The bizarre saga of Meta, The Wire and their fight over Indian content moderation

When a journalist at The Wire, an independent Indian publication, published a story on October 6th about a meme page’s claim that their Instagram post had been wrongfully removed, it hardly seemed like the kind of story that would draw much attention. …

Sony and Honda will open pre-orders for their first EV in 2025

Sony and Honda have announced (PDF) that they’re planning to start accepting pre-orders for their first electric vehicle model in the first half of 2025. Their joint venture, which they’ve simply named Sony Honda Mobility Inc. (SHM), is hoping to start deliveries in the United States by spring of 2026. In Japan, deliveries are expected to begin in the second half of 2026. According to Reuters, the companies are considering a European launch, as well, but they have no solid plans for the region at the moment. 

The companies didn’t give us a glimpse of the vehicle they’re working on during the event, and they didn’t mention anything about its pricing or its battery technology and range. They did say, however, that they’re planning to focus on online sales like Tesla does and that the first model will have a “somewhat high price range.” Honda will manufacture their first model at its facility in North America, while Sony will be in charge of developing the vehicle’s software system and sensors. SHM is aiming to develop a Level 3 autonomous driving system, which means its cars will eventually have the capability to drive itself in certain conditions.

Reuters also said that Sony’s software system will offer a monthly subscription for entertainment and other services, providing SMH with recurring revenue. The company is even looking into providing new types of in-vehicle entertainment, including those based in the metaverse. SMH Chairman and CEO Yasuhide Mizuno said during the event that the joint company is “speedily” developing its first vehicle. He said that SMH can’t miss taking pre-orders in 2025, as the firm believes that year will be a turning point for vehicle electrification. 

Hyundai wants all of its vehicles to support over-the-air updates by 2025

Though already having some success with its Ioniq lineup, Hyundai has far bigger plans for its EV future — including taking a page from Tesla in terms of software updates. The automaker just unveiled a new roadmap, saying it’ll invest $12.6 billion to transform its lineup across brands into “Software Defined Vehicles” (SDVs). 

As part of that, it’s developing new platforms and a new Connected Car Operating System (CCOS). It wants all its vehicles (both ICE and EV) to be over-the-air (OTA) capable by 2025, at which point it expects to have 20 million connected vehicles on the road.

The first leg in Hyundai’s plans is two new EV platforms called eM and eS for Hyundai, Kia and Genesis vehicles based on its Integrated Modular Architecture (IMA) announced earlier this year. The eM platform will be used for consumer EVs in all segments, offering 50 percent more range on a charge than current models, according to Hyundai. It’ll also support Level 3 and higher self-driving levels. Meanwhile, the eS platform is designed for logistics, deliveries and other business segments. 

The idea is to have more more modularity and standardization for components like batteries and motors, helping streamline production and cut costs. Critically, it’ll also let Hyundai use the same vehicle controller across brands and segments, making OTA software and “Feature on Demand” (FoD) upgrades possible.

Hyundai Motor Group 'Unlock the Software Age'
Hyundai Motor Group

Another key part of the roadmap is the software platform. The group will use something Hyundai calls the Connected Car Operating System (ccOS), applied to all controllers and using “extremely high computing power.” To achieve that, it’s working with NVIDIA on loading an optimized version of ccOS onto NVIDIA DRIVE, its next-gen chipset for autonomous driving and other vehicle functions. 

Speaking of that, it also plans to advance its autonomous driving tech. The ccOS operating system is a key part of that, processing all the data collected by cameras, radars and LiDARs mounted in vehicles. Hyundai hopes to use ccOS to commercialize Level 3 vehicles soon, and go to Level 4 and 5 “in due course.” 

“This year, the Group will apply an advanced Highway Driving Pilot (HDP) on the Genesis G90, which is a Level 3 technology for autonomous driving based on the second-generation integrated controller,” said Hyundai’s autonomous driving head Woongjun Jang. “The Group is also developing its Remote Parking Pilot (RPP) for Level 3 autonomous driving.”

To accomplish all that, Hyundai Group plans to invest 18 trillion won ($12.6 billion) by 2030, which will go toward building a Global Software Center and be ploughed into research. “This will pace the Group at the forefront of providing entirely new mobility solutions as society changes, transportation means evolve, and software defined vehicles become commonplace,” according to the press release. 

BMW will distract you with casual games while you charge your EV

It’s not just Tesla that can offer games to play while you’re waiting in your car. BMW is teaming up with AirConsole to deliver casual games in its cars starting in 2023. The technology downloads games to your infotainment system, and uses your phone as the controller. This is clearly meant to keep you distracted while you charge your EV, but the automaker sees this as helpful for any time you’re waiting in the car — say, to pick someone up at the airport.

