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We’re just a few days into a new Trump administration, and it’s already a firehose of executive orders, declarations, and even pardons. A few have crossed into the “future of transportation” world.
Now, first let’s be clear about executive orders. Regardless of who is president, executive orders can be political theater and often conflict directly with constitutional law. But they can be helpful signals into the priorities of the person sitting in the Oval Office.
For President Trump, it’s clear he is not a fan of EV incentives — of any kind.
Among the slew of executive orders he signed on the first day of his second term, Trump ordered all agencies to immediately pause disbursement of funds from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. He specifically called out funding for EV charging infrastructure from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program. It should be noted that Tesla — led by Trump ally Elon Musk — has benefited from these programs.
We’ll be watching — and reporting on — how this plays out and which companies are most at risk.
A little bird
Oh, Canoo! What you could have been. Canoo filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and has ceased all operations. We’ll be following this as it winds through bankruptcy court.
Here’s some detail you might not know: A few months before Canoo went kaput, the company shuttered its former headquarters in Los Angeles. A few little birds told us that, in the months before Canoo filed for bankruptcy, multiple employees relocated from California to the company’s offices in Oklahoma and Texas — leaving them jobless in a new location.
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Deals!
Talk about locking in a deal at the 11th hour.
Rivian and the Department of Energy (DOE) finalized a $6.6 billion loan announced in November just a few days before Trump’s inauguration. The company will use the loan to help build out its planned factory in Georgia, east of Atlanta, with construction beginning in 2026. The first R2 SUVs are scheduled to come off the line in 2028.
The loan comes from the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) program, part of the DOE’s Loan Programs Office. ATVM is most well-known as the program that gave Tesla a $465 million lifeline in 2009.
Other deals that got my attention …
Ati Motors, an Indian autonomous robotics startup, raised $20 million in an all-equity Series B funding round co-led by Walden Catalyst Ventures and NGP Capital. It also featured existing investors, including True Ventures, Exfinity Venture Partners, Athera Venture Partners, and Blume Ventures.
Lyteflo, a Canadian EV software sales startup, raised $3 million in seed funding led by Diagram. Whitecap Venture Partners and Amplify Capital also participated.
Metafuels, a Swiss aviation fuel startup, raised $9 million in a round led by Celsius Industries. Other new investors include RockCreek, Fortescue Ventures, and Verve Ventures, with existing backers Energy Impact Partners and Contrarian Ventures also participating.
Moment Energy, an EV battery repurposing startup, raised $15 million in a Series A round co-led by Amazon Climate Pledge Fund and Voyager Ventures. In-Q-Tel (IQT), Version One Ventures, Overture Ventures, WovenEarth Ventures, Fika Ventures, MCJ, One Small Planet, and Climate Capital also participated.
Netradyne, which provides fleet owners with AI-enabled dash cams that collect vehicle data and video to improve driver safety, raised $90 million in a Series D round at a pre-money valuation of $1.35 billion. The round was led by Point72 Private Investments with participation from Qualcomm Ventures and Pavilion Capital.
Voltpost, the lamppost EV charging company, secured $2.6 million in grant funding from the U.S. Joint Office of Energy and the Communities Taking Charge Accelerator to deploy 75 chargers across the tri-state region —New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut.
Notable reads and other tidbits
ADAS
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation “upgraded” its investigation into Ford’s hands-free advanced driver-assistance system known as BlueCruise — a required step before a recall can be issued.
Autonomous vehicles
Torc Robotics, the independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG, is closing its original testing location in Albuquerque and tech hub in Stuttgart while expanding elsewhere. The company is building out an autonomous truck hub in the Dallas-Forth Worth area, specifically in the Hillwood AllianceTexas development. The company said the Texas location will be a hub for autonomous testing, customer freight pilots, and future commercialization slated for 2027.
Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries
UBCO, the New Zealand-based electric motorcycle startup, has gone into receivership. The startup, which recently signed a deal with Australia Post to provide a new fleet of custom electric motorbikes, has ceased all operations due to the lack of available funding.
In-car tech
The Federal Trade Commission issued a proposed order to ban GM — and its subscription-based in-vehicle safety and security system known as OnStar — from selling such data to consumer reporting agencies for five years. The proposed order stems from allegations that GM collected, used, and sold drivers’ precise geolocation data and driving behavior information from millions of vehicles without adequately notifying consumers and obtaining their consent.
Two security researchers (hackers) found a way to remotely unlock, start, and track millions of Subarus. The Japanese automaker has since fixed the vulnerabilities.
Space and future of flight
OK, space isn’t transportation really. But I will occasionally include space stories of note because there is some overlap with the industries. For example, the Federal Aviation Administration had to “briefly” slow and divert a number of aircraft in the airspace near Puerto Rico, where debris was seen falling after SpaceX’s Starship exploded during a test flight last Thursday.
Meanwhile, in other air-related matters, Amazon paused testing of its delivery drones following a crash involving two of its models.
This week’s wheels
While I was running around Las Vegas during CES 2025, I spotted a social media post from Lucid. The EV maker was in Vegas and offering rides in its all-new Lucid Gravity SUV.
I spent about an hour with the Lucid Gravity SUV, which just went into production last month. I have a longer review coming in the next few days, but here’s a sneak peek: Lucid nails the interior. It’s roomy, it’s luxurious, and it has lots of details that reflect the progression of Lucid. The company, it seems, is maturing.
Here is another curious impression. When I stood outside the vehicle, it didn’t quite feel or look like an SUV. Nor did it feel big. And yet, as soon as I climbed inside this third-row EV, the spaciousness was hard to ignore. More to come!
What is “This week’s wheels”? It’s a chance to learn about the different transportation products we’re testing, whether it’s an electric or hybrid car, an e-bike, or even a ride in an autonomous vehicle.