Uber is expanding its robotaxi ambitions with the help of Volkswagen. The two companies are teaming up to offer autonomous rides in ID. Buzz vehicles. They plan to deploy thousands of the vehicles in multiple US markets over the next decade.

Testing is slated to start later this year with human safety drivers at the wheel. All going well, Uber and VW aim to start running ID.Buzz robotaxi rides in Los Angeles in late 2026. Volkswagen AG's MOIA division is supplying its autonomous driving tech.

The ID.Buzz is an electric, modern version of VW's classic Type 2 Microbus. The vehicle finally hit the US last year for a starting price of $59,995 for the base model.

Uber has been offering robotaxi rides in Waymo vehicles for a while. It's gradually been expanding the number of markets in which it offers such rides. Waymo rides are currently available via Uber in the likes of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin.

Tesla is no stranger to safety issue recalls, and now there's another to add to its list. The company is recalling 125,227 vehicles due to a problem with the seat belt warning system, Reuters reports. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the driver could be unbuckled, and the warning light and chime still might not activate. This malfunction violates federal safety requirements and could increase a person's injury risk. 

The affected models span the last decade, comprising some of the 2012-2024 Model S, 2015-2024 Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles. To fix the issue, Tesla will change the sensor from depending on seat weight to whether the buckle is plugged in and the car is turned on. An over-the-air update should begin in June. 

Tesla notably recalled over two million vehicles in December following Autopilot safety issues and a two-year NHTSA investigation. More recalls followed earlier this year: In January, Tesla recalled 200,000 Model S, X and Y vehicles from 2023 due to a software issue that prevented the backup camera from working when the car is in reverse (so the exact time it's needed). The included vehicles comprised over 10 percent of the company's 2023 output. Tesla also recalled 3,878 Cybertrucks in April after discovering that an accelerator pad could get loose. 

Spotify’s Car Thing, a limited hardware “test” the company began shipping only three years ago, is about to bite the dust. The company wrote on Thursday that the device, which brought Spotify to automobiles without Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, will “no longer be operational” as of December 9.

Car Thing was aimed at drivers who want to listen to Spotify in their cars but don’t have modern systems with built-in streaming apps. The $90 device let you control the service with voice recognition and preset buttons, and it had a four-inch color touchscreen. However, Spotify had already discontinued it by mid-2022.

In our 2021 preview, Engadget’s Billy Steele wrote that the gadget seemed unnecessary at first but proved useful after two weeks of use. “While it seems only Spotify die-hards would be interested in something like this, it does offer an upgrade for older cars,” our audio gear expert wrote. “I’m never getting built-in voice control in [the 2006 Honda] Element, and the ability to keep Waze on my phone and Spotify on another display definitely reduced the need to fiddle with either while driving.”

Billy Steele for Engadget

Spotify’s official explanation for ditching its first hardware product is that it’s “part of our ongoing efforts to streamline our product offerings” (read: save money) and that it lets the streaming service “focus on developing new features and enhancements that will ultimately provide a better experience to all Spotify users.”

Those new features and enhancements are anyone’s guess because the company adds that it doesn’t plan on launching a replacement product or a new version of Car Thing. Of course, you can listen to Spotify in your car with your phone connected through Bluetooth or a cable, and many drivers now have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, which provide access to much more than a single music app.

Spotify recommends factory resetting the Car Thing and disposing of it after it kicks the bucket in December. The company isn’t offering any refunds or trade-in options — something to keep in mind if it ever rolls out more limited hardware experiments.

Volkswagen has delayed the launch of its ID.7 sedan in the US and Canada. Before Wednesday’s indefinite postponement, the automaker had slated the EV’s North American launch for this year. The ID.7, which was set to be Volkswagen’s first electric sedan in the US, has seen high demand in Europe, where it arrived last year.