BMW didn’t say which vehicles were first in line for the gaming upgrade. However, it pitched AirConsole’s tech as a ‘perfect’ fit for the Curved Display already in use in vehicles like the iX.

This isn’t quite as flexible as Tesla’s approach to games, which lets you play using dedicated controllers and even the car’s steering wheel. However, it could still prove valuable if you want to do more while waiting than fiddle with your phone. It’s also an acknowledgment that the role of a car’s infotainment is shifting in the EV era, when you can spend half an hour at a charging station. They now serve as media hubs that are just as useful when your car is idle.

GM is using its Ultium battery tech for a lot more than EVs

I wasn’t kidding when I told you that GM is going all-in on Ultium, the battery technology behind the company’s electrification efforts, not to mention an entire generation of Chevy and GMC EVs. On Tuesday, the automaker announced that it is expanding its portfolio into energy management services — think big stationary batteries to store rooftop-generated solar power on a home or business — with its new spin-off business, GM Energy.

The new venture will be comprised of three smaller ones: Ultium Home, Ultium Commercial and Ultium Charge 360, offering “solutions ranging from bi-directional charging, vehicle-to home (V2H) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications, to stationary storage, solar products, software applications, cloud management tools, microgrid solutions, hydrogen fuel cells and more,” according to GM’s announcement on Tuesday. 

The new company will be partnering with a number of established firms and utilities in the energy industry. For example, GM will be working with SunPower to develop and market a integrated home energy storage system that incorporates an electric vehicle with solar panels and battery banks to enable easy Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) power transfers. GM plans to have that home energy system ready for sale alongside the release of the EV Silverado next fall, 2023. 

Additionally, GM Energy has partnered with California’s Pacific Gas and Electric utility for another V2H pilot program that will let you run your household appliances off of your EV’s battery during blackouts. Eventually, the company plans to add V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid) capabilities, which will allow you to sell excess energy produced by the solar panels back to your local utility. 

For businesses, Ultium Commercial may help ease the transition to an electrified fleet. Many such existing GM customers, “have fleets of vehicles are looking to electrify their fleets, but aren’t really aware of how to set up the charging infrastructure, how to manage their energy,” Mark Bole, vice president and Head of V2X Battery Solutions at GM said during an embargoed press briefing last week. “And so, not only do we come in as a hardware and software provider, but in a sense, really, as a strategic advisor for these commercial customers.”

“There are more power failures in the US than any other country in the industrialized world,” Travis Hester, vice president of GM EV Growth Operations, added. “There were 25,000 blackouts in California alone last year, over 15 and a half billion dollars of lost commerce, just in California. So when you look at the numbers, there is a desire — and we’re seeing it very clearly from commercial customers reaching out to us and asking us for assistance to deal with some of these problems.”

GM is also transferring its public charging station network, Ultium Charge 360, over to GM Energy. Charge 360 launched in 2021 in Washington, Florida and California. GM partnered with Blink Charging, ChargePoint, EV Connect, EVgo, FLO, Greenlots and SemaConnect to streamline their collective 60,000-plug network of 350 kW Level 3 DC fast chargers and provide “more seamless access” to drivers. The automaker built upon that network this past July, announcing a 500-station “coast-to-coast” expansion in partnership with EVGo. In all, GM hopes to have 2,700 such EV fast charging stations across the US and Canada under its Ultium Charge 360 banner by 2025. 

Rivian recalls 13,000 EVs due to potential steering control problem

Rivian has notified customers that it’s recalling 13,000 EVs — or almost all of the electric trucks and SUVs it has ever delivered — due to an issue that could render drivers unable to steer and control their vehicles. The company issued the recall after becoming aware of seven reports wherein a fastener connecting the steering knuckle to the vehicle’s upper control arm “may not have been sufficiently torqued,” according to Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal. 

In the letter sent to customers, Chief Executive Officer RJ Scaringe said the company is recalling vehicles despite the small number of reported defects “out of an abundance of caution.” He said the fastener could become loose in “rare circumstances” and lead to loss of steering control, but that there had been no reported injuries related to the issue. 

At the moment, Rivian has two models on offer, which are the R1T truck and the R1S SUV, but it also makes electric delivery trucks for its minority owner Amazon at its factory in Normal, Illinois. Like most players in the auto and tech industries, the global supply chain woes over the past couple of years impacted its production capability. It even tried to raise the price of its R1T pickup truck by $12,000 due to inflation and component shortages earlier this year, though it quickly reversed the decision after customer backlash.

