Connected and Autonomous Vehicles:
🏛 ‘Open The Floodgates’: Why Tesla’s $243 Million Autopilot Crash Verdict Is Such A Big Deal. “A Florida jury found Tesla TSLA 0.00%↑ liable to pay up to $243 million to victims in a 2019 crash involving a Tesla Model S that involved the Autopilot system.”
🤨 NHTSA Issues First-Ever Demonstration Exemption to American-Built Automated Vehicles . “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced today that the agency issued an exemption for Amazon’s AMZN 0.00%↑ Zoox driverless vehicles under its newly expanded Automated Vehicle Exemption Program. This is the first-ever exemption for American-built vehicles under the program. As a condition of the exemption, Zoox will remove or cover all statements that its purpose-built vehicles comply with applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.”
👉 Baidu Plans to Expand Its Robotaxis to Europe With Lyft Deal. “Baidu will bring its driverless taxis to Europe next year via a partnership with U.S. ride-hailing firm Lyft LYFT 0.00%↑, as the Chinese tech giant looks to expand its autonomous vehicles globally.”
“The robotaxis will initially be deployed in the U.K. and Germany from 2026 with the aim to have “thousands” of vehicles across Europe in the “following years,” the two companies said.”
🤔 US Closes Probe Into Waymo Self-Driving Collisions.
🚙 Lyft to Add Autonomous Shuttles in 2026 as Uber Inks More Self-Driving Deals. “Lyft LYFT 0.00%↑ will add autonomous shuttles made by Austrian manufacturer Benteler Group to its network in late 2026.”
🚘 Waymo Plans to Bring its Robotaxi Service to Dallas in 2026.
🤨 Continental’s Automotive Unit Being Spun-off as Aumovio.
🚍 Aurora Begins Nighttime Driverless Operations in Texas. “Aurora Innovation AUR 0.00%↑ has announced a significant expansion of its commercial operations, including surpassing 20,000 driverless miles at the end of June, recently growing its driverless fleet to three trucks, beginning driverless commercial operations at night, and opening a new Phoenix terminal.”
📌 AEye’s Apollo Joins Forces with NVIDIA.
✈ Tampa Airport Begins Rollout of Lidar. “Tampa International Airport has begun deploying 4D LiDAR sensors across its facilities as part of a wider effort to improve operational awareness, public safety, and passenger experience.”
💲 Car IQ and BlueArrow Telematics Partner to Launch BlueArrow Pay.
