I hope you like gray.

The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV Work Truck is, well, a work truck. Besides the impressive Ultima EV powertrain, there’s nothing spectacular about this truck. The seats have manual adjustments; the LCD control screens are small with huge bezels. Everything is gray, from the dashboard to the seats to the wheel fenders. There are no chrome accents or automated driving features. The Silverado EV WT is basic in every way, but the price and range: $77,905 and 450 miles on a charge.

In other words, it’s perfect. Chevrolet’s Work Truck package is designed for customers who believe less is more — fewer frills, more bills.

Chevy has long offered the work truck package as an option to its pickups. It’s designed for those who want to get the job done without buying extra features. In this pickup, that means buyers are telling Chevy to just give them an electric powertrain, a few seats and a 5-foot, 11-inch bed. I love it.

Before testing the truck, my main concern was its towing capabilities (which we’ll get to shortly). However, I found everything else to be more than capable and adequate, which was reassuring. The driving experience was pleasant, with ample power and a sturdy ride. The truck’s interior is functional and straightforward.

The $77,905 starting price may be too expensive for some due to its basic interior features. In comparison, a Chevy V8 work truck with similar features starts at $49,000. Meanwhile, Ford’s EV work truck begins at $59,000, but offers a shorter truck bed and less electric range compared to the Chevy.

Nuts and bolts

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I recently spent the morning driving the Silverado EV WT through tree-lined farm roads in lower Michigan. A few things were immediately apparent. The truck is heavy. You can feel it in how the body sways and rolls around curves. The large battery pack sits under the passenger compartment. The battery drops the traditional center of gravity lower than an ICE pickup. This improves the ride and handling over conventional pickups that often jerk and skitter when not carrying a load.

I threw it into corners, and the truck remained relatively flat. The truck stayed planted as it rounded traffic circles and highway on-ramps. Even when stomping on the electric gas, the Silverado EV remained level instead of rearing up and squatting on the rear tires. The long and wide battery gives the truck an even weight distribution and makes it feel more sturdy than an ICE pickup.

It’s worth noting that the Silverado EV has a coil spring suspension at the back instead of leaf springs. This type of suspension usually provides better handling both on and off-road, and it has been implemented beautifully in the Silverado. While coil spring suspensions have been found in Ram trucks for some time and more recently, in Toyotas, GM and Ford have historically used leaf springs. At least, in their gas-powered trucks.

The Silverado EV truck is quick enough, but won’t beat a Lightning or the Cybertruck (which has yet to go into production) in a drag race. Despite having 615 pound-feet of torque and 510 hp on tap, the truck doesn’t launch off the line. The upcoming Silverado EV RST variant should be more impressive if speed is your thing. Chevy previously claimed the RST version, with 780 lb.-ft. of torque and 665 HP will sprint to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds in a so-called WOW mode (Wide Open Watts).

Let’s talk about towing

Towing is where this vehicle stands apart from its gas counterparts. The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV Work Truck is rated to tow 10,000 pounds, which is on par with other light-duty gas-powered pickups.

After spending a morning pulling a 6,000-pound trailer, I can attest the pickup offers a serious advantage over an internal combustion-powered light-duty truck. At speed, the pickup easily tows a trailer. But at slow speeds — say backing a trailer into a tight spot — the EV work truck effortlessly maneuvers thanks to the electric motor’s instant torque. I tow a lot of trailers, and this is the first time I’ve had a light-duty pickup feel this good at low-speed maneuvering (more on towing later).

There is a downside. The electric range takes a significant hit when towing. Chevy estimates the range drops 50% when towing 5,000 lbs. If the driver connects a trailer or engages tow mode, the dashboard battery level automatically drops by 50% and adjusts on the fly to reflect the real-world conditions. Are you pulling less than 5,000 lbs? The battery level could drain slower than expected, while towing more could result in a faster reduction.

During my short towing test, I found the range estimate accurate. Chevy provided me with a two-axle trailer holding a large John Deere tractor. I jumped in the driver’s seat and hit the road. The truck was much slower off the line with the weight on the back. When I put the pedal to the floor, the truck got to speed promptly without feeling like it was straining. My 2016 Ford F-150 3.5l EcoBoost would have been screaming under the same test, and it’s rated to tow more than 12,000 lbs.

The truck easily cruised around the two-lane farm roads with the trailer connected. Towing at speed was uneventful and practically the same as any other light-duty pickup. The extra weight on the hitch caused the truck to bob and sway, but less so than if I pulled it in my gas-powered truck. Then I pulled into a parking lot and was instantly impressed.

Backing up a trailer is a careful balancing act of throttle control. Too much power, and the trailer can quickly get off course. Too little, and the trailer doesn’t move at all. Modern pickups often rely on turbos to assist the engine. With a turbo, most of the power is only available at higher engine speeds, which means it offers little assistance when maneuvering a trailer at low speeds. But not in an EV. The electric motors provide instant access to a considerable amount of torque.

I’ve never felt a light-duty pickup move a trailer like the Silverado EV WT. Backing up the loaded trailer was effortless. The truck moved the heavy trailer as smoothly at five mph as it did at 50 mph, just like a high-power, heavy-duty pickup.

