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Nearly seven years ago, while holding my laptop, phone, and another laptop in a sea of Tesla fans, I saw chief designer Franz von Holzhausen throw a metal ball the size of a baseball at the driver’s side window of the Cybertruck. The result was cracked glass – actually, two at the end of the presentation – and awkward jokes and laughter from the CEO. Elon Musk.
I’ve witnessed a number of mind-blowing, strange and fantastic moments at Tesla events. But the Cybertruck reveal was the most interesting – and not because of its post-apocalyptic design. It was the crowd.
When the truck arrived on stage, I saw the participants gasp, some with revulsion. There were mutterings (“Surely that can’t be the Cybertruck“I heard the Tesla superfans whispering). And yes, there were cheers. The momentary shock of Musk’s biggest fans was quickly replaced by support, acceptance, and finally approval.
It moved like a wave over the crowd. By the time participants lined up for the Cybertruck rides, the mood had changed. Everyone was a fan.
That enthusiasm carried over into Cybertruck reservations, which soared to 1 million, Musk said during a third-quarter earnings conference call in 2023. But it never made the leap to actual sales. Industry experts estimate that around 71,000 Cybertrucks have been sold since the first deliveries began in November 2023.
And now the Cybertruck is heading towards the scrap pile. Tesla will stop making the Cybertruck next year, Musk said Friday.
Was the vehicle too nervous? Maybe, but it will always be a niche market. I think more practical reasons held back sales. Musk promised that the Cybertruck would have a range of 500 miles and a price under $40,000. It achieved neither, senior reporter Sean O’Kane noted in his report.
Offers!
Zipline had a hell of a week. Strike that – a whole year. The autonomous drone delivery startup, founded in 2014, has continued to grow over the past few years. But 2026 has taken the company to new heights.
In early 2026, Zipline raised $600 million and quickly added another $200 million to that Series H round. The company planned to use these funds to accelerate its expansion into at least four U.S. cities in 2026.
Today, it has even more money to grow even faster. Zipline announced this week that it has raised $1.5 billion and scaled up its partnership with Walmart to add 300 drone delivery sites across the United States. Zipline is now valued at $21.5 billion.
Other offers that caught my attention…
Starting an electric truck Presage raised a $240 million Series D funding round as it expands its product portfolio, including battery storage and defense applications. No word on the company’s valuation.
Humble robotics raised $51 million in a Series A funding round, bringing total funding to $75 million less than a year after its founding. The round was led by Obvious Ventures with participation from Eclipse Insiders, Energy Impact Partners and others.
Static media has acquired automotive news site CarScoops, adding to its existing portfolio which includes 34 brands such as Engadget, Jalopnik and SlashGear.
Notable readings and other information
Alsothe micromobility startup spun out of Rivian in 2025, started quietly then pivoted away from an electric two-wheeler pilot in Kenya earlier this year, as it sought to focus resources on its ambitions for consumer e-bikes and autonomous vehicles.
Amazon has made Uber Eats its official restaurant delivery partner for Prime members in the United States, ending the existing deal between the e-commerce giant and Grubhub.
La Luce, Ferrari‘s first electric car, and one of its most polarizing models, is “fully allocated” for 2027.
Ford has unveiled what it calls a “privacy promise” – an “explicit commitment” to keeping customers’ vehicle data secure and giving them control over what they share. Ford also launched a website designed to inform customers about how, where and why the automaker uses their data, and to show them how to change those settings.
May Mobility and Forterra have advanced to the third phase of the Department of Defense’s ROADS (Robotic Operations for Autonomous Delivery and Sustainment) Award competition, an initiative to test and adopt commercial autonomous vehicles in the military.
Serving robotics announced plans to launch a new business called Physical AI Services. The company will continue to operate and expand its autonomous delivery operations and become a technology provider for other companies building robots.
Predictions of AI agents booking restaurants, trips, and even rides for the general public have yet to really come to fruition. Uber reported during its third-quarter earnings call that only four rides were ordered through an AI agent during its busiest week in October: Halloween week.
Waymo shakes up its relationship with Uber, confirming months of speculation. The company will end its exclusivity with Uber in the Austin and Atlanta markets starting in January 2028.
One more thing…
Over the past three years, this newsletter has often featured an investigation, a scoop or an interview with a seasoned journalist. Sean O’Kane. Some of my favorites were the stories we collaborated on, including his scoop that Jeff Bezos was backing Slate Auto, our story about how Jony Ive’s LoveFrom worked on the design of the Also electric bike, his investigation into Fisker, and his coverage of how Waymo relied on first responders to help move its robotaxis.
We’ve co-authored dozens of articles on corporate earnings and breaking news and co-hosted Equity, TechCrunch’s flagship podcast on startup business. So it’s bittersweet to see him embark on a new adventure at the Wall Street Journal to cover Tesla.
Congratulations on the concert, Sean! We hate to see you go!
I will of course continue to provide readers with inside details, scoops and analysis on the future of transportation, from autonomous vehicle technology and electric vehicles to automotive technology and the future of flight.
Do you have any advice for me? Send me an email at (email protected).
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Gn bussni
