The National Traffic Highway Safety Administration has opened an investigation into a fatal crash involving a Tesla, according to documents viewed by TechCrunch. The investigation, which was opened in July, is the latest in a long string of inquiries by NHTSA’s Special Investigations program into crashes involving Tesla vehicles. This fatal crash, in which a
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Five and a half years on (well, really 5.69), Tesla’s solar roofs are looking less like a revelation and more like a hobby. Though Elon Must set a goal of 1,000 solar roof installations per week, the company’s latest averages are reportedly a tiny fraction of that figure. Citing an anonymous source, Electrek reports that
Having conquered orbit, SpaceX’s next venue seems to be the high seas, through a special yacht-focused sub-brand of its satellite internet service called Starlink Maritime. The idea of satellite internet on the water isn’t a new one, but the actual service generally isn’t great: you can expect to pay hundreds or thousands per month for
Venture capital fund Headline has been investing in tech startups since — get this — 1999, which might tempt headline writers, perhaps unfairly, to apply the word “dinosaur,” if the fund hadn’t continued to remain so active since then. Suffice it to say, it’s been plenty busy since that “cretaceous era,” with 11 $1 billion+
“I want to do some crazy stuff,” Jason Keats says with a laugh. “I want to bring back that GEM phone.” He reaches behind him and pulls the strikingly slender device off a shelf. The battery’s dead, but as a prop, it still works. Essential released images of the prototype device in October 2019 —
Arwa Kaddoura Contributor Arwa Kaddoura has worked for nearly 20 years in cloud GTM strategies and scaling startups and large enterprises. As CRO of InfluxData, she oversees global sales activities, including sales enablement, customer success, and technical support and services. Technology leaders don’t like to admit it, but sales has a perception problem that deters
From a global perspective, the venture capital market for startup investment is slowing. Data shows that venture investment totals are falling, with the second quarter adding to declines seen in the first quarter of this year. After reaching a peak in late 2021, startups are seeing private-market-focused wallets close just a bit — even as
In the construction business, time is money. But with so many moving parts, it can be extremely challenging for construction companies to manage the administrative aspects of their finances. Adaptive, an 11-month-old startup that has set out to give construction teams better tools to manage their back offices, has raised $6.5 million in a seed
Fyto wants our plants to work smarter, not harder. The San Francisco–based company is developing both hardware and software to automate and scale the production of aquatic plants, or what founder and CEO Jason Prapas calls “superplants,” in a controlled environment as a more resilient option for feed, food and soil health. Prapas launched Fyto
Volkswagen Group broke ground Thursday at the first of six battery factories it expects to build in Europe, the official kickoff of a new battery business that will invest $20 billion through 2030 to become a global EV leader. Volkswagen’s new company, called PowerCo, will be responsible for the automaker’s global battery business, managing the
The wheels of privacy enforcement are slowly turning against Facebook in Europe — where its lead data protection regulator, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), has taken a key procedural step on a data transfers complaint whose substance dates back almost a decade at this point. The DPC confirmed today that a draft decision on the
Traba, a jobs board designed to help entry-level workers find available shifts at fulfillment centers and event venues, today announced that it raised $20 million in a Series A round. Khosla led the financing with participation from Founders Fund, General Catalyst, SciFi VC and Atomic, valuing Traba at $120 million post-money. CEO Mike Shebat says
Build stronger brands and reduce reliance on social Simon Wu 7 hours Simon Wu Contributor Simon is a partner with Cathay Innovation, a global venture capital firm investing across North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. He focuses on software, fintech, digital health and consumer investments. More posts by this contributor From startups to Starbucks: The
According to the World Bank, Indonesia produces 4.8 million tons of plastic waste each year that is “mismanaged”—meaning it ends up uncollected, chucked into dumpsites or leaked from improperly managed landfills. Octopus wants to reduce that number with a platform that makes it easier to collect back waste products from consumers and recycle it into
As companies adopt new tools to accommodate remote ways of work, it’s becoming tougher for their workforces to keep track of and manage information across internal services. It’s not just the C-suite that’s being challenged — lower-level employees, too, are having to wrestle with employers’ now-sprawling catalogs of apps. According to Statista, the average enterprise
“Frequent” investigations into local units of Chinese firms by Indian authorities “impedes the improvement of business environment” in India and “chills the confidence and willingness” of other foreign nation’s businesses to invest and operate in the South Asian market, China’s embassy in India said in a statement, following raids into Vivo offices earlier this week.