I whipped the trailer through a short series of maneuvers, which would typically result in a cold sweat and cussing. Not in this truck. The EV powertrain made backing up the trailer easy and painless. I pulled out of the parking lot wide-eyed and impressed.

Towing could be the feature that convinces some ICE truck owners to switch to EVs. Some owners, like those pulling campers to faraway locations, might scoff at the EV range. The effective range with a camper drops from 450 miles to around 225 miles. But for those truck owners who stay local, like landscapers or municipal workers, the 225-mile range with a trailer could be more than enough.

In the truck

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The interior is dull and drab. The dash is gray. The seats are gray. The carpet is gray. Everything is constructed from plasticky material. Chevy engineers put it this way: Designers picked materials that reflect how the truck will be used. That means they used cheap and durable material, and that’s okay. It gets the job done and looks easy to clean.

The truck has two screens, just like the more expensive Silverado EV models. The screens in the work truck trim are smaller, though they still contain the same content. The driver’s screen is customizable and features several different modes depending on how much information the driver wants. The center screen includes media and navigation controls; climate controls are thankfully physical buttons under the screen.

Customers who want heated seats, a sunroof, or advanced driver assistance features will want to skip this work truck trim and instead wait for the Silverado EV.

Without a gas engine in the front, Chevy engineers extended the passenger compartment and pushed the dash and front seat forward. I couldn’t tell as the driver, but when I tried the backseat, the extra room was evident and appreciated. Crew cab pickups always offer ample backseat legroom, but the legroom on the Silverado EV is extreme. I’m 5’10” and could nearly stretch my legs out.

The seats on the work truck trim are manual and have limited adjustments. Occupants can only slide the seat and tilt the back; there’s no way to adjust the height or lumbar support. Even still, I found the driver’s position to offer a commanding seating position with plenty of visibility and headroom.

The truck offers a lot of storage space. The front provides a lockable, watertight compartment, and the rear seat folds up, expanding the interior storage space. The bed is 5 feet, 11 inches. That’s 11 inches longer than the Ford Lightning and 17 inches longer than the Rivian R1T. On the higher-level Silverado trims, owners can remove the panel between the bed and interior cabin for even more room (think the old Chevy Avalanche truck).

Power outlets are located in the truck bed: four 120 V outlets and one 240 V outlet. Chevy has yet to announce the size of the battery. Estimates put it around 200 kWh, and Chevy engineers tell me the outlets support high amperage requirements often found on large saws, kettles, and space heaters. They say the battery can power a home for up to 21 days.

Final Thoughts

The Silverado EV Work Truck is impressive. This truck is as good as its gas counterparts in most respects, but in some ways, it’s significantly better. Once you tow with an EV, a gas-powered truck feels inferior.

The price is tough. With a $77,950 starting price, it’s an expensive vehicle and pushes the definition of the term “work truck.” To me, a work truck is a cheap and capable truck. The 100,000 reservations that are being converted into purchase orders for the truck suggests that a lot of people are comfortable with the price.

After driving the WT variant, I’m excited to try the rest of the Silverado options. Later this year, the $105,000 RST First Edition launches. That version sports larger tires, more power and numerous creature comforts. The off-roading Trail Boss model will come out in late 2024 and should offer serious off-roading capabilities on the electric platform.

I’m a truck guy and can’t see myself driving anything but a pickup. The Rivian R1T is a fantastic truck but too small for my needs. The Ford Lightning closely matches my pickup, but it needs more electric range and a longer truck bed.

This truck has significantly more range and utility than its competitors, though it is likely priced higher than many consumers can afford, even in the Work Truck trim. The only thing giving me pause is the price. The Silverado EV is the only pickup I’d trade for my gas-powered truck.

The 2024 Silverado EV WT impresses with a 450-mile range and outstanding towing by Matt Burns originally published on TechCrunch

Rivian is the latest automaker to jump on Tesla’s charging standard, the North American Charging Standard (NACS). This comes just weeks after Ford and General Motors announced that their upcoming electric vehicles would have the proper equipment to recharge using Tesla Superchargers.

Current Rivian vehicles will get a NACS adapter. Future Rivian vehicles, including current R1T and R1S models, will ship with the NACS charge port as standard equipment.

Rivian CEO and founder RJ Scaringe said in a released statement that his company is excited to work with Tesla, adding, “The adoption of the North American Charging Standard will enable our existing and future customers to leverage Tesla’s expansive Supercharger network while we continue to build out our Rivian Adventure Network.”

According to the press release, Rivian will continue to build its own charging network called the Rivian Adventure Network. It’s unclear (though likely) at this time if these charging stations will also feature NACS chargers. The Rivian Adventure Network features DC fast chargers and are located along popular routes and highways.

With Rivian, Ford and General Motors in its corner, Tesla is quickly capturing a large segment of American-made electric vehicles. So far, no foreign automaker has signed with Tesla. As TechCrunch reportor Tim De Chant writes here, it’s getting increasingly harder for the rest of the EV charging industry to compete against just Tesla.

Rivian to adopt Tesla’s NACS charging standard by Matt Burns originally published on TechCrunch

Late last week, car rental marketplace Turo dropped an updated S-1 filing featuring its first-quarter results. TechCrunch+ previously covered the company’s full-year 2022 results, noting at the time that Turo was growing quickly while staying profitable, and was posting revenue totals that, when compared with its last known private valuation, were attractive indeed.

