Tesla is facing fallout from Elon Musk’s public breakup with former President Donald Trump. Musk’s political ties hit turbulence, risking broader impacts across Tesla and Musk’s other ventures.
The issue started with Musk’s fallout with Trump after a history of fraught political alliances. Musk’s risky and intense style means this drama won’t die down quickly — expect ongoing public flare-ups and unofficial detente in a cycle.
Soon after, focus turned to Tesla’s robotaxi project in Austin, Texas, and how this strain with the Trump administration could affect Musk’s access to Department of Transportation support. Musk had been lobbying lawmakers over the Autonomous Vehicle Acceleration Act, introduced May 15, aiming to boost autonomous vehicle legislation. 
Rivian spun out micromobility startup Also, backed by Eclipse Ventures. Sources reveal that Jony Ive’s design firm LoveFrom collaborated closely with Rivian’s skunkworks team that evolved into Also. Senior reporter Sean O’Kane and Kirsten Korosec have the full scoop.
Joby Aviation struck a deal with Saudi Arabian conglomerate Abdul Latif Jameel to explore distributing up to 200 electric aircraft. Abdul Latif Jameel already invests in Joby, making this move a potential shortcut to Saudi market entry — but also complicates investor-customer dynamics.
Funding updates:
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Obvio, using AI to crack down on unsafe driving with stop sign cameras, raised $22M led by Bain Capital Ventures. Plans to expand beyond Maryland’s first five cities.
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Portless, an e-commerce logistics startup with a Shein-like model easing tariff costs, raised $18M from Commerce Ventures and others.
- Toma, an AI voice tool for car dealerships, landed $17M across seed and Series A in a16z-led rounds. Backers include Y Combinator and auto influencer Yossi Levi.
Uber is leaning into autonomy. New president and COO Andrew “Mac” Macdonald will now oversee mobility, delivery, and autonomy businesses. Macdonald, who launched Uber’s Toronto operations and led autonomous strategy, takes over delivery after Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty’s exit.
At a Bloomberg event, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said:
“We want to essentially support the AV ecosystem and continue to help that ecosystem develop and then AVs penetrate into the marketplace,” he said. “AVs, we think, represent a safer way of transportation. Ultimately, we think it’ll expand the marketplace as it makes kind of safe transportation cities available to everybody.”
Uber also added a simpler UI option for older users.
Tesla filed trademark applications for “Tesla Robotaxi” after earlier attempts to trademark its self-driving service stalled.
Redwood Materials walked away from a Department of Energy loan it conditionally won last year. The delay and cost of vetting made the loan unattractive, especially after raising $2B in private funding and hitting nearly $200M revenue last year.
Walmart and Alphabet’s drone division Wing are expanding drone delivery. Wing currently flies out of 18 Dallas-Fort Worth Walmart stores and will add over 100 locations in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando, and Tampa.
Nikola founder Trevor Milton, recently pardoned, is fighting a subpoena from Nikola’s creditors. Milton owed nearly $100M before the company’s February bankruptcy, following a lost arbitration linked to his criminal conviction.
Stay tuned for more on these fast-moving transport tech stories.
