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In California, self-driving cars are immune to traffic tickets

person crossing the street


Anyone living in San Francisco knows that the city has been a testing ground for hundreds of self-driving cars – and there is probably a good reason why. In light of a series of incidents, including a pedestrian who was seriously injured by a Cruise robotaxi last year, California law enforcement has its hands tied when it comes to issuing moving violations when no human is behind the wheel.

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ZEEKR 001 and 009 first drives: Quality EVs offering proof this automaker is just getting started

ZEEKR EV

After over two years of consistent coverage of Geely’s young, all-electric ZEEKR brand, I finally got the opportunity to see its first two EV models up close and take them both for a spin. As a bonus, ZEEKR also had its purpose-built EV designed for Waymo on display ahead of the first deliveries to the robotaxi startup.

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We tested Waymo’s driverless taxi in LA in the perfect chaos of Venice Beach

Waymo’s completely driverless taxi is coming to Los Angeles, and will be open to the public starting this week. We got an advance ride in these self-driving electric cars and a sense of what this level 4 system can do in one of the more chaotic driving situations in a city full of chaotic driving situations: a Santa Monica and Venice Beach weekend.

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How an orange cone has become the symbol of opposition to the robotaxi in California

robotaxi cone

A select group of protestors in the San Francisco Bay area are demobilizing robotaxi EVs operated by companies like Waymo and Cruise by placing orange construction cones over their sensors. While opposition to this technology has been present in small doses for years, the resistance against autonomous vehicles has recently gotten more press following a recent vote to expand the services in California. Is this a fear of autonomy or just a fear of change in general?

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Waymo and Uber sign multi-year partnership to provide driverless rides and deliveries

Waymo Uber

Rideshare juggernaut Uber has signed a multi-year strategic partnership with robotaxi developer Waymo, offering driverless rides and deliveries to customers across the former’s platform. The new partnership could bring massive scale to Waymo’s driverless tech, while offering an enormous pool of potential customers.

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Waymo adds safety alerts to its robotaxis to protect exit door collisions with cyclists, other cars

Waymo door

Robotaxi developer Waymo is taking passenger and bystander safety to another level using the same technology that already allows its fleet of vehicles to offer autonomous rides around major metropolitan areas. Waymo has now added new audio and visual alerts to inform passengers if a cyclist or other passerby is approaching the exit door.

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Waymo to retire Chrysler hybrids in transition to all-electric robotaxis, including ZEEKR EV

Waymo electric

Robotaxi developer Waymo will soon be operating an all-electric fleet of fifth-generation Waymo Driver as it is retiring its fourth-generation tech utilized on Chrysler Pacifica hybrids. Looking ahead, Waymo will deploy the Jaguar I-Pace EVs as it continues to develop future autonomous vehicles with Geely and its all-electric ZEEKR brand.

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Waymo joins 1 million test mile club, expands driverless rides to Los Angeles

Waymo Los Angeles

Robotaxi developer Waymo announced that this past January, it surpassed 1 million miles of autonomous driving with no human present in the vehicle. Waymo competitor Cruise also recently reached the autonomous milestone, but Waymo has also publicly shared the data to back up its progress. As previously teased last year, Waymo is also now officially testing driverless rides in Los Angeles.

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Geely-owned Zeekr brand sets its sights on North America

zeekr 001 coming to the us

You know Geely as the Chinese money behind Volvo, Polestar, and Lotus – but they’re a lot bigger than that. Geely has its own brand, is backing an electric Smart revival, and recently invested billions in Mercedes’ parent company, Daimler, to become a top shareholder. Geely means business, in other words, and the CEO of their newest premium EV brand, Zeekr, has eyes on America.

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Cruise receives $5 billion credit line from GM to purchase Origin EVs

Cruise Origin GM

In a Tweet earlier today, autonomous rideshare company Cruise, announced it has secured a multi-year credit line of $5 billion from GM financial, to help purchase thousands of Origin vehicles. This new credit line will give Cruise $10 billion in total capital to help roll out its autonomous Origin vehicles manufactured by GM.

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Waymo and Cruise hope to charge for autonomous rides in California [update]

Waymo Cruise

Autonomous rideshare rivals Waymo and Cruise have both reportedly applied for permits to charge passengers for self-driving rides in the San Francisco Bay area. Some of the applications are still under review, but it could be a major step toward autonomous rideshare vehicles operating as commonplace soon.

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