The Revolution Of The Car Industry

Un évènement d’une ampleur inédite a touché l’entreprise phare de robotaxis. Alors qu’une panne d’électricité massive a plongé une grande partie de San Francisco dans l’obscurité le samedi 20 décembre 2025, la flotte de taxis autonomes de Waymo a connu un échec technique retentissant et a obligé l’entreprise à suspendre ses services en urgence.

Tesla is rapidly expanding its supervised Robotaxi fleet in California's Bay Area, registering 1,655 vehicles and 798 drivers, up from 28 vehicles in August. The company recruits factory workers as AI operators amid regulatory hurdles and competition from Waymo. This push signals progress toward a 2025 unsupervised rollout.

Tesla is repurposing factory workers and sales staff into roles like AI operators and customer managers for its upcoming Robotaxi service, leveraging internal talent to cut costs and accelerate deployment amid regulatory and competitive challenges. This strategic shift highlights Elon Musk's efficiency-driven approach to autonomous mobility innovation.

General Motors (GM) today announced it will be rolling out support for the Apple Wallet app's digital car key feature, but it did not provide a timeframe or mention any specific vehicle models that will be compatible. GM has four main vehicle brands in the United States and Canada, including Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, and Buick.

Volkswagen has closed its Dresden plant, marking the first such shutdown in Germany in nearly 90 years, due to financial pressures, weak demand, EV transitions, Chinese competition, and US tariffs. This affects 35,000 jobs by 2030, with the site repurposed for AI and robotics research. The move signals broader challenges for Europe's auto sector.

In a recent interview, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe doubled down on his company’s decision to forgo Apple CarPlay, arguing that while the feature might benefit other automakers, it’s unnecessary for Rivian’s electric vehicles. This stance comes amid growing debates in the automotive sector about integrating smartphone ecosystems into car infotainment systems. Scaringe suggested that Rivian’s proprietary software provides a more seamless and integrated experience, one that aligns closely with the unique demands of electric vehicle ownership.

In the previous episode of Tina's Talk, we discussed the first installment of the "China's Auto Industry Going Global" series—why now is the right time for Chinese automakers to expand overseas. In this episode, we turn to a new triangle shaping the global automotive industry: Shanghai, Silicon Valley, and Munich.

While mass market car companies are pulling back from their original product and sales plans, and thoughtfully and relatively slowly moving forward, German luxury automakers are pressing forward with a sense of unprecedented urgency, not just in a bid to stabilize their market share, but in hopes of making gains.

Tesla is preparing for a convergence of automotive and space technology. According to a recent patent filing published on December 4, 2025, the electric vehicle giant is exploring ways to integrate satellite antennas—likely for SpaceX’s Starlink—directly into the roofs of its cars. The patent, titled “Vehicle Roof Assembly with Radio Frequency Transparent Material,” outlines a method to hide satellite receivers within the car’s structure without compromising aesthetics or aerodynamics.

The software-based solution leverages existing hardware to achieve noise reduction without requiring additional dampening materials or acoustic equipment. By utilizing ZF's Smart Chassis Sensor equipped with an integrated acceleration sensor, the system continuously monitors vibrations transmitted from tires through chassis elements including control arms and dampers.

Et si la voiture redevenait un vrai lieu de vie ? Avec son concept-car ELO, Citroën propose une vision radicalement différente de la mobilité électrique, en s’éloignant des SUV pour renouer avec l’esprit des monospaces intelligents. Compact à l’extérieur mais étonnamment généreux à l’intérieur, ce véhicule électrique à six places a été conçu comme un espace modulable, capable de s’adapter aux temps de repos, de loisirs et de travail.
Pour donner corps à cette idée, Citroën s’est associé à Decathlon, dont l’ADN fonctionnel et accessible irrigue tout le projet. Ensemble, ils signent un concept qui ne cherche pas à impressionner par la performance pure, mais par l’usage, la simplicité et l’ingéniosité. Un manifeste roulant qui esquisse le futur de la marque.

Outre les batteries, la Chine a la mainmise sur l’industrie des terres rares, indispensables à la conception des voitures électriques. Et les constructeurs automobiles traditionnels ne veulent plus de cette dépendance, qui leur cause bien des soucis.

