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Top 7 mobility companies of the future to watch for in 2017

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A transformation is taking shape in the auto industry led by technology-focused companies looking to upend all facets of design, powertrains, vehicle ownership, and sales and distribution, as we know it. Tesla has spearheaded this movement towards the electrification of vehicles, while priming the market for a shared vehicle ownership model to come. Joining the Silicon Valley-based electric car maker is another technology company, Uber, looking to become the transportation of the future, sans vehicle ownership.

The automotive industry has just begun its transformation into the mobility industry, and it is important to understand who is leading the pack in innovation.    

#1 Tesla

The future mobility industry is being led by Tesla through their fleet of long range electric vehicles – currently having the longest range electric car in the industry – and its Autopilot driver assistance technology. Having the most advanced battery and motor technology in the world, Tesla continues to do a land grab of market share in the automotive market. With planned introduction of Model 3 this year into consumer hands, Tesla is poised for massive growth as it ventures into mass market territory. The company also has billions of miles of data collected through its fleet of vehicles and looks to grow a self-driving market powered by Tesla innovation.

What to watch for in 2017: Fully autonomous vehicles, Model 3 production, improved Supercharger technology with faster charging speeds.

#2 Uber

Uber has grown rapidly in 2016 and is now one of the most recognized startups in the world. Uber’s software algorithms help move millions of people per day and provides a source of income to thousands of workers globally. With Uber’s recent movement into self-driving technology, Uber could emerge as a complete replacement to vehicle ownership. Additionally, Uber acquired Otto in 2016 for $680M, a company that has helped Uber with their self-driving efforts while looking to bring autonomous driving technology to the trucking industry.

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What to watch for in 2017: More self-driving cities, entrance into the trucking industry, expanding delivery service.

#3 General Motors

Under Mary Barra’s leadership, GM has transformed itself over the past three years to expose itself to autonomous driving, electric vehicles, and the shift in car ownership. Just this month, GM shipped the Chevy Bolt, a low-cost, long-range electric vehicle. While it is still to be seen whether the Chevy Bolt will be successful, GM has been investing in a variety other innovative areas.

GM has asserted itself as a major player in the car-sharing and ride-sharing industry. In 2016, GM launched a “personal mobility” brand, Drive Maven, which allows people to rent a car on an hourly basis. GM has launched the brand in 12 cities across North America and is investing heavily in growing the brand. GM also invested $500M into Lyft and partnered with the company to provide easier access to vehicles on the platform. In addition to their investment in Lyft, GM also acquired self-driving start-up, Cruise Automation, for $1 Billion in cash and stock. Clearly, GM has been very busy in order to stay relevant and has asserted themselves as the leader of traditional automaker industry.

What to watch for in 2017: Chevy Bolt production, expansion of Maven, more advancements with Cruise’s self-driving technology.

#4 Lucid Motors

Lucid Motors has been hard at work for over ten years to develop their first production vehicle, the Lucid Air. The company promises a large luxury vehicle with 1,000 hp and 400 miles of range. While the claims might seem lofty, Lucid is poised to become a very dominant force within the new era of electrification. They are the most likely start-up automaker to make it to production in the next few years. The company has raised over $130M and has quietly begun construction of their factory in Arizona and aiming for a production run of 10,000 vehicles in 2019. Lucid’s CTO is the former vice president of vehicle engineering at Tesla Motors and was involved in the development of the Model S.

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What to watch for in 2017: Factory development, more details, and pricing on the ‘Air’

#5 NextEV (NIO)

NextEV is the newest start-up automaker to enter the EV space and has developed advanced technology to assert themselves in the market. Founded in late 2014, NextEV has raised upwards of $500M and has brought on a veteran technology executive as their CEO, Padmasree Warrior, who’s the former CTO of Cisco and Motorola. The company participates in the Formula E electric car racing series. In November 2016, the company rebranded itself as NIO.

NIO has already built and tested its electric supercar the EP9 that broke the electric vehicle lap time at the famed Nürburgring course. The company is looking to launch a consumer electric car brand focused on a different style of ownership.

What to watch for in 2017: Advancements with the EP9, more details on the consumer vehicle, development of their factory in China.

#6 Volvo

Volvo surprised the automotive industry when they emerged in 2015 with the brand-new Volvo XC90 built on advanced engineering and technology. The XC90 went on to win Motortrend’s SUV of the year and numerous awards. Not only is the XC90 a fantastic refresh of the Volvo brand, but the vehicle also has a new powertrain combined with autonomous driving technology.

