Real Estate developers are “Future Proofing.” by building offices with internal parking structures that can be converted to office space if demand for private parking decreases LINK
Norway’s first all-electric ferry has reduced CO2 by 95%, operating cost by 80%. Just Wow! LINK
Grab & Samsung have partnered. Samsung will …
- offer micro-financing of mobile devices for drivers.
- set up booking booths in hotels, where users can book a ride.
- supply its car infotainment system so passengers can get customized ads. LINK
BMW Buys Out Sixt, Becomes Sole Owner of DriveNow Platform. LINK
Secretive air taxi startup Joby Aviation raises $100 million. Investors include JetBlue, Toyota, and Intel LINK
Airbus Vahana air taxi gets 16 feet off the ground during first flight in Oregon. LINK
SoftBank & Didi are taking over the ride-hailing world, one company at a time. SoftBank has participated in transactions totaling upward of $35 billion for ride-hailing companies. Meanwhile, Didi has been part of more than $11.5 billion worth of deals in the industry. LINK
Fast Co. asks several design firms to address the ethical question …. who should a self-driving car kill; the driver or the pedestrian? There are two camps, let the driver choose and the other is crowdsource the question. (I think we know what the market will LINK
Popular Mechanics asks, will we be allowed to drink in self-driving cars? LINK
Why can’t Uber make money?
A: The taxi industry that Uber is seeking to disrupt was never profitable when allowed to expand in unregulated markets, reflecting the industry’s low barriers to entry, high variable costs, low economies of scale and intense price competition — and Uber’s current business model doesn’t fundamentally change these structural industry characteristics. LINK
Daimler and Bosch plan to test robo-taxis in the next few months. ( ? Please be Berlin) LINK
President Trump sends a congratulatory tweet to the South African-born Canadian American business magnate. Says he’s showing the world “American ingenuity at its best” LINK
- Stephen Colbert, who took a 15-minute break from mocking Trump, relinquished his “King Nerd” crown to Musk when he spotted a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy reference on the rocket.
House Republicans’ bill would redirect $2 billion in Pakistan aid to US infrastructure. Kentucky Congressman says, “This common-sense bill puts America first by reallocating tax dollars to our roads and bridges at home instead of funneling money overseas.” LINK
Chinese electric car startup BYTON and Silicon Valley-based autonomous driving startup Aurora are building a self-driving electric SUV. BYTON hopes to start selling in China next year and bring its SUV to America in 2020. The car will start at $45,000. LINK
Former TechCrunch employee has been arrested in Australia on allegations that he hacked a car-sharing company, charged vehicles to other users and stole confidential customer data. LINK
Wired uncovers a secret fact about autonomous vehicles: Almost every tech developer is leaning on remote drivers, who can guide cars through problem spots from miles away. LINK
A federal judge said the Taxi Authority is not to blame for the value of taxi medallions plummeting … the landline phone is. LINK