Waymo robotaxis are so safe that, according to the company’s data, its driverless vehicles are involved in 91 percent fewer crashes compared to human-operated vehicles. And yet the the company is bracing for the first time when a Waymo does kill somebody — a moment its CEO says society will accept, in exchange for access to its relatively safer driverless cars.

Recent reporting by The Wall Street Journal observed a startling change in Waymos’ road etiquette, a new aggressive streak that would make a BMW driver blush. These include illegal U-turns, aggressive lane switching, rolling through cross walks, and running red lights. “It’s driving more like a taxi driver — an aggressive, New York taxi driver,” said Sophia Yen, who watched in awe as two Waymos zig-zagged between lanes in a high-speed game of chicken back in September.

Hyundai unveiled the MobED, a versatile four-wheeled mobility robot platform, at the 2025 International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo. Powered by AI and autonomous navigation, it adapts to tasks like delivery, logistics, and personal assistance with features including independent wheel pivoting and adaptive suspension. This innovation positions Hyundai as a leader in adaptive robotics for diverse industries.

By rolling back auto industry fuel efficiency goals, US president Donald Trump hopes to make new cars cheaper. But prices won’t drop for years, and consumers will spend more on gas in the meantime.

Although this is apparently enabled based on what was said, I still do not feel totally comfortable with it. I would not ever consider shooting a text or responding to messages because Full Self-Driving is enabled, and there are two reasons for that.
The first is the fact that if an accident were to happen, it would be my fault. Although it would be my fault, people would take it as Tesla’s fault, just based on what media headlines usually are with accidents involving these cars.
Secondly, I am still well aware that it’s against the law to use your phone while driving. In Pennsylvania, we have the Paul Miller Law, which prohibits people from even holding their phones, even at stop lights.

Jonathan Slotkin’s recent analysis of Waymo’s safety results in an oped in the New York Times has sparked a new round of discussion about how society should think about autonomous vehicles. His framing is direct. He argues that the data looks like the kind of early clinical trial result that convinces researchers to stop a study because the treatment works. After roughly 100 million rider-only miles, Waymo’s autonomous system shows far fewer airbag deployments, far fewer injuries, and far fewer serious crashes compared to human drivers. Slotkin’s point is that the raw pattern is already visible. The question is not whether autonomy can work. The question is what pace of deployment we choose as a society. That position is compelling. It is also a starting point for a deeper examination of what high quality safety evidence looks like and how to build it.

The project will be led by Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains – renowned for the power units used in Formula 1 cars – and will create over 150 new, high valued jobs while securing another 34 existing roles. It aims to strengthen the UK’s EV supply chains and reinforce its position as a global hub for automotive innovation, delivering on a central aim of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy.

NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened its initial investigation into Waymo in October after seeing footage of its autonomous vehicle maneuvering around a stopped school bus — with its stop sign extended and lights flashing — that was unloading kids in Atlanta. In that incident, a Waymo robotaxi crossed perpendicularly in front of the school bus from its right side. The autonomous vehicle then turned left around the front of the bus before traveling down the street.

Recent NHTSA estimates show 17,140 deaths from traffic crashes between January and June 2025, an 8.2% decrease from the same period in 2024. The agency attributes part of that decline to crash avoidance technology — especially lane departure warnings, lane keeping assist, and automatic emergency braking systems.
These systems target the leading causes of roadway fatalities: driver error, distraction, and drowsiness.

Waymo faces regulatory scrutiny after its robotaxis repeatedly passed stopped school buses in violation of traffic laws, prompting an NHTSA investigation. The company plans a voluntary software recall to address AI flaws in handling such scenarios. These incidents underscore the challenges of scaling autonomous vehicles while ensuring child safety.

Discover how bidirectional Electric vehicle (EV) charging enables cleaner energy, supports grid stability and creates new value for automakers, utilities and drivers alike.

I've spent the last year deep in the technical architecture of EV charging infrastructure, and I keep coming back to the same uncomfortable observation: we're building the most advanced vehicles in history and powering them with infrastructure that's fundamentally hardware-bound.
The irony isn't lost on me. The automotive industry proved that software defines competitive advantage—Tesla demonstrated it, and now every manufacturer is racing to separate hardware from software. Yet when these intelligent vehicles pull up to charge, they encounter systems operating with less adaptability than a basic smartphone.