It doesn’t matter who makes the tech—when you call a robocar, Uber’s mission now is to make sure you use its app.

In Brief Posted: 10:54 AM PDT · June 14, 2025 Image Credits:Mario Tama / Getty Images Waymo limits service ahead of today’s ‘No Kings’ protests Alphabet-owned robotaxi company Waymo is limiting service due to Saturday’s scheduled nationwide “No Kings” protests against President Donald Trump and his policies. A Waymo spokesperson confirmed the changes to Wired on Friday. Service is reportedly affected in San Francisco, Austin, Atlanta, and Phoenix, and is entirely suspended in Los Angeles. It’s not clear how long the limited service will last. As part of protests last weekend in Los Angeles against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, five Waymo vehicles were set on fire and spray painted with anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) messages. In response, Waymo suspended service in downtown LA. While it’s not entirely clear why protestors targeted the vehicles, they may be seen as a surveillance tool, as police departments have requested robotaxi footage for their investigations in the past. (Waymo says it challenges requests that it sees as overly broad or lacking a legal basis.) According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the city’s fire chief told officials Wednesday that “in a period of civil unrest, we will not try to extinguish those fires unless they are up against a building.” Topics

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. What’s next for AI and math The modern world is built on mathematics. Math lets us model complex systems such as the way air flows around an aircraft, the way financial markets fluctuate, and the way blood flows through the heart. Mathematicians have used computers for decades, but the new vision is that AI might help them crack problems that were previously uncrackable.   However, there’s a huge difference between AI that can solve the kinds of problems set in high school—math that the latest generation of models has already mastered—and AI that could (in theory) solve the kinds of problems that professional mathematicians spend careers chipping away at. Here are three ways to understand that gulf.  —Will Douglas HeavenThis story is from our What’s Next series, which looks across industries, trends, and technologies to give you a first look at the future. You can read the rest of them here. Inside the effort to tally AI’s energy appetite —James O’Donnell After working on it for months, my colleague Casey Crownhart and I finally saw our story on AI’s energy and emissions burden go live last week.  The initial goal sounded simple: Calculate how much energy is used when we interact with a chatbot, then tally that up to understand why leaders in tech and politics are so keen to harness unprecedented levels of electricity to power AI and reshape our energy grids in the process.It was, of course, not so simple. After speaking with dozens of researchers, we realized that the common understanding of AI’s energy appetite is full of holes. I encourage you to read the full story, which has some incredible graphics to help you understand this topic. But here are three takeaways I have after the project. This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get it in your inbox first, sign up here, and check out the rest of our Power Hungry package about AI here. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Elon Musk has turned on Trump He called Trump’s domestic policy agenda a “disgusting abomination.” (NYT $)+ House Speaker Mike Johnson has, naturally, hit back. (Insider $) 2 NASA is in crisisIts budget has been cut by a quarter, and now its new leader has had his nomination revoked. (New Scientist $)+ What’s next for NASA’s giant moon rocket? (MIT Technology Review)3 Here’s how Big Tech plans to wield AITo build ‘everything apps’ that keep you inside their ecosystem, forever. (The Atlantic $)+ The trouble is, the experience isn’t always slick enough, as Google has discovered with its ‘Ask Photos’ feature. (The Verge $)+ How to fight your instinct to blindly trust AI. (WP $)4 Meta has signed a 20-year deal to buy nuclear power It’s the latest in a race to try to keep up with AI’s surging energy demands. (ABC)+ Can nuclear power really fuel the rise of AI? (MIT Technology Review) 5 Extreme heat takes a huge toll on people’s mental healthIt’s yet another issue we’re failing to prepare for, as summers get hotter and hotter. (Scientific American $)+ The quest to protect farmworkers from extreme heat. (MIT Technology Review) 6 China’s robotaxi companies are planning to expand in the Middle East And they’re getting a warmer welcome than in the US or Europe. (WSJ $)+ China’s EV giants are also betting big on humanoid robots. (MIT Technology Review)7 AI will supercharge hackersThe full impact of new AI techniques is yet to be felt, but experts say it’s only a matter of time. (Wired $)+ Five ways criminals are using AI. (MIT Technology Review)8 It’s an exciting time to be working on Alzheimer’s treatments 12 of them are moving to the final phase of clinical trials this year. (The Economist $)+ The innovation that gets an Alzheimer’s drug through the blood-brain barrier. (MIT Technology Review)9 Workers are being subjected to more and more surveillanceNot just in the gig economy either—’bossware’ is increasingly appearing in offices too. (Rest of World) 10 Noughties nostalgia is rife on TikTokIt was a pretty fun decade, to be fair. (The Guardian) Quote of the day  “This is scientific heaven. Or it used to be.” —Tom Rapoport, a 77-year-old Harvard Medical School professor from Germany, expresses his sadness about Trump’s cuts to US science funding to the New York Times.  