TechCrunch Mobility: Tesla’s Robotaxi Trademark Denied, Aurora Co-Founder Exits, and Industry Tariff Impacts

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In recent developments, Aurora made headlines with the launch of its driverless truck service, but this week, the company is in the spotlight for an unexpected leadership change.

Co-founder Sterling Anderson, previously the chief product officer, has announced his resignation from both his role and the board. While a formal reason for his exit hasn’t been provided, he mentioned during the company’s Q1 earnings call: “Leaving Aurora is one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make, especially with the exciting times the company is experiencing. It’s exactly this moment that assures me it’s the right time to step away.”

He has yet to disclose his next venture but mentioned it would be an “exciting opportunity in a senior leadership position at a prominent global organization.”

Feel free to speculate.

Despite Anderson’s departure, Aurora is moving forward. During its earnings call, the company revealed plans to start operating its self-driving trucks at night and in challenging weather conditions, including rain and strong winds, by the latter half of 2025. They are also expanding their driverless routes from Dallas to include Houston, El Paso, and Phoenix.

A little bird

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Deals!

It’s rare for a public company to reverse course and revert to private status, but these are extraordinary times, particularly for those impacted by the U.S.-China trade tensions.

Take Zeekr, for example. A year ago, this Chinese EV company made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange. Now, its parent organization Geely Auto is looking to take Zeekr private in light of the Trump administration’s proposal to restrict Chinese companies from U.S. stock markets.

Some other significant deals include …

Bosch Ventures has set up a $270 million fund aimed at continuing support for deep tech startups. Managing Director Ingo Ramesohl stated to TechCrunch that the goal is to intensify investments in North American startups.

Investors backing Indian Uber competitor BluSmart have proposed an additional $30 million injection into the troubled ride-hailing service that abruptly stopped its operations last month, under certain conditions.

Breathe, a battery software startup, has successfully raised $21 million in a Series B round, primarily led by Kinnevik Online AB, with participation from Lowercarbon Capital and Volvo Cars Tech Fund, as revealed exclusively to TechCrunch.

DoorDash has declared two significant acquisitions to bolster its expansion in Europe. The firm plans to acquire U.K. competitor Deliveroo for approximately £2.9 billion (around $3.87 billion) and also to buy SevenRooms — a firm that provides CRM, marketing, and operations software aimed at assisting restaurants and venues with reservations and guest management — for $1.2 billion in cash.

In the meantime, Uber has been very active, acquiring and investing in multiple companies.

Uber has increased its stake in Chinese autonomous vehicle firm WeRide by $100 million as part of an extended partnership aimed at launching the service in 15 additional cities over the next five years. Moreover, Uber has acquired an 85% controlling interest in Trendyol Go, the Istanbul-based online meal and grocery delivery platform, for about $700 million in cash.

Notable reads and other tidbits

Autonomous vehicles

In a surprising personnel change, Mo Elshenawy, the former president and CTO of the now-defunct self-driving car firm Cruise, has taken on the role of chief technology officer at telehealth and wellness provider Hims & Hers. I recently caught up with Hims & Hers co-founder and CEO Andrew Dudum, who indicated he specifically sought candidates from the autonomous vehicle sector for this position.

Nuro has started testing its autonomous vehicle technology on the Las Vegas Strip. I had a recent conversation with co-founder and president Dave Ferguson, so keep an eye out for insights on the company’s revised business strategy.

Tesla is facing hurdles in securing trademarks for “Robotaxi” and “Cybercab.” The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected Tesla’s application for “Robotaxi” due to its generic nature, while the “Cybercab” applications have been postponed because of overlapping interests from other companies.

Uber has partnered with three Chinese autonomous vehicle firms — Pony AI, Momenta, and WeRide — with the intention of entering the robotaxi arena in the Middle East and Europe, though these agreements do not include operations within China.

Waymo has launched a new 239,000-square-foot facility in Mesa, a suburb of Phoenix, in collaboration with Magna to manufacture over 2,000 autonomous Jaguar I-Pace vehicles. This has garnered significant interest, particularly as Waymo’s current commercial fleet comprises 1,500 vehicles.

Wayve is making notable strides in prestigious circles. Recently, Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson experienced a ride in one of Wayve’s autonomous test vehicles; Branson is also a supporter of the firm. Moreover, Fortune Brainstorm hosted its AI conference in London, where Wayve CEO and co-founder Alex Kendall elaborated on the company’s comprehensive approach and offered insights into Tesla’s Elon Musk.

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

Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries

The Cadillac Celestiq EV has officially debuted, with contributor Emme Hall sharing her impressions after spending a day driving it.

As earnings season progresses, the U.S.-China trade dispute is beginning to impact automakers significantly, and it seems unlikely that this situation will resolve anytime soon.

Ford and General Motors have withdrawn their annual forecasts, citing economic uncertainty stemming from Trump’s tariffs. Meanwhile, Rivian is anticipated to deliver fewer vehicles (between 40,000 to 46,000 EVs) than initially projected due to tariffs and regulatory changes; it’s also significant that the company was already approaching a third consecutive year without volume growth prior to this revision. On a positive note for Rivian, it achieved gross profit, meeting a contractual milestone that released around $1 billion in funding from Volkswagen Group as part of a partnership with the German automaker.

Ford is raising the prices of the all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUV and the Maverick pickup by as much as $2,000 due to import taxes imposed by Trump on vehicles manufactured in Mexico.

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

Mitsubishi Motors is in talks with Foxconn to develop an electric car model expected to launch in Australia and New Zealand by late 2026.

Tesla continues to face a decline in sales across Europe, despite a significant increase in EV sales seen in April.

Future of flight

Joby Aviation appears to be setting its sights on 2026 for the launch of its first commercial passenger service, as noted in its first-quarter earnings report. Originally aiming for 2025, this timeline has since shifted, suggesting it may not arrive as quickly as previously hoped.