“What’s not to like?” we asked back in March.

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But this new slew of data complicates that previously rosy picture a little.

Today, instead of comparing Turo’s pace of revenue growth in Q1 2023 to the same period a year earlier, we’re going to compare that with Turo’s revenue growth rate throughout 2022. We’re doing this primarily because the company was enduring COVID-related headwinds in early 2021, which means it would be a bit unfair to compare Q1 2023 growth rates to those set in Q1 2022. The post-COVID tailwinds it enjoyed last year have somewhat tapered off now, so the growth that the company is seeing today could be argued to be more “organic” than what it saw a year ago.

In the first quarter, Turo’s revenue rose at a slower rate than it had in full-year 2022, and the company was unprofitable to boot. Seasonality is a factor in this business, so we’ll need to figure out just how much these new results matter, and if they should change our opinion that the company should go public post-haste.

The backdrop has changed since we last talked about this company: Cava’s IPO is rapidly approaching, and the venture-backed company seems to be enjoying strong interest for its shares despite not strictly being a tech company, indicating that there could be more appetite than expected for IPOs. Turo would prove a better test for tech companies wondering if the time is right to go public.

It’d be lovely if Turo’s Q1 2023 results give us reason to hope that it would go public this year. Fresh and pertinent data on the demand for tech shares in the public market would be incredibly useful to our reporting on the late-stage startup market. After all, what is Turo if not a late-stage unicorn full of private capital?

Turo’s first quarter

In 2022, Turo’s revenue rose 59% to $746.6 million compared to $469 million in 2021. But that increase in revenue also came with higher spending, with operations and support expenses rising 92%, product development costs climbing by 66%, and sales and marketing costs increasing by 111% to $111.3 million in the year.

Still, the company enjoyed a 5% operating margin and an even better bottom line. It was a good year for Turo, which saw revenues stuck between $140 million and $150 million in 2019 and 2020. But there was an explosion in consumer demand for mobility options after COVID waned, and Turo’s revenues soared as a result.

Turo’s Q1 2023 results indicate it may be a while until we see its IPO by Alex Wilhelm originally published on TechCrunch

Polestar today announced the US pricing and availability of the 2024 Polestar 2, which features significant upgrades to its power and range, along with styling changes and interior improvements. The bad news? It’s more expensive.

The 2024 Polestar 2 comes in two variants. Starting with this model year, the base model switches from front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive, which should result in a more spirited driving experience. This model starts at $51,300 (including a $1,400 destination charge), up from the 2023 price of $49,800. With the higher price comes more power and range. The base model receives a new motor rated at 299 horsepower and 361 pound-feet of torque, up from 231 and 243, respectively, in the 2023 model. The range was increased from 270 miles on a charge to 320 miles.

The 2024 dual motor, all-wheel drive model starts at $56,700, up from $53,300. Like the base model, this version’s motors come with more power. Together, they’re rated at 421 horsepower and 546 pound-feet of torque, up from 408 and 487, respectively, in 2023. Polestar says this model is goof for 276-miles on a charge, though that’s not certified by the EPA yet. Opt for the Performance Pack, and the power is bumped to 455 HP and other performance goodies are added such as Brembo brakes, Öhlins adjustable dampers, and alloy wheels.

The single-motor Polestar 2 features a new, larger 82-kWh battery pack, which makes this model able to recharge from 205 kW DC stations. The dual-motor version uses the older 78-kWh battery pack, which is not not compatible with the faster charging stations.

The updates show an automaker aggressively evolving its key product. The Polestar 2 has always been the automaker’s best argument against Tesla models, and these updates make the case even stronger. The 2024 model is available for pre-ordering now, with deliveries expected in August 2023.

The 2024 Polestar 2 features more power and range by Matt Burns originally published on TechCrunch

There’s a lot to love about the new Volvo EX30. The starting price of $34,950 puts it as one of the least expensive modern EVs on the market. The interior is beautiful in a simplistic fashion and made from sustainable materials. And while tiny outside, the cabin makes good use of the available space. If there’s a downside to the EX30, it’s the range: only 275 miles in the single-motor variant and 265 in the dual-motor affair.

The EX30 is Volvo’s fourth EV and the least expensive to date. The lower price doesn’t mean less technology, though. The EX30 packs Volvo’s standard safety equipment and two capable powertrain options. A single 12.3-inch touchscreen resides in the center console. Like in the Tesla Model 3, the driver doesn’t have a dedicated instrument cluster. Instead, this large, center-mounted screen is the only screen in the vehicle. Above the screen, a sound bar stretches the dash.

Volvo’s industry-leading safety technology is included in the EX30. A driver alert system watches for distracted or drowsy drivers. A collision detection system helps mitigate on-road accidents, and a new system identifies passing cyclists before an occupant opens a door. Volvo’s Pilot Assist even helps drivers with lane changes and overtaking slower vehicles; just hit the button, keep your hands on the wheel, and the car will hit the appropriate speed and perform the maneuver. The same system handles parallel parking, too.

