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Senior reporter (and resident battery expert) Tim De Chant he went and went General Motors Company packed Warren Technical Center outside Detroit to learn more about the automaker’s cost-cutting plans for its next slate of EVs. Conclusion: GM uses LMR batteries and a new Battery Cell Development Center that is viewed as a bridge between its R&D efforts and full-scale manufacturing.
Kurt KeltyGM’s VP of battery and sustainability, provided new details about the company’s $900 million initiative and how this new chemistry will preserve range while reducing costs. For example, a Chevrolet Silverado EV can cost $6,000. Read the story here.
Like most companies these days, AI also makes a cameo appearance. Although I should note that the AI plays more than just a support role to the GM. I just had an interview Sterling AndersonGM’s chief product officer, and Jason Fischerwho is the managing director of virtual integration engineering, about other changes within the company and how AI is used. That story is coming next week, but I’ll give you a little sneak peek.
GM uses a collection of external AI models, as well as ones it has built in-house that can be used in many areas of the business and that – here’s the punchline – will speed up its vehicle development cycle. I’ll have more details in my article, and don’t worry, if you miss it, I’ll highlight it in next week’s newsletter.
Finally, last week I wrote about Ferrari Luce EV and how it doesn’t matter that it has been heavily criticized. I got some great emails from all of you on the topic — thank you! The poll, however, showed that as much as Luce found out, most of you don’t care.
In the election I asked, ‘Do you like it, hate it, or don’t care about it?’ Most of you, about 44 percent, don’t care, while the rest are evenly split between love and hate.
The more I think about the future of the Luce EV, the more I think that this could be a ragebait purchase among those who can afford it and are deemed worthy by Ferrari.
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Deals!
What is to come SpaceX The IPO is the deal of the decade, certainly for the bankers and for CEO Elon Musk. But it could also affect Tesla shareholders.
As part of the IPO registration process, a company will usually file a number of amendments before making its public market debut. SpaceX has installed a few. And our eagle-eyed senior reporter Sean O’Kane spotted a new sentence added to the S-1 document that has the most impact: “We may issue a significant amount of equity in connection with future operations.”
While it is possible that SpaceX will spend $75 billion expected to collect various companies, the main M&A target is Tesla. This sentence is factored in risk factors and appears to be preparing future investors for a major dilution event. Read the full story.
There is another interesting thing that O’Kane saw – this time involving Carvana again Slate Autoan electric car startup backed by Jeff Bezos. According to documents obtained by TechCrunch, Carvana has been offered an investment in Slate Auto. As O’Kane notes in his article, this could indicate a deeper relationship between the two companies.
Other deals have received more attention…
Layup Partsa startup trying to be the Amazon of composite parts, has raised $42 million in a Series A funding round led by dual-use venture fund Marlinspike, with the participation of new investors Cerberus Ventures and Pinegrove Venture Partners, and existing backers Founders Fund and Lux Capital.
Mach Industriesthe three-year-old defense technology startup that now has five autonomous vehicles in the pipeline, has raised a $300 million Series C at a $1.8 billion valuation. The round was led by Infinite Capital and Ribbit Capital and also included support from Bedrock Capital, Sequoia Capital, and Khosla Ventures.
Molfar Defense Technologiesa Polish-Ukrainian defense startup that develops anti-drone radar systems, has closed the first phase of its 2 million euro funding round. Swedish investor Front Ventures has committed €1.5 million, reports Tech.Eu.
Spiroan African electric mobility company, raised $215 million in a round that pushed its valuation to $1 billion, Bloomberg reports.
Notable readings and other stories
Avride CEO Dmitry Polishchuk shared a few statistics about the autonomous car startup on LinkedIn. The company has completed 60,000 rides for Uber riders in Dallas since launching in December. (Avride robotaxis is visible on the Uber app in Dallas.) The company’s fleet of vehicles, which includes test vehicles and Uber robotaxis, has traveled more than 1.3 million miles, with a million of those covered in the first five months of 2026.
Lectric e Bikes launched its third brand in six months – a move that cost the company nearly $10 million. How is this seven-year-old company growing when so many others are tanking? I went a little deeper into the company and interviewed its founder to find out. Read the full story.
Uber’s The annual Lost & Found index provided a curious anthropological snapshot of its passengers over the past decade. This year, the company also released a list of items left behind by robots available through the Uber app. There are some strange things on the list! It also got me thinking about how Uber is apparently finding every way to break into – and make money from – the self-driving car industry. To my point: Uber plans to put 500 data-collecting cars on the road this year as part of its new AV Labs division.
Waymo had a few interesting stories this week. One of its robots was used in the break-in and the case sheds light on how Waymo handles all those passenger photos it collects. And an Alphabet subsidiary announced a deal with B2U to use batteries from a retired all-electric robot to support power grids in California and Texas.
The Woven CapitalToyota’s growth fund, has appointed Jarek Khoilian and Manas Punhani as principals. Reminder: Woven Capital launched its $800 million II fund in September 2025.
One thing…
With Subaru introducing the new EVs, I thought it would be good to remind myself of what the first one was like. I’m talking about Solterra, which was born from the collaboration between Toyota and Subaru to jointly create a platform focused on battery electric vehicles.
I spent a week in pearl-white 2026 Subaru Soltera premium trim model starting at $38,495. Putting aside for a moment that my friend’s Ring camera pointed out the Solterra as a miniature golf cart, this EV has something to offer. Yes, it’s basic. And for sure, it won’t blow the line like the Tesla, Lucid, or Porsche Taycan. But it is not necessary.
The point here is that Solterra has gotten better – and it really needed it.
The 2026 model has a number of significant updates that improve power, range, and usability.
The front and rear motors have been updated – along with a new controller that improves power distribution and control – and together produce an improved 233 hp (the XT trim pushes it up to 388 hp). Like many other EVs out there, the Solterra now has an integrated NACS charging port, a system developed by Tesla. The range has improved to an EPA-estimated 288 miles, which is remarkable considering that Subaru increased the battery capacity by only 2 kWh and was able to increase the range by more than 50 miles. There is also a preconditioning setting to prepare the battery for charging, which greatly improves charging time.
Subaru also tweaked the technology inside, adding a 14-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and making 15 W wireless smartphone chargers standard.
Subaru doesn’t offer true one-pedal drive in the Solterra, the standard bearer of EVs. Instead, Subaru has paddles located on the back of the steering wheel that allow you to increase the regenerative braking if desired. But it won’t stop completely like other popular EVs with one pedal drive. While longtime EV owners may be turned off by this, it may be even more appealing to car buyers who want their EV to perform like their old gas car.
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