One more thing OLCF What’s next for the world’s fastest supercomputers When the Frontier supercomputer came online in 2022, it marked the dawn of so-called exascale computing, with machines that can execute an exaflop—or a quintillion (1018) floating point operations a second.Since then, scientists have geared up to make more of these blazingly fast computers: several exascale machines are due to come online in the US and Europe.But speed itself isn’t the endgame. Researchers hope to pursue previously unanswerable questions about nature—and to design new technologies in areas from transportation to medicine. Read the full story. —Sophia Chen We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.) + If tracking tube trains in London is your thing, you’ll love this live map.+ Take a truly bonkers trip down memory lane, courtesy of these FBI artifacts.+ Netflix’s Frankenstein looks pretty intense.+ Why landlines are so darn spooky

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! It might have been a short week, but there was still plenty of news, including another Zoox recall, an update on the Stellantis-Amazon partnership, and a few startup-funding deals.  One item of note: This week, I wrote about Carma Technology and its patent infringement lawsuit against Uber. This isn’t a patent troll situation, and the IP attorneys I have spoken with say it will be a challenging case for Uber.  The gist? Carma, which was formed in 2007 by serial entrepreneur and SOSV Ventures founder Sean O’Sullivan, filed a lawsuit earlier this year against Uber, alleging the company infringed on five of its patents that are related to the system of matching riders (or packages) with capacity in vehicles. In other words, ride-sharing. IP attorney Larry Ashery provided the money quote that explains why this is such a complicated and challenging case.  “What’s important to understand here is, Carma isn’t just asserting five patents. They have had a very sophisticated strategy of patent procurement that they’ve been working on for the past 18 years.” Carma’s five patents are part of a 30-patent family that are all related and connected to the original filing date. That matters because each of the five asserted patents contains multiple patent claims, which define the legal boundaries of the invention. These individual claims — not just the patents as a whole — are what Carma is asserting against Uber.That means Uber will have to address and defend against each asserted claim, making the litigation more complex and difficult to defeat, Ashery noted.  Techcrunch event Save now through June 4 for TechCrunch Sessions: AI Save $300 on your ticket to TC Sessions: AI—and get 50% off a second. Hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Khosla Ventures, and more during a full day of expert insights, hands-on workshops, and high-impact networking. These low-rate deals disappear when the doors open on June 5. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | June 5 REGISTER NOW Let’s get into the rest of the news.  A little bird Image Credits:Bryce Durbin A few little birds have been chirping at us for months now about a new autonomous vehicle technology startup that has been quietly plugging along for a year. The interesting nugget about this startup — which is called Bedrock Robotics — is who is behind it: Boris Sofman, who led Waymo’s self-driving trucks program and previously co-founded and led the popular consumer robotics company Anki.  The San Francisco-based startup is still in stealth, but my sources tell me it has raised considerable venture funds. Bedrock Robotics is working on a self-driving kit that retrofits onto construction equipment and other heavy machinery, according to a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. Or check out these instructions to learn how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop. Deals! Image Credits:Bryce Durbin Firefly Aerospace received a $50 million investment from Northrop Grumman as part of its Series D round. This investment will further advance production of the startup’s  co-developed medium launch vehicle, now known as Eclipse. Pallet, a warehouse logistics software startup based in Fremont, California, raised $27 million in a Series B funding round led by General Catalyst. Bain Capital Ventures, Activant Capital, and Bessemer Venture Partners also participated. Volteras, a London-based startup building virtual connective tissue that will allow plugged-in EVs to offer their batteries to support the grid, closed an $11.1 million Series A led by Union Square Ventures, with participation from Edenred, Exor, Long Journey Ventures, and Wex. Way Data Technologies, a fleet management startup founded by veterans of Lucid Motors and Wolt, raised €2.6 million ($2.95 million) in pre-seed funding led by Pale Blue Dot, with participation from 10x Founders and Greens Ventures.  