This vehicle is small yet makes good use of its space. It’s just 166.7 inches long, around the size of the outgoing Chevy Bolt, and smaller than the Volvo XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge. It’s just 14 inches longer than a 2023 two-door Mini Cooper and 18 inches shorter than a Tesla Model 3. But while the Model 3 is longer, the internal capacity of the Volvo EX30 is larger, with up to 31.9 cu. ft. of cargo space, up from the Model 3’s 22.9 cu. ft.

The EX30 is built on Geely’s Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) and has two powertrain options. The Single Motor option nets buyers an EX30 with rear-wheel drive and a 275-mile range. With just one motor, the EX30 hits 60 mph in 5.1 seconds and produces 253 lbs-ft of torque. Opt for the Twin Motor option, and the vehicle gains all-wheel drive, a shorter range of 265 miles, and a 0-60 mph time of 3.6 seconds thanks to an additional 154 electric ponies. A 64.0-kWh battery powers both options and Volvo says it takes just 27 minutes to recharge from 10 to 80 percent when using a DC fast charger.

The Volvo EX30 is now available for pre-order in the United States with a starting price of $34,950. Delivery will start in the summer of 2024.

Volvo says the EX30 is assembled in Geely’s China facilities. As such, it would not be eligible for a US federal EV tax credit unless there are unannounced plans to build models at Volvo’s South Carolina plant. Other options are coming later. A mid-level Plus and loaded Ultimate trim will be detailed later. And starting in late 2024, a Cross Country variant will be available that will pack higher ground clearance and outdoorsy bits to reflect the overlanding nature of the rugged optional trim.

Volvo reveals the small, simple and inexpensive EX30 electric SUV by Matt Burns originally published on TechCrunch

The all-new Acura ZDX EV will be the company’s first auto to feature built-in Google apps. This includes Google Assistant, Google Maps, and more through the Google Play store.

Let’s be clear. This announcement is not about Android Automotive, Google’s full automotive operating system, nor is this Android Auto, Google’s phone-powered automotive platform. This is Google apps baked into Acura’s infotainment system. It isn’t obvious, I know. Moreover, the Acura ZDX will also feature Android Auto and Apple CarPlay for those owners who prefer those systems.

Image Credits: Acura

The built-in Google Apps will offer critical services to ZDX owners. This version of Google Maps sports enhanced features designed for the EV driver, enabling optimized route planning for recharging and finding charging stations. Google Assistant will provide voice controls throughout the vehicle, including setting destinations for the navigation and media playback controls.

This announcement follows a similar one from 2022: Honda announced a similar feature set for the then-new Honda Accord. Acura is the luxury division of Honda.

The ZDX is set to be the first EV from Acura when it becomes available in early 2024. The name might sound familiar. Acura sold a gas-powered ZDX crossover from 2010 to 2013, but it was eventually discontinued due to poor sales related to its odd size and styling. Just over 7,000 ZDXs were produced and sold in North America. Acura no doubt has different expectations for the new version.

Acura’s first EV will feature Google apps for navigation and voice control by Matt Burns originally published on TechCrunch

Grenoble-based eBikeLabs, a French startup that has been working on embedded software for electric bikes, is suing Cowboy for patent infringement and, more generally, copying eBikeLabs’ technology in its latest feature, AdaptivePower. Cowboy, the Belgian electric bike manufacturer, has refuted all the allegations and even said that eBikeLabs is running a smear campaign.

There have been others tracking this saga. Now, TechCrunch has received some new information about a meeting that took place between the two companies on February 2022. In this meeting, executives from both companies discuss eBikeLabs’ intellectual property strategy and eBikeLabs’ implementation of its field adaptation algorithm.

This is a messy story about a business relationship that fell apart between a small startup that doesn’t have deep pockets and a popular consumer brand that wants to protect its reputation.

An exclusive partnership

eBikeLabs has been around since 2015. The company first started with an ambitious project: it wanted to build its own electric bike hardware controller that could be leveraged by multiple electric bike manufacturers. While the startup secured a public grant from the French environment and energy agency (ADEME) to develop it, that product never really took off. eBikeLabs developed two proofs of concept but it never resulted in large scale commercial agreements.

More recently, eBikeLabs decided to pivot and focus exclusively on the software part of the e-bike controller. The company would then partner with controller manufacturers to bring their firmware and software stack to existing hardware. The company thought this strategy would work particularly well with newcomers in the e-bike industry, such as companies working on control units for the automotive industry and looking for new segments.

In 2021, eBikeLabs raised €1 million in an equity crowdfunding campaign. That same year, Cowboy and eBikeLabs signed a wide-reaching contract, and eBikeLabs’ co-founder and CEO Maël Bosson sent an email (viewed by TechCrunch) to the company’s shareholders who participated in the crowdfunding campaign.

This is how Maël Bosson described the contract at the time:

“We have been able to develop several linked contracts that are now ready for signature:

• a development agreement bringing us €930k in revenue by December 2022,
• A deployment agreement for 50,000 bikes (or at least all Cowboy V5 bikes to be released in 2023),
• A call option on 100% of eBikeLabs shares valid until December 2022, i.e. the possibility for Cowboy to buy all the company’s shares, including those of Wicap [Wicap eBikeLabs is the special purpose vehicle created by the crowdfunding platform Wiseed to let people invest in eBikeLabs].”

