Autonocast

Spring has sprung, and the AV sector is full of happenings. From Sterling Anderson's surprise move from Aurora to GM, to a series of recalls at Waymo and Zoox, the gang discusses the AV sector's busy spring.

This week: Aurora goes driverless, Waymo hooks up with Toyota, Uber hooks up with everyone, and the gang gathers to piece together what it all means.

Before co-founding the medium duty electric truck startup Harbinger, John Harris lived through some of the wildest highs and lows of the post-Tesla EV startup bubble. On this week's episode, he explains how lessons learned from those experiences shaped Harbinger, why medium-duty trucks are so ripe for electrification, how tariffs are creating new challenges, and much more.

The gang comes together to chat about Wayve's deal with Nissan, Kodiak's decision to SPAC, China's ban on "self-driving" terminology — and of course Tesla. Plus, Alex and Kirsten commiserate on their increasingly expensive classic cars.

Reilly Brennan, the godfather of the Autonocast and Trucks VC general partner, returns to the pod for a wide-ranging discussion on the business of robotaxis, how AVs have evolved in the past decade, his latest fund, and some surprising insights into Tesla.

Forterra has been around the defense and driving automation sectors for years, under names like Robotic Research. Now the firm's VP of Commercial Growth Gabe Sganga joins the show to explain Forterra's new name, new ambitions, and work bringing together new opportunities in defense and logistics.

Kirsten rides Waymos in Austin, Alex valet parks a Citroen, and Ed stops protesting Tesla for long enough to find Alex's newest eBike.

Raquel Urtasun came to the AV sector from academia, first leading research for Uber's Advanced Technology Group, and for the last four years with her own startup Waabi. She joins the show to cast light on Waabi's unique approach to Level 4 trucking, some of the differences between so-called "AV 2.0" approaches, and where AI breakthroughs are poised to change AV development.

With Kirsten traveling for work, Ed and Alex get back to the topic that they've been tussling over since this podcast began: Tesla and Elon Musk. Of course, that topic has evolved considerably lately, so buckle up.

Alex shares the struggle of fixing a vintage Citroen SM and what it means for software defined vehicles, the whole gang discusses the unique vehicles in their garages, and sneak in a little discussion of BYD's God's Eye news, just so the whole episode isn't one big digression.

Aircraft design may be a mature space, but Mark Groden sees the entire control scheme for aircraft as an opportunity for transformative change, from the cockpit to the electronic architecture to actuators. He joins the gang to explain Skyryse's work on this opportunity, and where it's taking aviation.

Ed and Kirsten kick off the latest episode with a discussion of Tesla's latest earnings report, and are joined by Alex as the conversation turns to a pair of stories out of San Francisco, and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi's recent comments about AV safety in Davos.

With another CES in the books, the gang gathers to discuss the highs and lows of the show, the annual Autonocast CES party, and the long-overdue debut of the Autonocast merch shop. Surf over to autonocast dot com and click on the store link to buy shirts, mugs, stickers and support the show.

After years of intense effort and turmoil, Zoox is nearing the finish line in its pioneering ground-up robotaxi, possibly the most ambitiously novel vehicle of our time. Ed and Kirsten join Zoox CTO Jesse Levinson for a ride along the famous Las Vegas strip, taking in and discussing this unique new autonomous experience.

With the annual CES party looming, it's time once again for the gang to review last year's predictions and try to make a few about 2025. But first, the gang discusses Alex's latest cross-country exploits.

General Motors has pulled the plug on Cruise, one of the Level 4 AV developers who defined the space... for better and worse. The gang gathers to discuss GM's decision, Cruise's history, and broader lessons about the last decade of driving automation development.

The gang gathers around the metaphorical festive table to discuss such hot-button issues as the complicated future of EVs and AVs under a new Trump administration and the Jaguar rebrand.

With some automakers moving away from touchscreens and back toward physical controls, and others pushing forward toward ever more minimalist user interfaces, the debate around controls in cars has never been more interesting. To help provide some historical context for this fascinating issue, Alex and Ed are joined by Dr Rachel Plotnick, the author of "Power Button: A History of Pleasure, Panic, and the Politics of Pushing."

Xiaodi Hou was one of the earlier guests on the Autonocast, when he joined to discuss the autonomous trucking company TuSimple that he founded and helped run. He returns to the show to reflect on the tumultuous journey that saw him ousted from TuSimple and then starting a new, leaner autonomous truck company called Bot Auto. His lessons learned provide a unique glimpse of the evolving driving automation landscape.

With Kirsten wrapped up in the Disrupt event, Alex and Ed get together to discuss the thrills and chills of this fall's mobility tech news. From eBikes to the first driverless cannonball race, from Waymo and Wayve to Tesla's narrative command, this spooky discussion is sure to provoke and inspire.