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Uber self-driving pilot program in San Francisco

Volvo formed a partnership with Uber in August of 2016 to collaborate on self-driving technology. Volvo’s partnership with Uber is a major win for the brand as it moves forward to reinvent the aging brand.

What to watch for in 2017: New generation S60/XC60, full self-driving technology, electrification of vehicle lineup.

#7 Faraday Future

Faraday Future has entered 2017 swinging straight at Tesla with the FF91. The company claims a 0-60 time of 2.39 secs on the FF91 which is nothing short of impressive. Faraday has lofty goals to become a major transportation and entertainment ecosystem through a vast fleet of electric mobility vehicles. However, amid reports of financial issues taking place within the organization, the company is quickly adjusting its stated manufacturing plans and realigning its finances. Faraday Future seems to be back on track.

What to watch for in 2017: More details and pricing on the FF91, development efforts on the factory, advancements in self-driving technology.

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Christian Prenzler is currently the VP of Business Development at Teslarati, leading strategic partnerships, content development, email newsletters, and subscription programs. Additionally, Christian thoroughly enjoys investigating pivotal moments in the emerging mobility sector and sharing these stories with Teslarati's readers. He has been closely following and writing on Tesla and disruptive technology for over seven years. You can contact Christian here: christian@teslarati.com

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Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.1.7 real-world drive and review

On an hour-long drive, we tested v14.1.7 and tested its new capabilities, which are mostly overall performance and smoothness fixes rather than integrations of new features that are unknown to routine FSD users.

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tesla interior operating on full self driving
Credit: TESLARATI

Tesla started rolling out its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.1.7 suite last night to owners, and there are several improvements to note within the new update that are at least the start of fixes to highly-mentioned issues.

On an hour-long drive, we tested v14.1.7 and tested its new capabilities, which are mostly overall performance and smoothness fixes rather than integrations of new features that are unknown to routine FSD users. However, there are a handful of shortcomings that are still present within the suite, which are not something that will be fixed within the span of a single update.

For what it is, Full Self-Driving does an excellent job of navigating — once you get it on its correct path. Our issues tend to be confined to navigation, routing, and the decision-making process that has to do with the way the car wants to get you to your destination. There were five things that happened on our first drive with v14.1.7 that are worth mentioning. The full drive will be available at the bottom of this article.

Navigation and Routing Still Seems to Be a Major Challenge

In past content, we’ve discussed the issues with routing and navigation, and how a Tesla chooses its path. Most noticeably, these issues occur in the same areas; for me, it’s my local Supercharger. My 2026 Model Y with AI4 continues to pick less-than-optimal routes out of the Supercharger, and in this instance, it actually chose to turn down a road, pull over, and give me the wheel, essentially asking, “Hey, can you get me on the right track here?”

This is still my biggest bone to pick with FSD, even more so than some of the bonehead moves it’s made in tougher scenarios (mostly parking lots with very limited visibility due to shrubs being planted in the worst possible locations). It’s rare that it happens, but this particular Supercharger has been a true thorn in the side of my Tesla.

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This is not an issue that is confined to v14.1.7, or even v14 in general. Unfortunately, it is an issue that has persisted throughout my ownership experience, as well as during Demo Drives.

Stuttering and Hesitation at Intersections was Non-Existent

There was some confusion regarding my language in a recent article where I stated Tesla is confronting the issues that have been reported regarding the “stabbing” with braking.

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“Tesla began the v14.1.4 launch last night, which included minor improvements and addressed brake-stabbing issues many owners have reported. In my personal experience, the stabbing has been awful on v14.1.3, and is a major concern.

However, many things have improved, and only a couple of minor issues have been recurring. Many of the issues v13 addressed are no longer an issue, so Tesla has made significant progress.”

It has undoubtedly improved, but it is not resolved.

With that being said, I did not feel a single example of hesitation, stabbing, or stuttering at a single intersection or instance when it has been present in the past. CEO Elon Musk said it would be fixed with v14.2, so it seems like Tesla is well on its way to resolving it.

Proper Handling of Crosswalks

It’s crazy how many people still do not stop for pedestrians at clearly-marked crosswalks. I had two instances of it happen during the drive, with FSD stopping for those pedestrians both times.

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Human drivers did not stop either time:

Handled Merging onto a Highway with an Inconsiderate Driver Well

Routinely, drivers will get over into the left lane, if they are able, to allow merging traffic to safely enter the freeway. It does not always happen this way, and it’s not required by law.