Following this move, eBikeLabs became an outsourced research and development group for Cowboy as there were some strict exclusivity clauses on eBikeLabs’ side — with this contract, eBikeLabs had only one client and one financial partner. Shortly after that, eBikeLabs laid off its sales and marketing team due to the Cowboy contract.

eBikeLabs started working on the controller firmware for the next generation of Cowboy bikes. The main advantage with custom-made firmware is that eBikeLabs could release software features for the drivetrain.

In particular, eBikeLabs had been working on a field adaptation algorithm. With this technology, the controller automatically adjusts the power level of the motor depending on the current slope or wind conditions. For instance, if you’re cycling uphill, the rider automatically gains extra power so that it doesn’t feel harder.

The breakup and the release of AdaptivePower

Then, at some point in 2022, Cowboy terminated the contract with eBikeLabs. There could be several reasons why the relationship ended. While eBikeLabs had to work exclusively with Cowboy, there was no exclusivity contract on the other side. Cowboy was free to work on other projects internally or with other suppliers. If Cowboy wasn’t happy with eBikeLabs’ progress, it could decide not to move forward with eBikeLabs.

At the same time, the startup funding environment has changed drastically from 2021 to 2022. Cowboy, riding high on the rising interest among consumers and cities in Europe for more eco-friendly mobility during Covid-19, raised $80 million near the end of 2021, with its investors including the likes of Index Ventures and Tiger Global. Fast forward to today, though, and it’s become much harder to raise large rounds like that in recent months.

In 2022, Cowboy generated €41 million in revenue and sales grew by 2.7x compared to 2021 with 20,000 bikes sold in 2022 alone. And yet, Cowboy may have realized that acquiring eBikeLabs would be an expensive move in the current environment.

When Cowboy raised its most recent funding round in March of this year, it was being done on much tougher terms. Less than €15 million came from VC funds, and to get that investment, Cowboy had to lower its valuation by 44% — PitchBook indicates that this transaction was made at a valuation below $200 million but the e-bike maker has not confirmed the figures. That round was completed with an equity crowdfunding round of €1.5 million.

After ending the contract with eBikeLabs, the electric bike maker had two options. If it still wanted to work with eBikeLabs, it could start negotiating a new contract with eBikeLabs to license eBikeLabs’ technology, or it could throw away all of eBikeLabs’ work and part ways.

Instead, in March 2023, Cowboy did something else: it released a software update with a new feature called AdaptivePower. As I wrote at the time, AdaptivePower “automatically adjusts the power of the motor depending on the current slope and weather conditions.”

Instead of including + and – buttons to adjust the power of the motor, Cowboy automatically increases and decreases the power delivery of the electric motor based on external factors.

AdaptivePower is at the center of the two companies’ dispute. According to eBikeLabs, Cowboy is reusing some of eBikeLabs’ technology. According to Cowboy, eBikeLabs is running a smear campaign.

“We decided to sue Cowboy for patent infringement, infringement of our know-how and unfair competition,” eBikeLabs CEO Maël Bosson wrote in an email sent to the company’s shareholders last month and viewed by TechCrunch.

When Cowboy released AdaptivePower, the company’s co-founder and CTO Tanguy Goretti posted a message on LinkedIn and said “I’m super proud of the team behind that project.” He then listed 16 names and all of them currently work or recently worked for Cowboy.

That’s why the company decided to sue eBikeLabs for disparagement. “Cowboy refutes all the allegations made by eBikeLabs in their leaked email and should a formal suit be brought, will be formally challenged by Cowboy,” a Cowboy spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The messy world of intellectual property

So what happened exactly? It’s hard to say unless you’re a patent expert or an intellectual property lawyer. According to Journal du Geek, Cowboy sent a letter to eBikeLabs’ lawyers on April 11, 2023. The company says that Cowboy’s technology had been developed independently from that of eBikeLabs.

While eBikeLabs filed a patent in January 2022, it hasn’t yet been published by the French administration in charge of intellectual property (INPI). This can typically take 18 months.

However, Cowboy was well aware that eBikeLabs had filed a patent for the field adaptation algorithm. The Cowboy team was given an early chance, before February 2022, to test that feature on Cowboy bikes.

In February 2022, eBikeLabs shared its fourth progress report about the company’s work for Cowboy. Executives working for both companies organized a Zoom meeting to discuss the report. That meeting was recorded and TechCrunch learned about the content of the meeting from a reliable source.

When talking about the field adaptation algorithm, eBikeLabs’ CTO Colin Valière said “this is really one of the main features expected in the [Cowboy 5]. It’s already up and running. Of course, there is much work to do before it’s completely final, but we have tested it again today and it works.”

“You mentioned patents there, could you a bit explain your protection strategy?” Cowboy co-founder and hardware director Karim Slaoui asked moments later.

“Yes, so we applied for a first patent for this technology,” eBikeLabs CEO Maël Bosson said. He then said that it is quite difficult to make it work reliably as the data from the controller isn’t always accurate. He also mentioned that it is quite difficult to get an intuitive ride feeling. “Our strategy was to protect this way of doing [it] because we believe it’s the best way to do it, intuitive[ly], which is of course of very high value.”