“As market dynamics continue to change, Volkswagen is delaying the introduction of the ID.7 sedan in the U.S. and Canada,” the automaker wrote in a press release announcing the delay. Volkswagen added that its Microbus is still slated for a Q4 2025 stateside arrival. The company also touted in its press release how well its electric SUVs did in North America during Q1 2024.

Volkswagen

Volkswagen confirmed to Engadget sister site Autoblog that it doesn’t currently have a new timeline for the delayed ID.7 in North America, not an encouraging sign for folks who were eagerly waiting for the sedan. The Verge notes that the model would fill a gap in the American electric industry’s offerings: a decently affordable electric sedan. Right now, most non-SUV electric vehicles in the American market sit on the high end of the pricing spectrum, starting at around $70,000.

The European ID.7 is an “upper mid-size” EV sedan that merges a powerful and efficient 282-hp motor with a 77-kWh battery. Rated for around 300 miles of range, it was expected to start at around $50,000 in the US.

Volvo and Aurora have unveiled their first production autonomous truck, three years after the companies initially announced that they were teaming up. They've just showed off the Volvo VNL Autonomous truck, which was designed by autonomous trucking and robotaxi company Aurora but will be manufactured by Volvo, at ACT Expo in Las Vegas. 

It's powered by Aurora Driver, a level 4 autonomous driving system that uses high-resolution cameras, imaging radars, a LiDAR sensor that can detect objects up to 400 meters away and even more sensors. Aurora's technology has driven billions of virtual miles for training, as well as 1.5 million commercial miles on actual public roads. For safety purposes, the truck has "redundant steering, braking, communication, computation, power management, energy storage and vehicle motion management systems."

According to TechCrunch, the vehicle will still have a human driver behind the wheel to take over whenever needed when it starts ferrying cargo across North America over the next few months. An Aurora spokesperson told the publication that it will be announcing pilot programs with its clients that are planning to use Volvo's truck sometime later this year. It didn't name any companies, but the startup previously ran pilot programs with FedEx and Uber Freight. 

The autonomous vehicle company also intends to deploy 20 fully driverless trucks between Dallas and Houston soon, but it's unclear if this inaugural fleet of driverless vehicles will be comprised of Volvo's trucks or of its other manufacturing partners'. The companies did say at the Las Vegas event, though, that Volvo has already started manufacturing a test fleet of the VNL Autonomous truck at its New River Valley assembly facility in Virginia. Nils Jaeger, President of Volvo Autonomous Solutions, called this truck the "first of [the company's] standardized global autonomous technology platform." Jaeger added that it will enable Volvo "to introduce additional models in the future."

If you've been seeing more Waymo robotaxis recently in Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles, that's because more and more people are hailing one for a ride. The Alphabet-owned company has announced on Twitter/X that it's now serving more than 50,000 paid trips every week across three cities. Waymo One operates 24/7 in parts of those cities. If the company is getting 50,000 rides a week, that means it receives an average of 300 bookings every hour or five bookings every minute. Waymo has revealed, as well, that it's had over one million rider-only trips across four cities, including Austin, where it's currently offering limited rides to select members of the public.

In its announcement, Waymo credited its "safe and deliberate approach" to scaling its program for reaching the milestone. "We see people from all walks of life use our service to travel carefree, gain independence, reclaim their commute and more. Fully autonomous ride-hailing is a reality and a preferred mobility option for people navigating their cities every day," it added. 

While Waymo certainly seems to be doing better than Cruise, which only recently re-deployed some of its autonomous vehicles following a much-needed hiatus, it's had its share of controversies. In April, six Waymo robotaxis blocked traffic in a San Francisco freeway, and it was just one of the instances wherein the company's vehicles caused traffic blockage. Earlier this year, two Waymo vehicles crashed into the same pickup truck one after the other, because their software had incorrectly predicted the future movements of the truck. The company issued a software recall after the incident to fix the issue and prevent similar incidents from happening. 

Boom's supersonic XB-1 test jet has received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval to fly past Mach 1, the company announced. Tests are slated to take place later this year at the Black Mountain Supersonic Corridor in Mojave, CA, and the results could help prove the feasibility of the design in areas like fuel consumption, speeds and flight characteristics.

