TechCrunch Mobility: Tesla’s ‘Robotaxi’ Trademark Rejected, Aurora Co-Founder Departs, and Tariffs Affect the Industry

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Recently, Aurora achieved a landmark by launching its driverless truck service, just in time. However, this week, Aurora is back in the news due to a surprising leadership transition.

Co-founder Sterling Anderson, who served as the chief product officer, is resigning from both his position and the board. No formal explanation has been provided for his departure, aside from his comments during the company’s Q1 earnings call: “Departing from Aurora is one of the toughest choices I’ve ever faced, especially considering the exciting phase Aurora is experiencing. It’s precisely that which gives me the assurance that now is the opportune moment.”

He has not revealed his next pursuit, only stating it will be an “exciting external opportunity in a senior leadership role at a renowned global organization.”

Feel free to speculate.

In spite of Anderson’s departure, Aurora is pressing ahead. During its earnings call, the company disclosed plans to commence operations of its self-driving trucks at night and in adverse weather conditions, such as rain or strong winds, by the latter half of 2025. They are also working to broaden their driverless trucking routes from Dallas to encompass Houston, El Paso, and Phoenix.

A little bird

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Deals!

It’s unusual for a public company to reverse its course and transition back to private status, but these are extraordinary times, particularly for entities affected by the U.S.-China trade conflict.

For instance, consider Zeekr. A year prior, this Chinese EV firm made its entry onto the New York Stock Exchange. Now, its parent company Geely Auto is looking to privatize Zeekr in response to the Trump administration’s proposal to exclude Chinese businesses from American stock markets.

Other noteworthy deals include …

Bosch Ventures has launched a $270 million fund to continue supporting deep tech startups. Managing director Ingo Ramesohl clarified to TechCrunch that the aim is to enhance investments in North American startups.

Investors supporting Indian Uber rival BluSmart have proposed injecting an additional $30 million into the beleaguered ride-hailing startup that abruptly ceased operations last month. There’s a condition, however.

Breathe, a battery software startup, secured $21 million in a Series B funding round led by Kinnevik Online AB, as disclosed exclusively to TechCrunch. Lowercarbon Capital and Volvo Cars Tech Fund were also involved.

DoorDash has announced two major acquisitions as part of its European expansion plans. The company intends to purchase its U.K. competitor Deliveroo for about £2.9 billion (approximately $3.87 billion) and separately acquire SevenRooms — a provider of CRM, marketing, and operations software aimed at assisting restaurants and venues with reservations and guest management — for $1.2 billion in cash.

Meanwhile, Uber has been quite active, acquiring and investing in several firms.

Uber has amplified its investment in Chinese autonomous vehicle company WeRide by $100 million as part of an extended partnership aimed at rolling out the service to 15 more cities in the upcoming five years. Moreover, Uber has acquired an 85% controlling stake in Trendyol Go, the online meal and grocery delivery platform based in Istanbul, for around $700 million in cash.

Notable reads and other tidbits

Autonomous vehicles

In an unforeseen personnel shift, Mo Elshenawy, the former president and CTO of the now-dissolved self-driving car company Cruise, has been appointed as the chief technology officer at telehealth and wellness provider Hims & Hers. I recently spoke with Hims & Hers co-founder and CEO Andrew Dudum, who mentioned he deliberately sought candidates from the AV field for this role.

Nuro has commenced testing its AV technology on the Las Vegas Strip. I had a recent discussion with co-founder and president Dave Ferguson, so stay tuned for insights on why the company revised its business strategy.

Tesla has encountered challenges in trademarking “Robotaxi” and “Cybercab.” The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied Tesla’s application for “Robotaxi” citing its generic nature, while the “Cybercab” applications have been postponed due to other companies pursuing similar trademarks.

Uber has forged partnerships with three Chinese autonomous vehicle firms — Pony AI, Momenta, and WeRide — aiming to capture the robotaxi market in the Middle East and Europe; note that these arrangements do not extend to operations in China.

Waymo has unveiled a new 239,000-square-foot facility in Mesa, a suburb of Phoenix, in partnership with Magna to produce over 2,000 autonomous Jaguar I-Pace vehicles. This has attracted considerable attention, particularly as Waymo’s current commercial fleet consists of 1,500 vehicles.

Wayve is making significant waves in esteemed circles. Recently, Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson took a ride in one of Wayve’s autonomous test vehicles; Branson is also a supporter of the company. Additionally, Fortune Brainstorm hosted its AI conference in London, where Wayve CEO and co-founder Alex Kendall shared the company’s comprehensive approach and gave insights about Tesla’s Elon Musk.

Zoox has temporarily suspended its driverless testing program for over a week and has recently issued a voluntary recall of its software following a crash in Las Vegas.

Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries

The Cadillac Celestiq EV has officially launched, and contributor Emme Hall provides her perspective after spending a day driving it.

With earnings season in full swing, the U.S.-China trade dispute is beginning to impact automakers across the board, and it appears unlikely that this situation will improve anytime soon.

Ford and General Motors have retracted their annual projections, citing economic uncertainty due to Trump’s tariffs. Meanwhile, Rivian is projected to deliver fewer vehicles (between 40,000 to 46,000 EVs) than initially estimated due to tariffs and regulatory adjustments; it’s also noteworthy that the company was already approaching a third consecutive year without volume growth before this revision. Some positive news for Rivian, however, is that it achieved gross profit, fulfilling a contractual milestone that released approximately $1 billion in funding from Volkswagen Group as part of a partnership with the German automaker.

Ford is increasing the prices of the all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUV and the Maverick pickup by up to $2,000 due to import taxes enacted by Trump on vehicles produced in Mexico.

Lucid Motors is addressing some quality “hiccups” in the initial deliveries of its highly anticipated electric Gravity SUV.

Mitsubishi Motors is in negotiations with Foxconn to source an electric car model that it plans to launch in Australia and New Zealand by late 2026.

Tesla continues to experience declining sales across Europe despite a marked increase in EV sales in April.

Future of flight

Joby Aviation seems to be eyeing 2026 for the commencement of its first commercial passenger service, as reflected in its first-quarter earnings report. Initially targeting 2025, this timeline has since shifted to simply 2026, suggesting it may not arrive as early as previously anticipated.