George Hotz hasn't won self-driving yet, but Cannonballer Jay Roberts just used a Comma Three and a Toyota Pruis to shatter Alex Roy's 55 hour Autopilot record in 43 hours, 18 minutes. What's the difference between a semi-automated and driverless Cannonball record? Is the future of the Cannonball Run human-driven or autonomous? Is Comma AI's technology better than Tesla's Full Self-Driving? What did the police think? Why are records being shattered in every category this year? Will Alex go again? All this and more on one of our most technology-packed episodes of all time!

Alex and Ed go to war over the Tesla Cybercab reveal, the CyberBus, and Elon Musk's concept of a plan. Can Joel Johnson, polymath and automotive CEO whisperer, bring sanity back to the show in Kirsten's absence?

The immense potential of micromobility is matched only by the challenges of building profitable brands, and Chris Nolte has experienced them firsthand. Along with cofounder Justin Kosmides, Nolte is now building Bloom into a platform that leverages their collective experience into efficiencies to give micromobility startups a fighting edge, and he joins this week's episode to explain how.

The Cannonball Run goes solar as Will Jones explains how he, Kyle Samluk and Danny Ezzo built a race car from scratch to make science fiction racing fact. Was it safe? Was it legal? Did they get pulled over? Was it air conditioned? What about bathroom stops? Will Alex Roy try to break their record?

What could go wrong when Alex gets a new Tesla? Did Elon intervene to help him? Why didn't Alex choose something else? What will Ed say? Can Kirsten keep the peace? How long before the gang settles down to get to the news? All this and much, much more on one of the feistiest Autonocast episodes in a long time.

Ever since 2016, when the first Autopilot crashes were reported, Tesla has been claiming that its Level 2 ADAS is safer than a human driver. Noah Goodall is a traffic safety researcher who has published some of the only peer-reviewed work on Tesla's safety claims, and he joins the show to discuss his work on this and other important road safety topics.

It's been more than a year since we spoke with Don Burnette, founder and CEO of Kodiak Robotics and Google Self-Driving Car program veteran, and a lot has changed in the world of autonomous trucking since then. Don joins the show for a wide-ranging discussion of the state of play in self-driving trucks, and how Kodiak has thrived through sectorwide challenges.

It's a make or break summer for robotaxis, as GM cancels Cruise's Origin, Waymo's new Zeekr-supplied model hits the streets, and Tesla delays the reveal of its alleged robotaxi. Alex, Kirsten and Ed gather to digest all the latest news in the latest discussion episode, joined discreetly at times by friend of the show former Rivian strategy boss Patrick Hunt.

After many discussions about the divide between Level 4 robotaxis/trucks and "AI first" general solutions for automotive use cases, The Autonocast finally welcomes one of the leaders in the latter approach to the show. Alex Kendall is the founder and CEO of the UK-based startup Wayve, which just raised a billion dollars to continue developing its unique approach to driving automation. He joins the gang to discuss Wayve's technology, go to market strategy, safety philosophy, and much more.

Ted Ryan spent more than 20 years as an archivist for Coca-Cola, and is currently the brand manager for archives and heritage at Ford, giving him unique insights into the history of fueling in the US. With EV charging emerging as one of the major challenges to adoption, the gang sat down with Ted to find out what lessons we might learn from history. Turns out there are a lot, you don't want to miss this episode!

With Kirsten taking a well-deserved vacation, Alex and Ed run wild, discussing a wide variety of recent news. From Ed's recent OpEd on Tesla in the Washington Post to GM's new cash injection into Cruise, and from "AI first" automated trucking company Waabi's new funding round to questions around transparency in China's AV development, and much more, the lads have their hands full this week.

Former fighter pilot and NHTSA consultant, now professor at George Mason University, the one and only Missy Cummings returns to The Autonocast to discuss the latest issues in driver assistance and autonomous driving safety, including her work at the auto safety regulator.

From Elon Musk's decision to fire the entire Supercharging team as part of Tesla's "pivot to self-driving," to recent fundraising rounds by Motional and Wayve, the entire mobility tech space is caught between the hard work of growing up and doubling down on the AI hype fundraising game. Not everyone can be choosing wisely.

Electrification and automation collide in this week's episode, as the gang sits down with Crijn Bouman, EV charging veteran and founder of the automated charger company ROCSYS. From the early days of EV charging, to robotaxi service strategies, to the rise of the North American Charging Standard, this conversation spans a wide variety of fascinating topics.