"Following XB-1’s successful first flight, I’m looking forward to its historic first supersonic flight,” said Boom Supersonic founder and CEO Blake Scholl. "We thank the Federal Aviation Administration for supporting innovation and enabling XB-1 to continue its important role of informing the future of supersonic travel."

The approval arrives just weeks after a successful X-B1 test flight at subsonic speeds by a pair of test pilots. It follows a thorough review and environmental assessment, and mandates a chaise plane to trail the XB-1 to monitor and record flight safety, according to the company.

The company will conduct 10-20 flights before attempting to break the speed of sound. It will systematically expand the flight envelope during that time to confirm performance and handling qualities, while performing in-flight checks of all systems and demonstrating a safe margin to flutter/vibration boundaries. Test pilot Tristan "Geppetto" Brandenberg will be at the controls during the first supersonic flight.

Passenger flights are still a long way away, though. The XB-1 is a scaled-down version of Boom's ultimate goal, a commercial liner called Overture that's expected to carry under 100 passenger at "business class" comfort levels. The company has said that plane will be able to fly from Tokyo to Seattle in four hours and thirty minutes. 

NASA is also working on a supersonic jet called the X-59 with a reduced sonic profile, but Boom Supersonic hasn't provided much detail on how it plans to reduce the, well, supersonic boom.  

The company has seen its share of issues, with test plans delayed and a rupture with original engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce. The company subsequently partnered with a company called FTT to develop its own custom "Symphony" jet engine. Despite those setbacks, the company already has customers lined up, with American Airlines and United Airlines having place orders for multiple jets. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) just announced new federal safety standards for automobiles. These standards include a mandate for advanced automatic braking systems for all new cars, which manufacturers must comply with by 2029. That’s just five years out.

This applies to all passenger cars and light trucks under 10,000 pounds. The automatic emergency braking systems must be able to bring a car traveling up to 62 MPH to a complete stop while avoiding a collision. These systems will also have to account for oncoming pedestrians at speeds up to 45 MPH in both daytime and nighttime conditions.

Automatic emergency brakes use a bevy of sensors, lasers and cameras to detect collisions. When a crash is imminent, the system brakes on its own or applies brake assist to help the driver quickly and safely come to a stop. It’s worth noting that manufacturers already include these systems in 90 percent of new cars, according to reporting by The New York Times, but many of these tools don’t meet the MPH thresholds as mentioned above. The NHTSA says that most manufacturers should be able to meet these requirements with software updates. 

The federal agency estimates that these new rules will prevent over 360 road deaths per year and should reduce the severity of more than 24,000 injuries. It’s also expected to save people a lot of money on property damage costs. Cathy Chase, the president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, told The Washington Post that the new rules were a “major victory for all consumers and public safety.” There were over 41,000 automobile-related deaths in the US in 2023 alone, and that’s actually a slight decrease from the previous year.

The actual auto industry, however, isn’t quite as bullish about the mandate. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a lobbying group that works on behalf of auto manufacturers, has urged the NHTSA to consider other options. One major suggestion is to lower the speed threshold in certain cases, as the group stated that “significant hardware and software changes will be needed to achieve a level of performance that no production vehicle can currently achieve.”

To that end, tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety indicate that these systems will likely require major overhauls to adequately comply with the mandate. The research group says it tested crash avoidance systems on 10 small SUVs at speeds up to 43 MPH, and many failed to stop in time to avoid a crash in the most difficult testing scenarios. The Subaru Forester and Honda CR-V performed best, for those in the market. 

Heavy-duty vehicles, like larger trucks, could be getting their own mandate in the near future. The NHTSA is currently working with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a truck safety agency, to draw up similar standards for chonky vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has concluded an investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot driver assistance system after reviewing hundreds of crashes, including 13 fatal incidents that led to 14 deaths. The organization has ruled that these accidents were due to driver misuse of the system.

