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Venture firm Trucks VC says it has received pitches from 81 new AV startups so far in 2026, a two-thirds increase over last year and more than during the 2016-2017 dealmaking boom. Partner Puneeth Meruva told TechCrunch that some startups are now deploying within months while raising less than $1 million, aided by open-source foundation models like Nvidia's Alpamayo and Qwen's vision-language-action models.
Companies are piloting AI-controlled trucks on limited routes in Texas and California, but these vehicles still require a human driver on board. Simulations suggest fully automated fleets could eventually improve safety, fuel efficiency, and delivery times, though that technology remains years away from widespread deployment.
Alphabet's Other Bets segment, which includes Waymo, posted $372 million in third-quarter revenue, just 0.3% of total company sales, while its operating loss grew to $2.05 billion from $1.43 billion a year earlier. CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted Waymo's growth to 15 U.S. cities plus new service in San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa, with planned expansion into Canada, Germany, Singapore and Spain.
A government proposal would require robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles to display distinct cyan-colored exterior lights when operating without a human driver. The color is intended to visually signal to pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers that no person is controlling the vehicle.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has proposed new lighting rules for autonomous vehicles, suggesting cyan (blue-green) lights to indicate when a vehicle is driving itself with no human monitoring the road. The proposal would standardize where such lights are mounted, require them to stay steadily lit rather than flash, and make them visible from all sides, while also dropping requirements for manual turn signal, high-beam and hazard controls.
A former Luminar CTO and co-founder, who worked on lidar technology for self-driving cars, writes that AI companies are evolving from infrastructure customers into infrastructure builders themselves. He draws on his 2022 experience speaking at an automotive conference about the autonomous vehicle transformation to frame today's AI buildout.
On Tesla's Wednesday earnings call, Elon Musk said the company is 'aiming for' 5 million vehicle deliveries annually by around 2030, calling it achievable. Tesla's deliveries have actually declined recently, from a 2023 peak of 1.81 million to 1.64 million in 2025.
A personal essay recounts a writer's experience riding in a Waymo self-driving car along the same Bay Area surface roads she once drove as a teenager, since Waymo vehicles remain barred from freeways. The piece juxtaposes the autonomous ride with memories of a serious car accident she had as a young driver, and muses on how driverless cars change the emotional relationship people have with automobiles.
At TechCrunch Disrupt, Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said autonomous driving technology will eventually enable vehicle designs far different from today's trucks and SUVs, beyond the company's planned R2 and R3 models. He said he is pursuing this even if it means delaying profitability, calling the next decade of transportation design possibilities exciting.
A commentary piece argues that as autonomous ride-hailing becomes cheaper and more common, consumers will stop choosing cars by manufacturer brand and instead simply summon whichever vehicle an app sends. It cites a hypothetical example of airport rides dropping from $70 to $20 once driverless fleets scale.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1246, a new California law requiring autonomous vehicle companies such as Waymo, Tesla and Zoox to provide local support when their robotaxis malfunction or obstruct traffic. The law mandates penalties if a vehicle blocks police or firefighters for more than 30 minutes and requires remote drivers to be U.S.-based with valid U.S. licenses. It takes effect in July 2028, with the California DMV handling remaining implementation details.
California has passed a new law that imposes fines on autonomous vehicle companies when their robotaxis block emergency responders. The legislation also sets new requirements for how these companies must respond when their vehicles interfere with police, fire, or medical personnel.