Laurent Etorre, Cowboy’s Engineering Project Manager for the powertrain, then asked a follow-up question about eBikeLabs’ patent strategy. “I have one question about the patent. Would it be easy to detect any infringement? Because one of the difficulties of the patent is to be able to prove that there is an infringement,” he said.

“If you are a competitor and you want to try to do something similar, and you see that someone has patented it, you might think that you will not start because you will have a high risk,” Bosson answered.

Last week, Maël Bosson, the co-founder and CEO of eBikeLabs, sent the following statement to TechCrunch about this meeting:

“We won’t comment on Cowboy, given the ongoing legal dispute.

All I can say is that this video is a perfect example of how eBikeLabs collaborates with its customers. We share information about our algorithms in a very open and transparent way, in the form of presentations and test rides. Our IP strategy is also to be completely transparent about the existence and scope of our patent applications.

This approach enables us to manage our product roadmap as closely as possible to our customers’ expectations. We help them get the best out of eBikeOS, our inventions and our know-how. This is in our best interest, since eBikeLabs’ success depends on the success of its customers.”

What’s next

Both companies are risking a lot with these lawsuits as the pressure is real for all of the newer entrants in the e-bike industry — Cowboy and eBikeLabs included.

While Cowboy is a bigger company than eBikeLabs, the electric bike industry is much bigger than these two companies. According to the Confederation of the European Bicycle, E-Bike, Parts & Accessories Industries, there were 5 million e-bikes sold in Europe in 2021.

In addition to existing bicycle companies now selling e-bikes (Trek, Giant, etc.), there are several new entrants trying to capture some market share in this growing market, such as VanMoof, Moustache and Rad Power Bikes.

Cowboy and VanMoof in particular have positioned themselves as technology companies and raised money from startup VC funds. VanMoof — the Dutch startup that makes bikes with a sleek design that many people confuse with Cowboy’s — in fact holds the title currently for raising the biggest single funding round to date in the e-bike space. That was also in those heydays of 2021.

On the one hand, Cowboy wants to avoid bad publicity. It is a bigger and better known company than eBikeLabs. Cowboy may even think that eBikeLabs is trying to make a name for themselves at Cowboy’s expense.

On the other hand, eBikeLabs took a radical decision when it signed an exclusivity contract with Cowboy. It has yet to generate meaningful revenue and it even plans to raise some new funding through another equity crowdfunding campaign in the coming weeks. The startup will also face competitive pressure from larger e-bike motor manufacturers, such as Bosch and Shimano. eBikeLabs could run out of time and options sooner rather than later.

That’s why it’s going to be interesting to see what’s going to happen in the coming weeks: time is money, so both companies will likely want to resolve the case as quickly as possible.

First they worked in tandem, now they’re in an e-bike patent suit by Romain Dillet originally published on TechCrunch

General Motors today announced it will unveil an all-electric version of the Escalade later this year. It’s called the Escalade IQ, which follows the same name scheme used by the rest of the Cadillac fleet of Lyriq, Celestiq, Mystiq, Vistiq, and Lumistiq. Why the IQ at the end? Cadillac says “The IQ naming strategy celebrates Cadillac introducing a different type of EV to the market — one that works in tandem with people’s daily lives and environments.” Okay, sure.

No other details about the upcoming vehicle were released including vehicle features, electric range, or pricing. Those details will likely be released later this year. Let’s speculate!

The Escalade IQ will likely be built off the next generation Ultium platform, the same modular EV platform used in every modern GM EV from the sporty Blazer EV to the monstrous Hummer EV. Last week, General Motors’ newly named president of North America, Rory Harvey, told the media the upcoming Silverado EV will feature a 450 mile electric range. There’s a good chance the Escalade IQ will feature a similar range.

Don’t expect a bargain. General Motors and Cadillac have shown recently its able to price its vehicles at the top of their range. Cadillic’s upcoming flagship EV sedan, the Celestiq, will start around $300,000 though will likely be less available and more exclusive than the Escalade IQ. The GMC Hummer EV often sells north of $150,000 (if you can find one). The same goes for the mid-engine Corvette C8, which technically starts at $65,000, but a lot are sold well-above the window price with some climbing north of $150,000.

Think the Escalade IQ will be too expensive for your budget? There will likely be a lower-cost alternative, too: The Chevy Suburban.

The current Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Suburban are nearly twins with similar capabilities and near-identical dimensions. That’s by design. The Cadillac Escalade nameplate has been atop the Cadillac lineup since the late ’90s. At the time, when gas was cheap and the market craved huge SUVs, General Motors saw an opportunity to print money. The automaker took its full-size SUVs, the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, and upgraded the interior with better seats and softer leather and slapped the Cadillac crest on tailgate. The result was a success, and it’s been a top-seller since its debut. Now, with its Ultium platform, General Motors is likely to produce a luxury, full-size SUV (the Escalade IQ) and a pedestrian version in the Chevy Suburban.

Cadillac to unveil the all-electric Escalade IQ in late 2023 by Matt Burns originally published on TechCrunch

The spotlight of hype has lit up many areas since autonomous driving had its own time in the sun, but progress in the technology is chugging along. It’s clear that the dream of not having to drive ourselves around is not dead, given the rising tallies of miles driven by bots, greater commercialization, and other headlines.

