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Sent Oct 1, 2026

• Ford’s $30,000 Fathom EV pickup production launch faces uncertainty

  Electrek

  Ford’s planned Fathom electric pickup may miss its first-quarter 2027 production target as the company works through unresolved Universal Electric Vehicle platform hurdles. The $28,350 truck is meant to compete with cheaper Chinese EVs, but Ford CEO Jim Farley says scaling production at the right cost and on schedule will be a major challenge.

• Rivian: LiDAR R2 reaches customers in 2027, employees get it this year

  Electrek

  Rivian says employees will receive the first R2 vehicles equipped with LiDAR and its in-house RAP1 autonomy computer by the end of 2026, while paying customers wait until 2027. The timeline may amount to a delay from earlier guidance, though Rivian also says LiDAR now costs it only a few hundred dollars and shared updates on point-to-point driving and its Uber robotaxi deal.

• Tesla Robotaxi fleets are the new crypto treasury for zombie companies

  Electrek

  KIDZ AI, a Nasdaq-listed company valued at roughly $2.4 million, says it has asked Tesla about buying 500 Robotaxis and plans to build an autonomous fleet. The move suggests Tesla’s Robotaxi is becoming the latest stock-market buzzword for struggling micro-caps seeking a jolt, much like bitcoin treasuries were in 2025.

• FedEx orders 2,000 electric trucks from Harbinger in $300M deal

  TechCrunch

  FedEx is buying 2,000 electric trucks from Harbinger in a $300 million deal, with delivery expected by the end of next year. The order is Harbinger’s biggest yet and validates its focused strategy of building one medium-duty commercial truck chassis—though the startup is now branching into emergency vehicles, autonomy, energy storage, and defense.

• E-quipment highlight: 16-tonne Hyundai 160B-X battery-electric forklift

  Electrek

  Hyundai has unveiled the 16-tonne 160B-X, completing its heavy-duty battery-electric forklift lineup. The move gives dealers electric counterbalance options from 4 to 18 tonnes, bringing zero-emission equipment into jobs traditionally handled by diesel trucks.

• Destro AI’s secret sauce is getting robots and humans on the same page

  TechCrunch

  Destro emerged from stealth with an $8 million seed round for an AI layer that coordinates robots, workers, carts, and trucks in logistics warehouses. Its Yusen Logistics pilot is expanding from three Miva Robotics machines to 26, with a second 17-robot pilot planned—an argument that the valuable part of warehouse automation may be orchestration, not the robot itself.

• Valor, Atreides, and Sequoia back AI startup Flow Engineering at $750M valuation

  TechCrunch

  Flow Engineering has raised $50 million in Series B funding at a $750 million valuation to build AI agents for hardware design. The San Francisco startup says its tools connect CAD drawings with product requirements, simulations, and test results, with customers including Anduril, Rivian, Joby Aviation, General Motors PPU, RV Tech, and Stoke Space.

• 2 Driverless Cars Crashed Going 155 mph. That Could Be a Good Thing

  WIRED

  Only two of five cars finished A2RL’s Imola race, including a 155-mph collision after one car lost its sensor data and another couldn’t avoid it. The crashes showed why autonomous racing matters: even when a vehicle spots danger, perception, replanning, mechanical response, and physics takes over—making the track a useful laboratory for safer driverless cars.

• Toyota dropped a 1,675 lb caravan on its electric truck, and it drove off unfazed [Video]

  Electrek

  Toyota dropped a 1,675-pound caravan onto its new Hilux BEV from 30 feet, and the electric pickup powered up and drove away with only a few dents. The stunt revives Top Gear’s famous 2003 Hilux torture test while showcasing Toyota’s first electric, body-on-frame truck, which offers all-wheel drive, up to 160 miles of WLTP range, and 125 kW fast charging.

• Matternet wants to rain hot chicken from the sky

  Fast Company

  Matternet unveiled the M3, a decentralized drone-delivery system that can carry 11 pounds over 10 miles, with cheaper docks and drop boxes installed at restaurants, retailers, and hospitals. It aims to start U.S. service in late 2027 with Dave’s Hot Chicken, but regulatory delays, neighborhood backlash, and the still-unproven economics of rooftop chicken delivery could make the runway bumpy.