With Tesla's core EV business losing all growth momentum, Elon Musk once again appears to be gambling the most valuable automaker in the world on a driving automation tech play that is clearly not viable. The gang chews on this meaty topic, after a round of AV appetizers featuring the return of Cruise and the death of Ghost.

These are rough times for the once-hot world of EV startups, as the hype fades and reality sets in. On this week's episode the gang sifts through the rubble, finding a little good news (Lucid raised cash!) but a lot of challenges for everyone from Fisker to Tesla.

Incubated inside Google's X project and now deploying in the real world, Wing is an aerial drone delivery company with some interesting parallels to another of Alphabet's "other bets" the gang regularly discuses: Waymo. But, as CEO Adam Woodworth explains, Wing also provides a very different look at how one engineers automated mobility services at a system level, focused more on creating "lego pieces" than specific vehicles. He joins the show to explain Wing's strategy, the unique challenges it faces, and lessons learned along the way.

For our 300th episode, the gang sorts through the highs and lows of some of the recent mobility tech news. Rivian's reveal of two new forthcoming models shows that there's still a lot of excitement in EVs, even as tough challenges remain on the path to financial viability. Meanwhile, the decade-long $10 billion Apple Car saga is officially over, taking the dream of a self-driving car with it, but Waymo's robotaxi service continues to expand proving driving automation is still very real.

Though the flood of EV startups may have receded, the Volkswagen-backed Scout electric truck and SUV startup is as bullish about the opportunity to start a new automaker as ever. Scout CEO Scott Keogh joins the show to explain the opportunity Scout is pursuing, and how the firm plans to stand out in a competitive EV market and rebuild an iconic American brand.

Ed's recent misadventure renting an electric car prompts the gang to share similar experiences, and consider what they might mean for EV adoption. Plus: discussion of Ford's new affordable EV skunkworks, Cruise's CPUC penalty hearing and Waymo's cyclist collision in San Francisco.

After another epic CES party, The Autonocats nurse their hangovers and discuss the show's big trends and buzzwords. Join the first discussion episode of 2024, as the gang puzzles through mysteries like why CES is less consumer-facing than ever, what a "software defined vehicle" is, and why Large Language Models are so promising and yet so disappointing in the automotive space.

With another year coming to a close and another world famous Autonocast CES Party looming, the gang gathers for the annual tradition of exchanging predictions about mobility tech in the new year. Grab a holiday beverage, pull out your crystal ball and enjoy an Autonocast tradition like no other.

With all the furor over the state of electric vehicle sales in the US, Ed and Kirsten called on Tyson Jominy, VP of data and analytics for JD Power, to find out what exactly is happening with the US auto market. The resulting conversation covers the state of EV sales, the role of charging, the profits that are paying for it all, the not-unrelated disappearance of affordable cars, and more.

With Cruise founder and CEO Kyle Vogt resigning, the gang gathers to hash out what it means for the Level 4 robotaxi company, its corporate parent General Motors, and the sector at large.

Can you name an EV maker with rock-solid profits and consistent self-funded growth that has never taken a dollar of VC investment? If you've never heard of Lectric eBikes you're probably struggling to answer that question, but with founder and CEO Levi Conlow joining this week's show for an illuminating discussion, that struggle is now over.

The gang gathers to have a few laughs about the Tesla Cybertruck, before digging into the more serious topic of the situation at Cruise and the issues it has created for the entire autonomous vehicle sector.

With Cruise banned from testing and rides in the state of California following new revelations that the firm hid details of a pedestrian crash from the DMV, the gang huddles with Trucks VC partner and the godfather of The Autonocast Reilly Brennan to talk through the issues, impacts and path forward from another sector-defining incident. Plus, Reilly opens his mobility jobs board to startups in the sector.

With Cruise under NHTSA investigation and a new survey showing lower than ever public confidence in AVs, the gang discusses AV skepticism, its causes, cures, and the (not coincidental?) resurgence of the UAW, among other topics.

Alex and Kirsten riff on the most recent robotaxi news before they head off to the Up Summit in Dallas. With Ed gone this week, the duo turned to CMU professor, engineer and autonomous vehicle safety expert Philip Koopman swung by to discuss the hands-off, eyes-off Mercedes Drive Pilot system and whether it's really Level 3 automation.

The gang catches up after a variety of trips, including to the Florida AV Summit. We take a final look back at summer (and some mobility shenanigans and news) now that fall is here.

The long-simmering culture war between the high tech sector and the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area erupted around the issue of AVs in recent weeks, as the CPUC voted to expand robotaxi operations in the city. The gang gathers this week to discuss the public outcry, the CPUC hearing, the subsequent crashes and other issues, and where it all fits into the AV sector's big picture.