Notable reads and other tidbits Image Credits:Bryce Durbin Autonomous vehicles Rivr’s four-wheeled, stair-climbing delivery robot — which its CEO and founder, Marko Bjelonic, describes as a dog on roller skates — will ferry packages from Veho vans directly to customers’ front doors as part of a pilot program in Austin, Texas. Both companies see this small pilot as a critical step toward solving a unique slice of the end-to-end autonomous delivery journey.   TuSimple (now CreateAI) sent a trove of sensitive data — effectively the blueprint of an American-made autonomous vehicle system — to a Beijing-owned firm after committing to the U.S. government that it would cease such transfers under a national security agreement. The revelation, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, prompted numerous “not surprised” responses from several readers and sources within the industry. Zoox issued its second voluntary software recall in a month, following a collision between one of its robotaxis and an e-scooter rider in San Francisco on May 8. The incident is notable, largely for what happened after the unoccupied Zoox vehicle operating at low speed was struck by the e-scooter after braking to yield at an intersection.  According to Zoox, the e-scooterist fell to the ground directly next to the vehicle and the “robotaxi began to move and stopped after completing the turn, but did not make further contact with the e-scooterist.” In other Zoox news, the company announced it was the “official robotaxi partner of Resorts World Las Vegas.” As part of the deal, there will be a dedicated and Zoox-branded robotaxi pickup and drop-off location at Resorts World Las Vegas.  Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries The Tesla Cybertruck is having a rough time. Dozens of unsold Tesla Cybertrucks are piling up at a Detroit shopping center parking lot. And while Cybertruck owners are now allowed by Tesla to trade in their vehicles for the first time since they hit the market, they’ll face a steep depreciation hit. CarGurus recently showed depreciation rates of up to 45%. Meanwhile, Tesla sales in Europe and the U.K. have fallen by nearly half, according to data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.  The Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal of 2015 rippled through the automotive sector and prompted the company (and later followed by others) to shift away from diesel and toward hybrids and electric vehicles. Now, four former Volkswagen executives have received prison sentences for their role. In-car tech Amazon is no longer working with Stellantis to create in-car software for the automaker’s vehicles. The partnership, first announced in January 2022, was part of Stellantis’ plan to generate $22.5 billion annually from software. Stellantis told TechCrunch it would be pivoting to an Android-based system.

In Brief Posted: 4:28 PM PDT · May 30, 2025 Image Credits:Andrew Harnik / Getty Images Elon Musk is lobbying lawmakers on driverless vehicle rules Elon Musk may have stepped away from his duties as the lead of the Department of Government Efficiency and adviser to President Trump, but he’s still active in D.C. circles. This time, he’s on the other side, lobbying lawmakers on legislation related to autonomous vehicles, according to a report by Bloomberg that cited unnamed sources. Musk and others in his orbit have been calling members of Congress directly, according to Bloomberg. His efforts appear to be directed at a bill introduced May 15 called the Autonomous Vehicle Acceleration Act. Musk has bet much of Tesla’s future on AI, robotics, and autonomous vehicles. He has frequently tied the company’s value to its investment and eventual commercialization of autonomous vehicles. And next month, Tesla is expected to launch a small and geofenced robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. Tesla also wants to eventually roll out autonomous vehicles — branded Cybercabs — that don’t have a steering wheel or pedals. But today there are not clear federal rules or standards to allow such a vehicle to operate at scale. Topics

It's December of 2015, and the Green Bay Packers are up against the wall. They've lost their last three games, and their early-season momentum is feared dead in the water.The Detroit Lions, a longtime rival, only need to stop one last play on the 39-yard line to keep their two-point lead and take home the win.The snap comes, and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers scrambles down the field while his faithful receivers scutter for the endzone. From 61 yards, the quarterback makes his final throw, a pass that meets a leaping Richard Rodgers to give Green Bay the touchdown, winning the game and ultimately saving the season.It's safe to say Tesla is in a similar spot: the losses are mounting, the future looks dim, and the team is down to their last pass. Sadly, Elon Musk is no Rodgers.Ten years after the "Miracle in Motown," the electric vehicle company's stock has plummeted by 25 percent in just six months, thanks to horrid global sales, a portfolio many