YuLife originally made a name for itself in its home market of the U.K. for its new approach to the provisioning of life insurance: yes, sell a policy that provides financial security to your people in the event of your death; but do so with a focus on improving the policyholder’s current life with wellness
To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PDT, subscribe here. Greetings, and happy Wednesday! I had to check the calendar before I said the day because does anyone really know what day it is anymore? Amanda had me cracking up with her
The startup market is global in footprint, varied in focus, diverse in business model and constantly evolving. The venture capital market, meanwhile, is slower to molt, but it’s also changed in the last decade. Startups and their financial backers went a bit nuts last year, raising too much money, often at unsustainable prices. We’re now watching
After a successful Kickstarter campaign back in 2019, the Espresso Display is back with version 2 of its USB-C powered, ultraportable second monitor for people who love to get things done while on the road. Darrell tried out a preproduction unit of the original version of the display a couple of years ago, concluding that
Last month, Insider published an explosive report about a former SpaceX flight attendant who accused SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk of propositioning her for sex in 2016 and to whom the company paid $250,000 to keep quiet. Musk immediately labeled the story “a politically motivated hit piece,” while SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell
More antitrust scrutiny for Amazon in Europe: The U.K.’s antitrust watchdog has opened an investigation into Amazon’s marketplace on the same day Germany’s regulator has confirmed it can apply special abuse controls to the e-commerce giant. The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the probe will consider — firstly — whether Amazon has a
If you’ve ever searched on YouTube for a review of the latest iPhone or electric car, then you’ve probably encountered Marques Brownlee. Since he started his channel MKBHD as a teenager in 2009, Brownlee has amassed 15.8 million subscribers for his in-depth, yet approachable tech videos. He’s even scored interviews with Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg,
From the next big thing to rueful error, the global SPAC market has had a big few years. So-called blank check companies, which take a skeleton corporation public with the aim of later merging with a private entity, can offer a quick path to the world’s stock markets. They can also, as we’ve relearned in
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single topic, think about a question and unpack the rest. This week, Natasha and Alex asked: Why is tech full of copycats, and what’s the
Over five years after the release of the Nintendo Switch, fans are salivating for news about a new console, whether that be a rumored Switch Pro or Switch 2. Last night, it seemed almost certain that a new console was on its way. As Twitch streamer Shokio wrote on Twitter, Nintendo had just made YouTube
Marjorie Radlo-Zandi Contributor Marjorie Radlo-Zandi is an entrepreneur, board member, mentor to startups and angel investor who shows early-stage businesses how to build and successfully scale their businesses. More posts by this contributor Does your startup have enough runway? 5 factors to consider Be an entrepreneur who leads with transparency As an entrepreneur, you’ll find
The UK government has tabled an amendment to the Online Safety Bill that could put it on a collision course with end-to-end encryption. It’s proposing to give the incoming Internet regulator, Ofcom, new powers to force messaging platforms and other types of online services to implement content-scanning technologies, even if their platform is strongly encrypted
Nothing, the consumer tech company started by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei and known for its aggressive marketing, unveils a non-fungible token project called Black Dot. Its fans are skeptical. Black Dot is a video clip featuring a rotating, transparent cube with a black dot bouncing off the walls inside and making a crispy, metallic sound.
During the most recent Y Combinator startup batch, Peakflo stood out to TechCrunch. The company’s simple pitch — Bill.com for Southeast Asia — fit neatly into the broader narrative of the world increasingly digitizing its workflows and the generally hot market we’d seen for fintech companies. At the time, we noted that “there are huge