Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility<\/strong> \u2014 your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free \u2014 just click TechCrunch Mobility<\/a>!<\/p>\n The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced late this week that it plans to streamline the Part 555 exemption process to make it faster for automakers that want to deploy self-driving vehicles built without human controls like a steering wheel or pedals.\u00a0<\/p>\n The letter sent to \u201cstakeholders\u201d (meaning those companies working on AVs) is fairly opaque still. And manufacturers will still have to demonstrate that vehicles without traditional steering wheels, driver-operated brakes, or rearview mirrors provide an equivalent safety level as compliant vehicles and that the exemption is in the public interest.\u00a0<\/p>\n The main gist here is that the NHTSA contends the current Part 555 exemption process is not well suited for automated driving system-equipped vehicles and that it is a lengthy and complex process. In short: The agency wants to speed things up.\u00a0<\/p>\n In other federal agency-related news, Trump <\/strong>issued a few executive orders<\/a> related to drones and fast-tracking supersonic travel.<\/p>\n Side note: I see that my predictions (from last edition) that the Trump-Elon Musk <\/strong>fallout would turn into one of those on-again, off-again relationships was correct.\u00a0<\/p>\n Let\u2019s get into the rest of the news.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Last week, I shared our scoop<\/a> about Jony Ive<\/strong>\u2019s LoveFrom firm working alongside Rivian<\/strong> designers and a skunkworks team that would end up spinning out into Also<\/strong>, a micromobility startup<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Well, a few more little birds have popped up to share a bit more and to clarify the relationship. I learned that the project was code-named Inder. Rivian actually applied for a trademark of the name Inder<\/a> but later abandoned it. Sources also shared that while the LoveFrom team brought its industrial design expertise to the effort \u2014 and apparently a cool motor design \u2014 it was not involved in any UI\/UX.\u00a0<\/p>\n Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at <\/em>kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com<\/em><\/a> or my Signal at kkorosec.07, Sean O\u2019Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com<\/a> or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com<\/a>.<\/em> Or check out <\/em>these instructions<\/em><\/a> to learn how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.<\/em><\/p>\n JetZero<\/strong><\/a>, the Long Beach, California-based zero-emissions jet aircraft company working on blended wing airplanes, plans to build a factory in Greensboro, North Carolina. The company, which has backing from a variety of venture capital (like Trucks VC) and from strategic investors like United Airlines and Alaska Airlines, said it will invest $4.7 billion over the next decade<\/a> on the project, The Wall Street Journal reported. Construction on the facility is expected to begin in the first half of 2026, with first customer deliveries in the early 2030s, the company said.<\/p>\n There is an important detail in this deal: It includes more than $1.1 billion in state performance incentives that would be paid over nearly 40 years and are contingent on JetZero creating over 14,000 jobs between 2027 and 2036, Reuters reported<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mitra Chem<\/strong>, a battery material startup, raised $15.6 million<\/a> of a planned $50 million funding round.<\/p>\n Waymo<\/strong> rides cost more than Uber<\/strong> or Lyft<\/strong> \u2014 and people are paying anyway<\/a>, according to Obi, an app that aggregates real-time pricing and pickup times across multiple ride-hailing services. The company published what it\u2019s calling the \u201cfirst in-depth examination of Waymo\u2019s pricing strategy.\u201d The TL;DR: Waymo\u2019s self-driving car rides are consistently more expensive than comparative offerings from Uber and Lyft \u2014 and it doesn\u2019t seem to matter.<\/p>\n Waymo robotaxis became a symbol of the LA protests after imagery showing several driverless vehicles \u2014 with anti-ICE graffiti and slashed tires \u2014 on fire. Waymo removed its remaining vehicles from the downtown LA area and plans to pursue criminal prosecution of and collect damages from those who vandalized its robotaxis. The incident raises some important surveillance questions<\/a> about how the numerous cameras and sensors on Waymo vehicles are used and whether it is providing camera footage to authorities to identify protesters. Waymo didn\u2019t answer our questions about that.<\/p>\n June 22 is the big Tesla robotaxi launch day<\/a> in Austin, Texas, at least according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wayve<\/strong> and Uber announced plans to launch a fully driverless robotaxi service in London<\/a>. This isn\u2019t happening right away, though, and the timing is notable here: The U.K. government recently announced an accelerated framework for self-driving commercial pilots to roll out in spring 2026, up from late 2027.<\/p>\n Infinite Machine<\/strong>, the New York-based micromobility startup backed by a16z<\/strong>, revealed a seated scooter <\/a>called Olto that will cost $3,495 when it starts shipping later this year. The Olto will feature 40 miles of range, pulled from an easily swappable 48V lithium-ion battery.\u00a0<\/p>\n During Apple<\/strong>\u2018s WWDC 2025 event, a few car-related items <\/a>were revealed, including that the company is adding widgets and message tapbacks to CarPlay with iOS 26.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nA little bird<\/h2>\n
Deals!<\/h2>\n
![\"money](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/money-the-station.png?w=680\")
Other deals worth noting\u00a0\u2026<\/h3>\n
Notable reads and other tidbits<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/the-station-ride-hailing1.png?w=680\")
Autonomous vehicles<\/h3>\n
Electric vehicles, batteries, & charging<\/h3>\n
In-car tech<\/h3>\n