However, the NHTSA also found that “Tesla’s weak driver engagement system was not appropriate for Autopilot’s permissive operating capabilities.” In other words, the software didn’t prioritize driver attentiveness. Riders using Autopilot or the company’s Full Self-Driving technology “were not sufficiently engaged,” because Tesla “did not adequately ensure that drivers maintained their attention on the driving task." 

The organization investigated nearly 1,000 crashes from January of 2018 until August of 2023, accounting for 29 total deaths. The NHTSA found that there was “insufficient data to make an assessment” for around half (489) of these crashes. In some incidents, the other party was at fault or the Tesla drivers weren’t using the Autopilot system.

The most serious were 211 crashes in which “the frontal plane of the Tesla struck a vehicle or obstacle in its path” and these were often linked to Autopilot or FSD. These incidents led to 14 deaths and 49 serious injuries. The agency found that drivers had enough time to react, but didn’t, in 78 of these incidents. These drivers failed to brake or steer to avoid the hazard, despite having at least five seconds to make a move.

That’s where complaints against the software come into play. The NHTSA says that drivers would simply become too complacent, assuming that the system would handle any hazards. When it came time to react, it was too late. “Crashes with no or late evasive action attempted by the driver were found across all Tesla hardware versions and crash circumstances,” the organization wrote. The imbalance between driver expectation and the operating capabilities of Autopilot resulted in a “critical safety gap” that led to “foreseeable misuse and avoidable crashes.”

The NHTSA also took umbrage with the branding of Autopilot, calling it misleading and suggesting that it lets drivers assume the software has total control. To that end, rival companies tend to use branding with words like “driver assist.” Autopilot indicates, well, an autonomous pilot. California’s attorney general and the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles are also investigating Tesla for misleading branding and marketing.

Tesla, on the other hand, says that it warns customers that they need to pay attention while using Autopilot and FSD, according to The Verge. The company says the software features regular indicators that remind drivers to keep their hands on the wheels and eyes on the road. The NHTSA and other safety groups have said that these warnings do not go far enough and were “insufficient to prevent misuse.” Despite these statements by safety groups, CEO Elon Musk recently promised that the company will continue to go “balls to the wall for autonomy.”

The findings could only represent a small fraction of the actual number of crashes and accidents related to Autopilot and FSD. The NHTSA indicated that “gaps in Tesla’s telematic data create uncertainty regarding the actual rate at which vehicles operating with Autopilot engaged are involved in crashes.” This means that Tesla only receives data from certain types of crashes, with the NHTSA claiming the company collects data on around 18 percent of crashes reported to police.

With all of this mind, the organization has opened up another probe into Tesla. This one looks into a recent OTA software fix issued in December after two million vehicles were recalled. The NHTSA will evaluate whether the Autopilot recall fix that Tesla implemented is effective enough.

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class, aka the Gelandewagen (which means "all-terrain vehicle" in German) has been in regular production since 1979. It's changed a lot since then, evolving from a utilitarian off-roader to a desirable luxury icon, but it's never seen a change quite like this.

Meet the Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology. That's a long and mild name for a pretty radical reinvention of the classic G. This is the first battery-powered G-Wagen, driven by a whopping four electric motors that draw juice from a 116-kilowatt-hour battery pack. Total output is 580 horsepower.

Those four motors enable the electric G to do some amazing things, like a so-called G-Turn, where it spins in place. The idea is to help this big rig get out of some tight off-road situations, but we think it'll be even more effective at impressing your neighbors. There's a bevy of other tech here too, including dedicated off-road driving modes and a series of cameras that allow drivers to spot every rock and rut when crossing the trails. No formal word on pricing just yet, but it's important to note that the gas-powered versions of the G-Class live on, so if you're really attached to internal combustion there's still a G for you.

Really, though, if you can't do a tank turn, then what's the point? Watch the video above for the full story.