自动驾驶出租车领军者正在交付未来的证明，要么被视为一场缺乏实质内容、过度炒作的活动。无论您的观点如何，华尔街对这场在奥斯汀举行的 Cybercab 发布会并不买账，现场异常安静，缺乏特斯拉以往活动中那种节日般的氛围。首席执行官埃隆·马斯克甚至没有出席——这是一个引人注目且令人困惑的缺席，尤其是考虑到他多年来一直坚称特斯拉的未来及其价值取决于机器人技术和人工智能。

As senior reporter Sean O’Kane wrote before the event, “The Cybercab is Tesla’s fork in the road. This is either the moment the company begins to transform urban transportation as we know it, or the moment that reveals that, despite its many efforts, Tesla really is just an automaker after all.” The event did little to boost confidence, but I don’t put much stock in events or demos. The real test is whether Tesla can launch a robotaxi service safely and at scale. For now, there is no scale, at least compared with Waymo. (As of today, Tesla has registered 45 Cybercabs in Texas, according to the state’s automated vehicle tracker.) 正如资深记者 Sean O’Kane 在活动前所写：“Cybercab 是特斯拉的十字路口。这要么是该公司开始改变我们所知的城市交通的时刻，要么是揭示出尽管特斯拉做出了诸多努力，但它终究只是一家汽车制造商的时刻。”这次活动并没有起到多少提振信心的作用，但我并不太看重活动或演示。真正的考验在于特斯拉能否安全且大规模地推出自动驾驶出租车服务。目前，至少与 Waymo 相比，特斯拉还没有实现规模化。（据德克萨斯州自动驾驶车辆追踪系统显示，截至今日，特斯拉在该州仅注册了 45 辆 Cybercab。）

Another wrinkle emerged early Friday morning. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into Tesla just hours after the company put its first Cybercabs, which lack a steering wheel and pedals, on Austin streets. Federal vehicle safety regulations require manual controls like brake pedals, though the Department of Transportation recently proposed removing those requirements for vehicles that are designed to drive themselves. Tesla chose to self-certify, the standard route taken by automakers for traditional human-driven vehicles. The NHTSA responded by tapping the brakes, although Tesla may choose to operate even as the investigation plays out. To be clear, there is precedent for the NHTSA’s action, and you can read all about it here. 周五清晨又出现了一个波折。在特斯拉将首批没有方向盘和踏板的 Cybercab 投放至奥斯汀街头仅数小时后，美国国家公路交通安全管理局（NHTSA）就对特斯拉展开了调查。联邦车辆安全法规要求车辆必须配备刹车踏板等手动控制装置，尽管交通部最近提议取消针对自动驾驶车辆的这些要求。特斯拉选择了自我认证，这是汽车制造商为传统人工驾驶车辆采取的标准途径。NHTSA 对此采取了制动措施，尽管特斯拉可能会选择在调查期间继续运营。需要明确的是，NHTSA 的行动是有先例的，您可以在此处阅读相关详情。

Curious about the Cybercab? Tesla published several guides that reveal a few important details, including that this gilded robotaxi is not for kids. Here is a complete roundup of the Tesla Cybercab, as well as the company’s interest in selling the autonomous vehicles to fleet operators. 对 Cybercab 好奇吗？特斯拉发布了几份指南，揭示了一些重要细节，包括这款镀金的自动驾驶出租车并不适合儿童。以下是关于特斯拉 Cybercab 的完整汇总，以及该公司向车队运营商出售自动驾驶车辆的意向。

Deals! / 交易动态！

Allianz, the German insurance company, is holding talks with advisors to consider acquiring AA, the U.K.-based roadside assistance organization, for £5 billion ($6.77 billion), SkyNews reported. 据天空新闻报道，德国保险公司 Allianz 正在与顾问进行谈判，考虑以 50 亿英镑（67.7 亿美元）收购英国道路救援组织 AA。
Alteon, a Bengaluru-based startup developing autonomous aircraft inspired by dynamic soaring, raised $2.5 million in a pre-seed round led by prominent solo investor Lachy Groom, with participation from Together Fund. 总部位于班加罗尔的初创公司 Alteon 正在开发受动态翱翔启发的自动驾驶飞行器，该公司在由知名独立投资人 Lachy Groom 领投的种子轮前融资中筹集了 250 万美元，Together Fund 参投。
Delivery Hero’s board signed off on Uber’s $15 billion takeover offer and recommended shareholders approve the deal. Delivery Hero 董事会批准了 Uber 150 亿美元的收购要约，并建议股东批准该交易。
Easy Aerial, a startup that makes autonomous tethered drone systems for aerial surveillance, raised $20 million in a Series B funding round. Insight Partners, Entrée Capital, and other private U.S. investors participated in the round, the company said. 制造用于空中监视的自动系留无人机系统的初创公司 Easy Aerial 在 B 轮融资中筹集了 2000 万美元。该公司表示，Insight Partners、Entrée Capital 及其他美国私人投资者参与了本轮融资。
Magna International is now investing another $35 million in Yuma Energy, a Bengaluru-based firm that operates a battery-swapping network for electric two- and three-wheelers. Magna International 现向 Yuma Energy 追加投资 3500 万美元，该公司总部位于班加罗尔，运营着一个面向电动两轮和三轮车的电池更换网络。
Newlight, a Bay Area startup developing a hydrogen injection system to make cargo ships more efficient, raised a $9 million seed round that included investment from lomarlabs, the venture arm of Lomar Shipping; BIRD Energy, a joint venture between the U.S. Department of Energy and the Israel Ministry of Energy; deep tech funds Undeterred Capital and CiRi Ventures; and Fusion VC, an accelerator for Israeli startups in the United States. 湾区初创公司 Newlight 正在开发一种旨在提高货船效率的氢气喷射系统，该公司筹集了 900 万美元的种子轮融资，投资方包括 Lomar Shipping 的风险投资部门 lomarlabs；美国能源部与以色列能源部合资的 BIRD Energy；深科技基金 Undeterred Capital 和 CiRi Ventures；以及面向美国以色列初创公司的加速器 Fusion VC。

