Trucks | Future of Transportation for 2026.05.11
FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital

Notable

Amazon opens up its logistics arm as a service (link). 'The company boasts ⁠a fleet of more than 100 cargo planes — behind only FedEx and UPS — along with a vast network of ​warehouses and sorting hubs. Shares of FedEx and UPS fell more than 9% each, while Amazon rose nearly 1%.' Amazon likes to develop ideas it needs for its own enterprise and then make them into businesses, turning a cost center into a profit center. What happens when autonomy impacts its fleet and how might it ultimately become a Prime benefit?

California Attorney General fines GM $12.75M for illegally selling driving data without consent (link, link to AG's release). Via Weans. The new agreement includes a 5-year ban on GM selling personal data generated within the state. 'California said GM reportedly made approximately $20 million nationwide ​from these data sales' = then why is the fine amount lower? We are not building a disincentive here.

With price competition narrowing, many Chinese car companies now compete on AI features (link). Via Marc H. 'The competition has shifted over the last few years, from extending battery range to rolling out driver-assist systems and using more powerful automotive chips. Now, automakers are focusing on a suite of in-car AI features. More than 50 car brands now use ByteDance’s Doubao AI model, the company’s cloud platform Volcano Engine announced last Friday at the Beijing auto show.'

Leapmotor's new EV entry in the German market costs just €49/month (link). 'The model comes standard with perks including a rear-view camera, six airbags and a panoramic sunroof.'

Tesla Semi numbers: Long Range Semi carries an 822 kWh usable battery pack while the Standard Range comes in at 548 kWh, both using NCMA lithium-ion chemistry with Tesla’s 4680 cells (link).

'Ghost tanker' pilots sail in secret, carrying oil under unclear and risky conditions (link). Via CJN.

China's ambient supply chain: ownership stakes in about 5% of 10,000 auto suppliers in America (link).

Meter Feeder CEO discusses 'auto pay' for AVs (link). 'The first production-level, zero-human-intervention, machine-to-machine municipal parking payment in the United States.'

Video: stunt-based demolition (link). Video: world's best impression of an EV backing up (link). Via Diego. Video: How to jump a rally car (link). Video: Daniel Craig as the new face of BYD in this ad for the Denza (link). Audio: Skyryse CEO Mark Groden on the Valley of Depth podcast (link).

Little Tike's Cozy Coupe becomes an EV, at least visually (link).

M&A / Deals / Changes:

Micromobility startup Lime files S-1 in preparation for IPO (link, link to S-1 doc). Operations in 29 countries and 2025 revenue at $887M, up 29% YoY, with close to $60M in net losses. Growth is coming mostly from deeper density in existing cities, not just new-city expansion. Total liabilities are about $1.2B, with close to $675M of payments due by the end of this year, but not yet enough liquidity to repay them. Some are going to view the IPO not as a growth capital event but a balance sheet repair event.

German drone start-up Helsing reportedly raising $1.2B at valuation near $20B (link).

Navigation silicon startup Anello Photonics raises $25M in additional Series B funding (link). Led by Mesh.

Fleet management startup Bluedot Technologies acquired by Epic Charging (link).

Lucid-Uber partnership accelerates after Nuro lands key California permit for Gravity robotaxis (link).

Board & Executive Changes:

NVIDIA: Suzanne Nora Johnson joins board (link).

AEye: Andrew Hughes resigns as General Counsel (link).

Torc Robotics: Tobias Wessels joins as CFO, formerly at Helm (link).

GM: Chief Growth Officer Norm de Greve to depart after 6 months (link). 'He has spent nearly three years with GM, the majority of which as chief marketing officer.'

Johnson Controls: Lei Schlitz departs as Div President Global Products & Solutions (link).

Blue Bird: Steve Girardin joins board (link).

Lithium Americas: Clayton Walker joins board (link).

Curated Jobs:

View over new 1157 active job listings from companies like Nuro (link), Coco (link) and Terawatt (link) on MobilityJobs. Post your own jobs for free.

Lead Stress Engineer at Auriga Space in Garden Grove, CA, US (link).

Senior Software Engineer - Automotive at Terraline in Fremont, CA USA (link).

New Stuff:

Ouster creates a new color LiDAR sensor (link).

Harley-Davidson's new CEO bets on newer low cost model to pump sales (link).

NHTSA probes Avride after 16 incidents in Texas (link).

Trump administration reportedly open to suspending gas tax amid soaring prices (link).

Tesla Model Y is the first car to pass the US's new ADAS safety benchmarks (link). 'Tesla conducted its own tests and submitted the results to NHTSA, an option for manufacturers this year. The agency will confirm these findings. If a company claims it has passed the ADAS assessment and fails during confirmatory tests, the agency will remove its recognition of having those capabilities.'

'Distance From' is a new multi-factor route planner (link).

Patents & Patent Applications:

GM's patent application shows 'see-through' vehicle to avoid obstructions, some examples with wearable (link).

Statistics / Projections:

GLP-1 butterfly effects: Snack companies shutting factories, reducing ~ 1M in truckload demand (link). Via Craig Fuller.

Used car prices fall for the first time this year (link). Via CNBC / Cox Automotive. 'Cox Automotive’s Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index — which tracks prices of used vehicles sold at its U.S. wholesale auctions — decreased 1.6% last month compared with March and was up 1.8% compared with the same month a year earlier.'

Thank you:

Thank you to Cory Hohs (link) and Storm Duncan (link) for offers of introductions to new founders, investors and friends over the last week.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

AEye (link), Auriga Space (link), Meter Feeder (link), Skyryse (link), Terraline (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

'It is astonishing what you can do when you have a lot of energy, ambition and plenty of ignorance,' (Alfred Sloan)

Reilly Brennan