In July 2022, the automaker reported that it had almost doubled its production output to 4,401 vehicles for the second quarter of the year compared to the first. That’s a fraction of other automakers’ output — rival company Tesla, for instance, manufactured 258,580 EVs within the same period — but it’s a positive step towards achieving its goal of producing 25,000 vehicles in 2022.

This recall isn’t expected to prevent the company from reaching that goal, and the automaker is hoping that it can check all affected vehicles within 30 days. Rivian told customers that they can bring their vehicles to service centers to have the fasteners in their vehicles tightened within minutes. The company also said that they can send mobile repair vans to customers. Those experiencing possible symptoms for the issue, such as noise and vibration, may want to look into that option.

Welcome to the age of the cargo bike

As the need for cleaner, more sustainable transport becomes ever more urgent, I’ve noticed a familiar pattern in conversations on the topic. Someone will point out that bikes are a lot more efficient and environmentally friendly, reduce congestion and …

Musk says Tesla’s electric Semi truck has started production

Tesla’s long-delayed semi-truck has started production, and the company will begin making deliveries as soon as December 1st, Elon Musk has announced on Twitter. When the automaker unveiled the Tesla Semi way back in 2017, it expected to start manufacturing the electric big rigs by 2019. While that obviously didn’t happen, Musk told employees in an email back in early 2020 that the vehicle was already in limited production and that it was “time to go all out and bring the Tesla Semi to volume production.” In April that year, however, the automaker announced in an earnings call that it’s delaying deliveries yet again to 2021. 

Alas, 2021 wasn’t the Semi’s year either. Tesla notified shareholders in another earnings call that deliveries would be delayed to 2022 due to the global supply chain shortages affecting the tech and auto industries, as well as its then-limited production capability for the vehicle’s 4680 style battery cells. Musk didn’t say outright that the company’s component shortage issues for the semi-truck have already been addressed. But if it has started building the vehicles, and there’s already an expected delivery date, Tesla must have at least enough parts to build Semis for its first customer. 

The first batch of Semis will be delivered to Pepsi, which ordered 100 vehicles from the company back in December 2017. As TechCrunch notes, other big companies had also ordered trucks from the automaker, including Walmart and UPS. And in May this year, the automaker opened reservations to more customers for a deposit of $20,000. A Semi costs between $150,000 and $180,000, depending on the range, and it could go as far as 500 miles on a single charge. 

Uber will offer rides in autonomous Ioniq 5 taxis powered by Motional

Uber has signed a 10-year agreement to use autonomous Ioniq 5 EVs from Hyundai’s Motional for ride-hailing and deliveries, the companies announced. The vehicles will be “strategically deployed” in cities around the US and start offering passenger rides later this year. 

“This agreement will be instrumental to the wide scale adoption of robotaxis,” said Motional CEO Karl Iagnemma. “Motional now has unparalleled access to millions of riders and a roadmap to scale significantly over the next ten years.” 

The companies are already working together. Late last year, Uber announced that it would test autonomous food delivery with Motional (a joint venture between Hyundai and Aptiv) sometime in 2022. Motional is also working with Lyft, having started public tests in Las Vegas with the ride-hailing firm. (Uber used to have its own autonomous vehicle division called Advanced Technologies Group, but sold it to Aurora Innovation back in 2020.)

Uber will provide Motional with data to help it best allocate and position vehicles. In turn, Motional said its autonomous vehicles will allow for “reduced vehicle downtime and unnecessary miles traveled.” It’ll also supposedly lead to a better customer experience, with lower wait times and fares.

We’ve heard similar promises before, but so far, only Alphabet division Waymo and GM’s Cruise are offering true driverless services at a reasonably large scale. The Waymo One service is operating in Phoenix and San Francisco, while Cruise rides are currently limited to San Francisco. Both operate only in specific areas of cities and some vehicles still use safety riders.

Motional got off to a later start than both those companies, but has completed more than 100,000 autonomous rides in Las Vegas using previous versions of its vehicles on the Lyft network, it said in August. However, the companies plan to ramp that up soon. “The scope of this partnership shows the important role that shared autonomous vehicles will play in the future of transportation, and in Uber’s strategy to be the global platform to help you go anywhere and get anything,” said Uber’s autonomous driving chief Noah Zych.

Update, 10/6/22 10:15AM ET: This story originally stated that Motional and Lyft were publicly testing in Los Angeles; the company is only doing these public tests in Las Vegas currently.