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Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights about the future of transportation. Remember in the last edition of TechCrunch Mobility, when I wrote that the wheels were starting to come off the Fisker bus? Shish. Did they?
To catch you up: Fisker issued a warning on March 18 that it had paused production for six weeks and had only $121 million in cash and cash equivalents, of which $32 million was restricted or not immediately accessible. The company was counting on a $150 million capital infusion via convertible bonds and a potential partnership with another automaker. Those hopes quickly burned away like a rag soaked in gasoline when negotiations between Fisker and the big automaker — said to be Nissan — collapsed and the convertible note deal was put in jeopardy.
Shares fell 28%, trading was halted, and in a final blow, the New York Stock Exchange said it was taking steps to remove Fisker from the exchange.
These are all symptoms of a larger problem within the company, including a particularly embarrassing issue uncovered by TC reporter Sean O'Kane. tl;dr: Fisker temporarily lost track of millions of dollars in customer payments as it scaled up deliveries, triggering an internal audit that began in December and took months to complete.
Well, let's get to the rest of it, including where the assets of bankrupt electric car startup Arrival ended up, a profile of Ionobell, a startup that hopes to increase the range of electric cars through recycled silicon battery materials, and a backing of $ $1 billion for Lucid.
Little birds
Founders, investors, engineers, policy experts, and more tell us things. We are here to pass on the verifiable information that those little birds shared with us.
Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or Sean O'Kane sean.okane@techcrunch.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, click here to contact us, which includes SecureDrop (instructions here) and several encrypted messaging apps.
Deal of the week
It's not easy being a CEO at an EV startup these days. Just ask the folks at Fisker. (Sorry, too early?)
Amidst all the electric vehicle startup bankruptcies and other gloomy events, there has been little positive news. Lucid, facing its own struggles, raised another $1 billion from its largest financial backer, Saudi Arabia. Ayyar Investment III, a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, has agreed to purchase $1 billion worth of Lucid shares, which will add to the Kingdom's current stake of approximately 60%.
A $1 billion raise is a lot of money, but it won't last long if you're trying to design, manufacture, sell and maintain vehicles. This gives Lucid an important capital buffer; However, it does not end its existential crisis. The company must succeed in bringing its next vehicle, the Gravity SUV, to market and drum up new business for its current aero sedan if it hopes to survive and expand.
Other deals that caught my attention…
Cyvl.ai, a Boston-area startup that helps municipalities and civil engineering firms track transportation infrastructure conditions, has raised $6 million in a round led by Companyon Ventures with participation from Argon Ventures, Aero X Ventures and Alumni Ventures. Existing investors MassVentures, Launch Capital and RiverPark Ventures also participated.
Ember, a Scottish startup building one of the UK's first all-electric intercity bus networks, has raised $14 million in a Series A round led by Inven Capital. Investors 2150 and AENU also participated.
Ionobell, a seed-stage startup that says its silicon material will be cheaper than existing competition and help boost the range of electric vehicle batteries, has closed an unpriced $3.9 million seed extension, TechCrunch has learned exclusively. Dynamo Ventures and Trucks VC led the round.
Iron Sheepdog, a startup that develops trucking software for brokers and contractors, has raised $10 million in a Series B round led by SJF Ventures with participation from Grand Ventures, Supply Chain Ventures, and other strategic partners in the construction industry.
Notable Readings and Other Stories
Driver Assist Assistant
Tesla will give every U.S. customer a free one-month trial of its $12,000 Full Self-Driving Beta driver assistance system, provided they have a car with the compatible hardware. The company is also reportedly, at the request of CEO Elon Musk, giving potential buyers a demo of the software before purchasing a new Tesla. Tesla appears to be turning to FSD as another financial instrument that can be pulled as car sales profits shrink.
Electric cars, charging and batteries
Arrival sold some of its assets, including advanced manufacturing equipment, to Canoo, another struggling startup trying to build and sell electric vehicles. You can't make this stuff up, people!
The US Environmental Protection Agency has announced new emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles sold in the United States from 2027 to 2032, a regulation that will increasingly limit the amount of pollution emitted by new heavy-duty trucks. The regulations don't technically require these non-polluting heavy trucks to be electric, instead allowing manufacturers to decide how to meet the standards, whether that's through hydrogen-powered fuel cells, better fuel efficiency or other alternative fuels. However, many believe this will mean an increase in battery-electric heavy-duty trucks. Consider the potential impact of this rule: The heavy truck category applies to more than 100 types of vehicles, including vocational vehicles such as delivery trucks, garbage haulers, utility trucks, transit buses, shuttle buses, and school buses, as well as tractor trucks Trailer. .
Technology inside the car
GM has lost another executive who was part of the company's software and digital services efforts. You may remember that former Apple executive Mike Abbott, who was GM's executive vice president of software and services, resigned earlier this month due to health issues. Edward Comer, the former head of Nordstrom Rack's online business who joined GM in 2021 to head its new digital business team, is now gone, the Detroit News reported.
Wheels this week
Image credits: Kirsten Korosek
I rarely test vehicles with internal combustion engines, but I made an exception this week when I had the opportunity to spend a few hundred miles behind the wheel of a 2024 Land Rover Defender 110 X-Dynamic SE. And technically, guys, this car has a six-cylinder mild-hybrid electric motor, so it still qualifies, right?
My experience with the Land Rover Defender has only been in body-on-frame models dating back decades. So I was looking forward to finally getting my hands on the modern version, which Land Rover officially brought back in 2020. The spec I drove, which was priced at just under $88,000 and included some pricey upgrades and 22-inch wheels, is probably suitable for affluent urban customers. But with different tyres, the aluminum unibody Defender can just as well handle off-road conditions. It played on dirt roads—no rock crawling—and it handled well without any squeaks, rattles, or dings, even on washboard floors.
I didn't like the advanced driver assistance system, particularly how the driver used the adaptive cruise control. But there were plenty of features I liked, including a very quiet ride, adaptive air suspension, white paint over black gloss details, a practical tailgate, an easy-access spare tire, and an air-cooled compartment for safekeeping. Great snacks and interior design that combines utilitarian function with sturdy, high-quality materials.
A final word about this interior – you won't find a huge screen here. But there are tech-related details mixed in with the buttons and knobs. My version had a wireless charger and several charging ports, including one on the passenger-side dashboard. The user interface was actually fairly decent.
One feature I liked was the drop-down menu in the media switching that allowed me to quickly switch between Apple CarPlay and the native infotainment system that included Sirius XM radio or local stations. This may seem unimportant, but I've been in a number of electric cars recently that make switching between CarPlay and the native system quite complicated.