Notable reads and other tidbits / 值得一读及其他简讯

Flock continues to face backlash over privacy concerns and misuse of its tracking technology. Florida and Texas have both said they will no longer use the surveillance giant’s license plate readers. Flock 因隐私问题和对其追踪技术的滥用持续面临强烈抵制。佛罗里达州和德克萨斯州均表示将不再使用这家监控巨头的车牌识别系统。
Ken Karklin, the CEO of the Larry Page-backed flying car company Pivotal, has left the company. Mike Ross, an aviation exec who is on the board, was named interim CEO. 拉里·佩奇支持的飞行汽车公司 Pivotal 的首席执行官 Ken Karklin 已离职。董事会成员、航空业高管 Mike Ross 被任命为临时首席执行官。
Meet Liux, the Spanish microcar startup that thinks it can compete with a tiny electric car built around sustainability. 认识一下 Liux，这家西班牙微型车初创公司认为，凭借围绕可持续性打造的小型电动汽车，它能够参与竞争。
Autonomous vehicle technology startup May Mobility and NTT Mobility plan to deploy Toyota’s e-Palette vehicles on public streets in Japan this year. May Mobility’s self-driving system will be integrated into the vehicles. 自动驾驶技术初创公司 May Mobility 和 NTT Mobility 计划今年在日本的公共街道上部署丰田的 e-Palette 车辆。May Mobility 的自动驾驶系统将被集成到这些车辆中。
Uber is laying off about 3,300 people, or about 10% of its global headcount, as part of a restructuring that will cut management and combine its engineering, science, and delivery divisions. Uber 正在裁员约 3300 人，约占其全球员工总数的 10%，这是其重组计划的一部分，旨在精简管理层并合并其工程、科学和交付部门。
Waymo went on the offensive ahead of Tesla’s Cybercab event, arguing that fully autonomous vehicles aren’t possible without using a mix of sensors and warning that pure end-to-end AI systems aren’t safe enough. Meanwhile, the Alphabet-owned company started to open its robotaxi service to the public in Denver, San Diego, and Tampa. 在特斯拉 Cybercab 发布会前夕，Waymo 发起攻势，称如果不使用多种传感器组合，就不可能实现完全自动驾驶，并警告称纯端到端的人工智能系统不够安全。与此同时，这家 Alphabet 旗下的公司已开始在丹佛、圣地亚哥和坦帕向公众开放其自动驾驶出租车服务。
Zoox extended its commercial robotaxi service in Las Vegas to include rides to and from Harry Reid International Airport. Zoox 扩展了其在拉斯维加斯的商业自动驾驶出租车服务，增加了往返哈里·里德国际机场的行程。

One more thing / 最后一件事

I typically test drive electric vehicles, but that doesn’t mean I never drive vehicles with different powertrains. I recently spent a week with the 2027 Kia Telluride hybrid X-Line SX-Prestige trim outfitted in sparkly black jade paint. My fully loaded model was priced at $61,180. This second-generation Kia Telluride comes with a turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-four hybrid engine that generates 329 horsepower and 339-pound of torque. Importantly, it delivers more horsepower and torque than its non-hybrid equivalent while improving fuel economy to 31 mpg (in the combined cycle). Kia tweaked the design of the new Telluride, and… 我通常试驾电动汽车，但这并不意味着我从不驾驶其他动力系统的车辆。最近，我花了一周时间体验了 2027 款起亚 Telluride 混合动力 X-Line SX-Prestige 车型，它采用了闪亮的黑玉色车漆。我这辆顶配车型的售价为 61,180 美元。这款第二代起亚 Telluride 配备了 2.5 升涡轮增压直列四缸混合动力发动机，可产生 329 马力和 339 磅英尺的扭矩。重要的是，它比非混合动力版本提供了更强的马力和扭矩，同时将燃油经济性提高到了 31 mpg（综合工况）。起亚对新款 Telluride 的设计进行了微调，并且……