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There’s a lot of good news to be found. Today, Chinese technology giant Baidu revealed an interesting set of datapoints regarding Apollo Go, it’s “autonomous ride-hailing service”:

Apollo Go, Baidu’s autonomous ride-hailing service, provided around 660K rides in the first quarter of 2023, up 236% year over year and 18% quarter over quarter.

The company also reminded investors that Apollo Go was the first to receive permits in Beijing to “operate ride-hailing services with no driver or safety operator in the vehicles” this March.

So if we presume an average trip of, say, two miles (3.2 kilometers), Apollo Go racked up north of one million miles in the first quarter alone. That’s a lot of autonomous driving.

Baidu’s update follows other progress reports from self-driving car outfits: Cruise a couple of months ago said it had completed “one million fully driverless miles” in the 15 months since it started offering fully driverless rides.

We also covered Cruise’s geographic expansion earlier in May:

Cruise is rolling out its self-driving cars to more cities — specifically, to Houston and Dallas as it expands its Texas-based presence. Cruise already started testing its vehicles in Austin at the end of last year, and announced plans to begin testing its Origin built-for-purpose robotaxis there earlier in 2023.

Alphabet’s Waymo self-driving effort has also expanded its own operating area:

Self-driving cars are taking ages to become a reality, but they won’t take forever by Alex Wilhelm originally published on TechCrunch

Wingcopter, a startup out of Germany that has made a name for itself in the world of delivery drones used primarily for delivery of medicine and other goods to remote areas, has picked up some more financing to expand its business. The European Investment Bank is putting €40 million (close to $44 million) into the startup, funding that it will use in two areas: further developing its hardware line; and to kick off a new business in logistics and delivery services, anchored by a fleet of its drones.

The funding is being described as “quasi-equity” — and it’s a common approach taken by the EIB (other examples here and here) that involves one portion of the funding coming in as equity and the rest as a venture loan. Tom Plümmer, Wingcopter’s CEO and co-founder, would not disclose the proportions of either in an interview. He said the plan is to raise a significant Series B next year — or whenever the markets turn around.

For now, this latest infusion brings the total raised by Wingcopter to €100 million, which has also been backed in two previous fundraises by a mix of strategic and financial backers such as the retail giant REWE, Xplorer Capital, Japan’s ITOCHU, and Expa, the investment firm started by Garrett Camp of Uber.

And it more than doubles Wingcopter’s previous valuation — a figure that it is not disclosing, either. But if you consider that its bigger U.S. counterpart Zipline last month raised $330 million at a valuation of $4.2 billion, Wingcopter clearly sees the opportunity in the market — and given it has raised only around one-tenth the amount overall, where it likely is right now.

Image Credits: Wingcopter

Wingcopter’s raise is coming at a key moment in the wider vertical take-off and landing space overall. In addition to Zipline’s raise, just a week ago, the VTOL business Lilium, which is developing an air taxi business, disclosed that it was raising another $250 million, with $100 million committed so far from Tencent. The company is publicly listed in on NasdaqGS and its stock has been floundering and got a tiny bump from the news.

Indeed, in the more dicey financial waters of today, companies like Wingcopter, Zipline, and others in the space like Flytrex, have something that the air taxi businesses do not: active deployments, albeit small ones. The company has been working with Unicef in Malawi to help it deliver medicines to hard-to-reach areas, and the plan is to expand that service to more geographies and in more partnerships.

Wingcopter, like Zipline, has focused most of its efforts on the emerging region of Africa, and on very specific use cases.

While the company is still awaiting regulatory clearance to start pilots, and eventually services, in Europe, he said that he was approached by the German government to see if Wingcopter’s drones could help form part of the fleet of drones being sent to Ukraine to help it with its defense against Russia.

Wingcopter refused: the company, he said, is committed to its drones never being used in combat situations. That won’t rule out, however, potentially using them at some point to deliver goods when the fighting ceases and Ukraine becomes more focused on reconstruction.

In the meantime, the plan will be to expand business development into other emerging regions alongside Africa, including Asia and Latin America. And that is where the services element comes into the picture. To be clear, Wingcopter will continue to develop and sell drones to individual organizations as it has done up to now. In the wings is a hydrogen-powered model that will, Plümmer said, extend the range of its aircraft by five times compared to models that currently run on batteries. “We will do Frankfurt to Berlin on one charge,” he said.

But more realistically, the unit cost of Wingcraft’s models continues to be typically too high for the kinds of organizations that might be the most likely to use them, and so that is why the startup will also be looking at ways of providing services on top of fleets that it will lease out instead.

Currently, Wingcopter, in working with Unicef, uses a mixture of its own proprietary software on its own devices alongside ERP software from third parties like SAP. But the plan is to build its own logistics and delivery backend to manage this service and work with its fleet, and any other device that it might make sense to use for other legs of a delivery.

“We will integrate our existing drone software into a logistics system that we will design, and we will track the orders,” he said. “This is partly why Garrett [Camp] was interested in us. But yes, as a logistics provider we’ll need to be more platform agnostic and open. We want to build the best logistics service so we are looking at a combination of air and ground vehicles and we are open for more partnerships than we would have been as just a drone company.”