investors see as crusty and dated, and perhaps above all, the alienating behavior of its own chief executive.Mere months into Musk's disastrous stint as federal spending czar, the prediction that "Tesla will soon collapse" is no longer a fringe opinion held by forum dwellers, but a serious charge levied by political commentators, stock gurus, and former Tesla executives alike.Fortunately for any foolhardy shareholders keeping the faith, Elon Musk has promised to rollout Tesla's autonomous robotaxi service in Austin, a product some analysts predicted could soon make up 90 percent of Tesla's profits.Unfortunately for those investors, Musk has given Tesla a self-imposed deadline of June 12th to make it all happen — meaning we're two weeks away from seeing whether or not the rubber hits the road. So where is the company at on its self-driving cabs?Well, the self-driving vehicles about to land in Austin streets are blowing past school buses into child crash dummies, if that's any indication.According to a FuelArc analysis of a school bus test, Tesla's latest iteration of "full self-driving" software failed to detect flashing red school bus stop signs (and in turn failed to stop at the parked bus), detected child-sized pedestrians but failed to react, and made no attempt to brake or evade the adolescent crash dummies as the car drew closer.FuelArc notes that school bus recognition only hit self-driving Teslas in December of 2024. Keep in mind, these vehicles have been on public roads, albeit with drivers behind the wheel, since October of 2015 — just months before Rodger's now-infamous Hail Mary.It's obvious that the robotaxi is nowhere near ready, which is probably why Tesla is scrambling to hire remote operators to drive its vehicles ahead of the looming June deadline.This ought to be the "Miracle in Motown" moment for Telsa – but the quarterback doesn't even have the ball, and the receivers are nowhere to be found.More on Tesla: Self-Driving Tesla Suddenly Swerves Off the Road and CrashesShare This Article

Weekly curated resources for designers — thinkers and makers.“Its “almost there” quality — the feeling we’re just one prompt away from the perfect solution — is what makes it so addicting. Vibe coding operates on the principle of variable-ratio reinforcement, a powerful form of operant conditioning where rewards come unpredictably. Unlike fixed rewards, this intermittent success pattern (“the code works! it’s brilliant! it just broke! wtf!”), triggers stronger dopamine responses in our brain’s reward pathways, similar to gambling behaviors.”The perverse incentives of Vibe Coding →By fred benensonIs your research repository holding back the impact of your insights? →[Sponsored] Join UX research experts Jake Burghardt and Emily DiLeo as they share the 6 red flags to look out for in failing repositories. Plus, get practical tips on how to build a repository that ensures your UX research delivers business value.Editor picksFigma uses nostalgia for their future in IPO →What happens when design tools grow up — and grow corporate.By Darren YeoDo people really want AI friends? →Zuckerberg seems to think so.By Daley WilhelmDesign for trust, then for possibility →From horseless carriages to robotaxis.By Sarah CordivanoThe UX Collective is an independent design publication that elevates unheard design voices and helps designers think more critically about their work.Nordic design gallery →Make me thinkThere should be no AI button →“It’s often unclear what the button will actually do. You may have a small text box to add a user prompt, but you’re at the mercy of the quality of an opaque system prompt.”Products need soul but markets reward scale →“Uber is the clearest example of a company that let go of the original story and embraced what the market wanted. It started out as a premium ride experience. Nice cars, polite drivers, smooth UX. Then it went public. Growth expectations took over. Fleet owners stepped in. Car quality dropped. The experience became inconsistent. And then came the ads.”About showing the “open to work” badge →“The reason might be that I do use LinkedIn professionally and that I’ve been both recruiting and being hired by large corporations. I’ve also been part of reorganisations, companies going bust and was on the wrong spreadsheet when mass layoffs happened. So I know how it feels to not have a job even when your performance was great.”Little gems this weekIs your creative character being sacrificed to Algorithm, Inc? →By Ian BatterbeeNo country for junior designers →By Patrick MorganThe next design trend should start with your hands, not a computer →By Michael F. BuckleyTools and resources20+ GenAI UX patterns →AI beyond the model.By Sharang SharmaUsing simulation models in UX research →Why it’s time we take behavior seriously.By Talieh KazemiDesign in the age of vibes →What the new wave of tools means for the future.By John MoriartySupport the newsletterIf you find our content helpful, here’s how you can support us:Check out this week’s sponsor to support their work tooForward this email to a friend and invite them to subscribeSponsor an editionPerverse vibes, Figma’s future IPO, 20+ GenAI UX patterns was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.