Not exclusive to v14.1.7, as many past iterations would have done this as well, but it was nice to watch the vehicle slow down to let that traffic pass. It then entered the freeway safely, and the entire maneuver was well done.

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Took an Appropriate Move with Oncoming Foot Traffic and Debris in a Tight Alleyway

This was probably the most on-edge I was during the drive because: 1) FSD chose to take an unnecessary alleyway, and 2) there was a box and oncoming pedestrians.

The car was aware of everything that was going on. In order to avoid the box, it would have had to turn toward the pedestrians, and in order to avoid the pedestrians, it would have had to turn into the box.

It chose to wait patiently, and after the pedestrians were past the car, FSD chose to proceed.

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Closing Thoughts

Overall, we’re very impressed with v14.1.7, and we think this is Tesla’s best iteration of the FSD suite yet, as it should be since it’s the newest version available. Tesla’s attention to detail regarding the brake stabbing is really well done, and it seems evident that a complete fix is on its way.

Other than the navigation issue at the very beginning, which was not an intervention, at least in my opinion, this was a really successful drive.

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Elon Musk debunks report claiming xAI raised $15 billion in funding round

xAI also responded with what appeared to be an automated reply, stating, “Legacy Media Lies.”

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Credit: xAI

Elon Musk has debunked a report claiming his AI startup xAI had raised $15 billion from a funding round. Reports of the alleged funding round were initially reported by CNBC, which cited sources reportedly familiar with the matter.

CNBC’s report

The CNBC story cited unnamed sources that claimed that the new capital injection would help fund GPUs that xAI needs to train its large language model, Grok. The news outlet noted that following the funding round, xAI was valued at $200 billion. 

Artificial intelligence startups have been raising funds from investors as of late. OpenAI raised $6.6 billion in October, valuing the startup at a staggering $500 billion. Reuters also reported last month that OpenAI was preparing for an IPO with a valuation of $1 trillion. Elon Musk’s xAI is looking to catch up and disrupt OpenAI, as well as its large language model, ChatGPT, which has become ubiquitous.

Elon Musk and xAI’s responses

In his response on X, Elon Musk simply stated that the CNBC story was “false.” He did not, however, explain if the whole premise of the publication’s article was fallacious, or if only parts of it were inaccurate. 

Amusingly enough, xAI also issued a response when asked about the matter by Reuters, which also reported on the story. The artificial intelligence startup responded with what appeared to be an automated reply, which read, “Legacy Media Lies.”

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xAI, founded in July 2023 as an alternative to OpenAI and Anthropic, has aggressively built out infrastructure to support its flagship products, including Grok and its recently launched Grokipedia platform. The company is developing its Colossus supercomputer in Memphis, which is heralded as one of the world’s largest supercomputer clusters.

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Tesla reportedly testing Apple CarPlay integration: report

Citing insiders reportedly familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News claimed that CarPlay is being trialed by the EV maker internally.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is reportedly testing Apple’s CarPlay software for its vehicles, marking a major shift after years of resisting the tech giant’s ecosystem. 

Citing insiders reportedly familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News claimed that CarPlay is being trialed by the EV maker internally. The move could help Tesla gain more market share, as surveys have shown many buyers consider CarPlay as an essential feature when choosing a car.

Not the usual CarPlay experience

Bloomberg claimed that Tesla’s tests involve a rather unique way to integrate CarPlay. Instead of replacing the vehicle’s entire infotainment display, Tesla’s integration will reportedly feature a CarPlay window on the infotainment system. This limited approach will ensure that Tesla’s own software, such as Full Self-Driving’s visuals, remains dominant. 

The feature is expected to support wireless connectivity as well, bringing Tesla in line with other luxury automakers that already offer CarPlay. While plans remain fluid and may change before public release, the publication’s sources claimed that the rollout could happen within months. 

A change of heart

Tesla has been reluctant to grant Apple access to its in-car systems, partly due to Elon Musk’s past criticism of the tech giant’s App Store policies and its poaching of Tesla engineers during the failed Apple Car project. Tesla’s in-house software is also deemed by numerous owners as a superior option to CarPlay, thanks to its sleek design and rich feature set.

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With Apple’s retreat from building cars and Elon Musk’s relationship with Apple for X and Grok, however, the CEO’s stance on the tech giant seems to be improving. Overall, Tesla’s potential CarPlay integration would likely be appreciated by owners, as a McKinsey & Co. survey last year found that roughly one-third of buyers considered the lack of such systems a deal-breaker.

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