Part of the EIB’s mandate is to finance promising startups out of Europe to push forward the region’s technology industry, but another part is to invest in projects that further the region’s ecological mandates, which is the case here, since the use of drones not only reduces the amount of traffic and emissions from delivery vehicles, but also furthers the work being done to build more clean energy systems, as is the case with Wingcopter’s hydrogen-powered model that is currently in development.

“Europe is currently the global leader in cleantech, and we must work hard to maintain this lead. Backing European cleantech pioneers with global reach like Wingcopter is central to our mission,” said EIB VP Ambroise Fayolle, who oversees Germany, in a statement. “Electric cargo drones are an important vertical segment for a future of sustainable transport and logistics. This investment underlines our commitment to supporting entrepreneurs growing and building advanced green technology businesses in the European Union, strengthening our technological competitiveness, creating highly skilled jobs and opening up new markets, while preserving nature. We are proud to be supporting this European success story.”

Wingcopter, Germany’s drone delivery startup, raises another $44M from the EIB by Ingrid Lunden originally published on TechCrunch

Cruise is rolling out its self-driving cars to more cities — specifically, to Houston and Dallas as it expands its Texas-based presence. Cruise already started testing its vehicles in Austin at the end of last year, and announced plans to begin testing its Origin built-for-purpose robotaxis there earlier in 2023.

Cruise said via their Twitter account that they’ll kick off supervised (meaning, there’s a safety driver in the car) rides in Houston “in the coming days,” while Dallas riders will have to wait just a bit longer to actually get into vehicles. Interested individuals can use Cruise’s sign-up page to join the waitlist, since the program will be invite-only initially, though open to the general public in terms of requesting access.

It’s been a busy year for Cruise, with expansion of its testing program to new locales, and also a broadening of its pilot program in San Francisco, where its cars are now available to hail 24 hours a day throughout the city — for employees only initially, however.

Cruise expands supervised self-driving ride-hailing to Houston and Dallas by Darrell Etherington originally published on TechCrunch

Qualcomm’s longer term bet on the automotive sector as a lucrative customer base for its chips and related communications technology is getting a significant push today: the company announced that it is acquiring Autotalks, a fabless chipmaker out of Israel that builds semiconductor and system-on-a-chip technology to aid in automotive safety; sources tell us Qualcomm is paying between $350 million and $400 million for the startup.

Autotalks’ tech is used in sensors that help vehicles (which can be bikes, cars or another form of mobility) and their drivers detect road hazards such as oncoming vehicles in a driver’s blind spots; it also communicates with other vehicles using compatible tech to improve responsiveness. Qualcomm said the plan will be to integrate Autotalks’ V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communication tech into its mobility-focused Snapdragon Digital Chassis portfolio.

The financial terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed, but a source close to the deal tells us that it’s a $350-$400 million deal. We have contacted Qualcomm for a comment and will update as we learn more.

Autotalks, founded in 2009, has raised $110 million, according to data from Pitchbook. Its many backers included a number of strategic investors such as Samsung, Hyundai and Toyota, as well as financial backers like Gemini Israel and Magma Venture Partners.

Qualcomm’s picked up some interesting momentum in its automotive business to date, with customers including VW, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, Honda and Stellantis. In September last year it claimed a $30 billion “design-win pipeline” in automotive — although that is a longer-term idea than a solid concept. In more hard numbers, its QCT division (the core CDMA business covering mobile and wireless chips and related tech) saw automotive revenue of $975 million in FY21, and $1.3 billion in FY22.

It’s not too much of a surprise to see Qualcomm scooping up a company like Autotalks. In the world of advanced automotive technology, safety has become one of the most important issues, but also one of the most lucrative opportunities, in the building of autonomous and driver-assisted systems. As a primary feature and solution most likely to be used by customers, it also becomes one that carmakers are most likely to invest in when designing newer car models, regardless of larger timelines for fully-autonomous systems. So beefing up Qualcomm’s capabilities and product range in this area is a logical next step.

“We have been investing in V2X research, development and deployment since 2017 and believe that as the automotive market matures, a standalone V2X safety architecture will be needed for enhanced road user safety, as well as smart transportation systems,” said Nakul Duggal, senior vice president & GM, automotive, Qualcomm Technologies, in a statement. “We share Autotalks’ decades-long experience and commitment to build V2X technologies and products with a focus on solving real-world road user safety challenges. We look forward to working together to deliver global V2X solutions that will help accelerate time-to-market and enable mass market adoption of this very important safety technology.”

“It has been our mission to revolutionize safety for the transportation and automotive industry through our V2X solutions,” added Hagai Zyss, CEO of Autotalks. “We are confident that by combining our knowledge and expertise, we will not only deliver strong V2X products that will enhance transportation efficiency and safety for road users but will accelerate widespread adoption of V2X. We look forward to serving the auto industry together with Qualcomm and to bring the best technologies to market.”

Qualcomm acquires Autotalks to boost Snapdragon’s automotive safety technology, reportedly for $350-400M by Ingrid Lunden originally published on TechCrunch