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Before we jump into the rest of the news, a word about Grok, the AI model created by xAI, an Elon Musk company that recently acquired his social media service X. Yes, this is related to transportation.
Grok, which can analyze images and respond to questions, is meant to be a competitor to models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Grok has become a centerpiece of X, where users interact with the AI chatbot. It’s also become increasingly combative and gone on several antisemitic tirades, praised Hitler, and even made rape threats. (Those posts have been taken down.)
And just yesterday, AI reporter Max Zeff discovered that xAI’s newest model, Grok 4, seems to consult social media posts from Musk’s X account when answering questions about the Israel and Palestine conflict, abortion, immigration laws, and other controversial issues.
How is any of this related to transportation? Grok is coming to Tesla vehicles as soon as next week, according to Musk.
A well-known white hat hacker who uses the handle “Green the Only” dug into Tesla’s firmware and made a few discoveries. For example, drivers will be able to choose certain Grok “personalities,” including ones that are NSFW (not safe for work), argumentative, kids story, sexy, therapist, unhinged, and more. He also found that “Grok currently requires premium connectivity and pairs into your existing account.”
A little bird
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Deals!
In another episode of “Is it 2016?” Rivian micromobility spinout Also raised another $200 million with a post-money valuation of $1 billion. Yes, that’s right, a micromobility company that has yet to reveal its first product.
As we’ve reported before, there is a lot of hype and anticipation around Also — and Jony Ive’s LoveFrom connection to the brand certainly helps raise its profile.
Other deals that got my attention this week …
Speaking of buzzy EVs that have raised eye-popping rounds, senior reporter Sean O’Kane interviewed the founders of Slauson & Co., a Los Angeles venture firm that launched five years ago and was an early investor in the Jeff Bezos-backed Slate Auto. Want to catch up on Slate Auto news? We created a handy Slate Auto timeline that covers all our scoops and news. We will update this regularly.
Finnish e-motor startup Donut Lab raised €25 million ($29.2 million) in a seed funding round led by Risto Siilasmaa, the founder of cybersecurity company WithSecure (formerly F-Secure). Risto has also joined Donut Lab’s board.
INSHUR, an insurance products service focused on the on-demand economy, raised $35 million from Trinity Capital. The new funding will support INSHUR’s continued expansion across the United States.
Notable reads and other tidbits
Autonomous vehicles
President Trump has nominated Jonathan Morrison to head the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Morrison has a history of tussling with Tesla.
Meanwhile, it looks like Tesla is trying to spread its robotaxi wings. The company applied to test and operate autonomous vehicles in Arizona in a bid to bring its fledgling robotaxi service to the Metro Phoenix area. Our story has a few interesting tidbits and explains the AV permitting process in Phoenix. One critical point: The company will also need a TNC permit to provide ride-hailing services.
Musk also commented that robotaxis will come to the Bay Area once they receive regulatory approval in “a month or two.” There’s just one issue with that: The California DMV, which regulates AVs, says Tesla hasn’t even applied for a driverless testing or deployment permit yet. As of today, Tesla only has an autonomous vehicle testing permit for public road testing with a safety driver, which it’s held since 2014.
Waymo continues to expand, and not just geographically. The company is opening up its robotaxi service in Phoenix to teenagers. There are caveats here, namely that the teens can only sign up through a verified parent’s account. And they have to be ages 14 to 17, so no 13-year-olds. That suggests Waymo wants to steer clear of middle schoolers and only provide service to those in high school.
Meanwhile, Waymo is sniffing around New York City (a famously restrictive place for AVs) and Philadelphia. The company kicked off “road trips” in the two Northeastern cities. Road trips can be viewed as early testing, although in New York City the vehicles will all be manually driven and used to map and collect data.
Electric vehicles, batteries, & charging
Several new EVs broke cover this past week: Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius took the upcoming all-electric GLC for a test ride; Subaru said it will reveal its new all-electric compact crossover SUV at 7:30 p.m. ET on July 17; and Volvo shared information about the carbon footprint of the all-electric ES90, which starts production later this summer.
Meanwhile, I spent a few days in the 2026 Rivian quad-motor R1S and R1T. This is the second generation of the flagship EV and the EV maker’s most expensive trim, which costs between $115,990 and $125,990, depending on the version.
Check out the full article about my test drive, which digs into the tech behind the second-generation flagship EV.
