Trucks | Future of Transportation for 2026.04.13
FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital

Notable

China created the modern drone industry, but now it wants tighter control over its skies (link). 'A 35-year-old drone enthusiast based in northeastern China said he had invested about $2,000 in his DJI drone and related equipment, hoping to start a photography business. But after more than two dozen flight applications were rejected, he abandoned the plan.'

You've heard this story a million times: a karaoke machine company pivots into an AI logistics, which then crashes the trucking market by $17B (link).

Why the economics of robotics favor purpose-built machines over humanoids (link). 'Humanoids only makes economic sense when: task variety is extreme, volume per task is low, environment is genuinely unstructured, you cannot modify the environment. That intersection (high variety, low volume, unstructured / unchangeable environment) is a much, much smaller market than the humanoid hype suggests.'

SFO approved Waymo pickup and drop offs, but at a location so far away it makes the service far less useful (link). If you make Waymo fundamentally slower than Uber at an airport, it will remain a ferris wheel ride for visitors, not a replacement (for airport trips, at least, which are roughly 25-30% of ridehailing volume in most major cities).

An interview with Joby's head of powertrain, Jon Wagner (link).

In a landmark right-to-repair decision, John Deere has agreed to a $99 million settlement after a lawsuit accused the company of monopolizing repair services for its equipment (link). They will make digital diagnostic, maintenance and repair tools available to third parties for 10 years.

Gas prices change the way gig drivers select rides (link). 'With higher gas prices, he is clearing about $15 to 20 less a ride, Davis said, and he has needed to take on more customers to make the airport drive profitable. He recently sidelined his prized 2001 BMW X5 in favor of a 2014 Hyundai Tucson he bought from his niece because he said it gets about 8 miles better gas mileage. “I hate that car,” he quipped. “But that’s what I have to use now.”

Video: Old EVs can't handle Mongolia's heat (link). Via Diego. Video: Local toy car exchange (link). Video: F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo in conversation with Ford CEO Jim Farley (link).

Stellantis employee mistakenly gets ticket for parking Plymouth in 'competitive' spot (link). Via Theo.

M&A / Deals / Changes:

Canadian indoor mapping startup Mappedin raises $24M (link). Led by Edison Partners.

Battery recycling startup Ascent Elements files for bankruptcy protection (link).

Unmanned aviation startup Hermeus raises $350M (link). Led by Khosla Ventures.

Joby Aviation partners with Air Space Intelligence on VTOL airspace infrastructure (link).

Board & Executive Changes:

Terawatt: Nadeem Sheikh named Chief Business Officer, Sujoy Halder named CFO (link).

CarMax: William Cobb, James Kessler join board (link).

Caterpillar: Kyle Epley promoted to CFO (link).

Curated Jobs:

I've rebuilt MobilityJobs from snout to tail, now with over 1000 jobs from dozens more companies, such as Lyft (link), Mobileye (link), Flexport (link), Nuro (link) and more. You can also search by category, for example all AV jobs (link) or all aerospace jobs (link).

Senior Software Engineer, Command Center at Motional in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (link).

Senior Power Electronics Controls Engineer at Auriga Space in Garden Grove, CA, USA (link).

New Stuff:

Tesla's first European approval for FSD gets underway in the Netherlands (link).

Waymo testing its Zeekr with tire chains in the Tahoe area (link).

Tesla's smaller, cheaper EV product is reportedly back in planning phase (link).

Skoda made a bike bell that can be heard through noise-cancelling headphones (link). Tests showed pedestrians could react 72 feet earlier, making streets safer for cyclists and walkers.

Understanding EU's new mandatory QR codes for batteries (link). As of Feb 18, 2027, all EV batteries, LMT batteries (e-bikes, scooters), and industrial batteries with a capacity over 2 kWh require a QR code that provides access to information about the battery’s capacity, chemistry, hazardous substances,, recycling options, and the EU Declaration of Conformity.

Waymo will share pothole data with Waze so cities can identify fixes faster (link). 'The pilot program uses Waymo’s perception and physical feedback systems to detect and provide up-to-date information on potholes where Waymo operates. The data will be available to cities and state Departments of Transportation through the free-to-use Waze for Cities platform alongside user-reported pothole information.'

Volkswagen pulls the plug on its lone US electric SUV (link).

Tesla cracks down on gray market of unauthorized devices that unlock Full Self-Driving (FSD) in regions where the software hasn’t been approved (link).

Patents & Patent Applications:

Ford's patent application shows flip-out frunk table (link).

Statistics / Projections:

Used EV sales in the US jumped 12% in the first quarter of 2026 (link). Via WSJ / Cox Automotive.

US car dealer inventory drops from 75 day supply to 62 day supply (link). Via Automotive News / Lotlinx.

Thank you:

Thank you to Mariano Menkes (link) and Tope Osho (link) for offers of introductions to new founders, investors and friends over the last week.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

Auriga Space (link), Joby Aviation (link), Motional (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

A racing car is an animal with a thousand adjustments (M. Andretti),

Reilly Brennan