Week ending: 2026-02-21
Electric Vehicles
- Avis Budget Group reports near $1 billion loss tied to 2025 EV fleet write-down Auto Rental News
- Tesla slashes Cybertruck prices, launches $60k AWD model while cutting Cyberbeast price by $15k Ars Technica - Musk later killed the $60k model after just 10 days Electrek
- Chinese automaker Nio performs 165,898 battery swaps in a single day, setting new record Electrek
- First country to ban gas car sales is doing just fine, study shows Electrek
- Lucid cuts 12% of US workforce ahead of $50,000 midsize EV launch TechCrunch
- Hyundai's three-row IONIQ 9 EV becomes hit in Korea Electrek
- Study shows plug-in hybrids use over 300% more fuel than claimed Electrek
- Study finds 96% of EV owners plan to stay electric Electrek
- Most EV batteries outlast their cars, real-world data shows Electrek
- Toyota reveals 2026 bZ Woodland and C-HR electric SUVs with AWD The Drive / Electrek
- Ford's $30,000 EV pickup focuses on efficiency, may not be smaller The Drive / TechCrunch
- BYD reveals new low-cost EV with 375 miles range and unveils Japan-exclusive kei car Electrek / Electrek
- Polestar announces four new models in three years to shake off EV doldrums The Verge
- World's largest lithium metal maker begins producing semi-solid-state EV batteries Electrek
- Amazon grew Rivian electric delivery van fleet by 50% in 2025 Electrek
Autonomous Vehicles
- CES 2026 showcases robotaxi and autonomous vehicle innovations CBT News
- Uber investing over $100 million into charging stations for self-driving cars in Bay Area, LA, and Dallas Gizmodo
- Waymo's autonomous vehicles navigated over 7,000 dark traffic signals during major outage Self Driven News
- New York drops plan to legalize robotaxis in setback for Waymo The Verge / TechCrunch
- Tesla robotaxis involved in 19 crashes total since launching in Austin, including 5 more in past month - crash rate 4x worse than human drivers CBS News / Electrek
- Tesla admits it still needs drivers and remote operators, argues that's better than Waymo Electrek
- Waymo reveals about 35 Philippines operators assist its robotaxi fleet, denies using remote drivers EV Blog / The Verge
- Waymo begins fully autonomous operations with 6th-generation Waymo Driver Waymo Blog
- Hyundai joins physical AI race, promising humanoid robots and autonomous mobility MoveMnt
- South Korea drops data privacy requirement for autonomous vehicle testing EV Blog
- NVIDIA announces Alpamayo family of open-source AI models for autonomous vehicle development NVIDIA
Automaker Industry
- Stellantis is in a crisis of its own making The Verge
- America at risk of becoming automotive backwater amid EV transition struggles The Verge
- Jeep teases V8 Grand Cherokee and SRT Trackhawk return The Drive / The Drive
- BMW M launching 30 cars in 30 months, but manual transmission on life support The Drive
- 2027 Audi RS5 is 1,376 pounds heavier than previous model The Drive
- Subaru aims to grow sales by almost a third in less than 10 years The Drive
- Detroit automakers want to bring back sedans The Drive
Tesla
- Tesla loses bid to overturn $243 million fatal Autopilot crash verdict TechCrunch
- Tesla forced to drop "Autopilot" branding in California after "misleading" marketing ruling, avoids 30-day sales ban The Verge / TechCrunch
- Tesla Full Self-Driving tried to drive owner into a lake in viral video Electrek
- Tesla's FSD software logs 1 billion miles in first 50 days of 2026 EV Blog
- German union accuses Tesla of "toxic" environment, files defamation suit against plant manager Electrek
- Chinese state media amplifies viral Tesla failure amid 45% sales crash Electrek
- Tesla claimed first "autonomous car delivery" 8 months ago and never did it again Electrek
- Tesla rolls first steering wheel-less Cybercab off production line before solving autonomy Electrek
AI/Automation
- Walmart sees speed and convenience boosting trust in its AI agent CX Dive
- Klarna pursues "Uber" style customer service model CX Dive
- Gartner survey finds 91% of customer service leaders under pressure to implement AI in 2026 Gartner
- Talkdesk showcases AI-driven customer experience automation at CCW Berlin TipRanks
- Nordstrom builds sourcing strategy and spend visibility with AI Retail Dive
- Williams-Sonoma to test ads in ChatGPT Retail Dive
- Hasbro CEO: "We're beyond experimentation" with AI Retail Dive
- Lyft scales localization with AI Lyft Engineering
Rideshare Industry
- Lyft introduces teen accounts more than two years after Uber CNBC
- New unlicensed ride-share app in NYC prompts TLC warning CBS New York
Airline Industry
- Air France-KLM hits EUR 2 billion profit milestone as premium anchors outlook Skift
- United shakes up MileagePlus program Skift
- Here's how U.S. airlines say they're using AI Skift
- Sabre lays off staff amid C-suite reshuffle in bid to become "AI-native" Skift / Phocuswire
Travel & Hospitality Industry
- **Wyndham and Marriott's