Uber strikes game-changing deal to unleash 'Tesla killer': 'Next-generation premium global robotaxi program'
Under the landscape-altering deal, Uber said it aimed to deploy 20,000 Lucid electric SUVs as self-driving taxis over the next six years. The vehicles will feature autonomous-vehicle technology from the company Nuro, the report stated.
The companies said they planned to create a "next-generation premium global robotaxi program," available exclusively via Uber's platform, according to Yahoo. Lucid, one of the only other major fully American EV-only carmakers with Tesla and Rivian, saw its stock soar by about 45% at one point before settling at 36.24% over the previous day.
The announced collaboration presented a direct challenge to the robotaxi efforts of Alphabet-owned Waymo and EV-maker Tesla, both of which already are accepting rides from paying customers in certain locales.
Waymo, by far the market leader under the same corporate umbrella as Google, has been operating a fleet of 1,500 robotaxis across multiple U.S. cities, offering more than 250,000 rides per week, according to a May announcement.
Tesla only recently launched its first robotaxi pilot program in limited parts of Austin, Texas. The program has yielded mixed results.
People understandably have mixed feelings about robotaxis and the many implications of the autonomous revolution.
A study by the Center for Global Policy Solutions estimated that autonomous vehicles could take away as many as four million jobs, not only among taxi and rideshare drivers but also long-haul truck drivers, last-mile delivery drivers, and more.
With these impacts in mind, one benefit of the announced deal among Uber, Lucid, and Nuro is that it continues the trend of all robotaxis to date being electric vehicles.
Unlike vehicles running on internal combustion engines, EVs don't pump harmful particulate matter or planet-warming pollution into the air, and a recent study revealed that they also contribute less brake dust pollution, which analysts said more than offsets their higher rate of tire wear from the weight of batteries.
Would you be more likely to use a rideshare service that offers EV rides?
Absolutely
Only if it wasn't more expensive
Only if the wait times weren't longer
Not interested
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.
This makes the air overall healthier to breathe, especially in cities, while helping to curb rising global temperatures from heat-retaining carbon in the atmosphere.
This is not to say that EVs are environmentally neutral. When EVs charge off the grid, they are only as clean as the electricity they use. Whether that electricity was generated from renewables like wind or solar or from burning a dirty fuel like coal makes a big difference.
Additionally, meeting the world's growing demand for EVs requires extracting millions of tons of minerals from the earth every year, a heavy environmental toll that should not be overlooked.
However, when compared to the billions of tons of fossil fuels that oil, gas, and coal companies pull from the ground every year, and the costs those fuels place on the environment and public health, EVs come out as the clear winners.
An MIT study determined that, even when taking into account the manufacturing process and even if charged off the average U.S. electrical grid, an EV still was responsible for about 40% less pollution per mile over its lifetime than the average internal combustion vehicle.
And, the cleaner the electricity used to charge an EV, the more that gap widened, the study showed.
The best way to make sure that your EV is charged on 100% renewable energy is to install solar panels on your home. Going solar can drop your electric bill to practically zero, charging your EV for less than it would cost at a public charger or off the grid.
EnergySage offers free tools that make it quick and easy to compare quotes from vetted local installers and to identify tax credits and other incentives available in your area.
Statistics show that EnergySage saves customers an average of $10,000, but, with federal solar tax credits in the U.S. ending Dec. 31, 2025, the time to act is now. Similarly, EV tax credits end soon too, on Sept. 30, with credits up to $7,500 for a new EV or $4,000 for a used one.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures trade flat as Wall Street braces for Big Tech earnings
US stock futures traded flat as investors prepared for earnings season to pick up steam, with Big Tech earnings ahead. Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) and the benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F) ticked up 0.1%. Futures attached to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) held steady. On Monday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq cleared fresh records even as the EU prepared for a no-deal scenario with the US ahead of President Trump's Aug. 1 deadline to strike trade agreements. Read more: The latest on Trump's tariffs Meanwhile, investors are eagerly waiting for second-quarter earnings results from tech heavyweights Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) and Tesla (TSLA) on Wednesday. As the valuation of large-cap tech stocks soars, investors are hoping for reassurance that the hype around AI is more than just hype. Tesla, with its stock down roughly 20% this year, faces particular scrutiny over how its core auto business is performing amid CEO Elon Musk's political activities and other headwinds. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Shares Rise on Strong Outlook. Is It Too Late to Buy the Stock?
Key Points TSMC posted strong Q2 growth, as demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips continues to surge. While tariff uncertainty remains, the company upped its guidance, given the strong demand for AI chips it is seeing. The company remains one of the best-positioned companies to benefit from the ongoing AI data center build-out. 10 stocks we like better than Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing › Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM) jumped after the semiconductor contract manufacturer reported strong Q2 results and issued an upbeat outlook. The stock is now up nearly 25% on the year. The company continues to be an artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure winner, as it is the world's leading maker of advanced chips for companies like Nvidia and Apple. Let's take a closer look at TSMC's results to see if the stock has more upside, or whether it's too late to buy the stock. No slowdown in sight With rivals Intel and Samsung struggling, TSMC has established itself as an invaluable part of the semiconductor value chain due to its scale and technological expertise. The company is the clear leader in manufacturing advanced chips, and more and more of its revenue is coming from its leading-edge nodes. Nodes are a reference to the size of how many transistors can be fit on a chip, and the smaller the node, the greater the processing power and efficiency a chip can have. In Q2, nodes 7 nanometers (nm) and under accounted for 74% of its revenue, up from 67% a year ago. Its newest 3-nm technology made up 24% of total wafer revenue, jumping from just 15% a year ago. AI chips were once again the biggest driver of TSMC's revenue growth, with high-performance computing (HPC) accounting for 60% of its revenue in the quarter. HPC revenue climbed 14% sequentially. A year ago, the segment accounted for 52% of the company's revenue. This helped drive a 44% increase in the company's revenue to $30.1 billion. Its earnings per American depositary receipt (ADR) soared 67% to $2.47 from $1.48 a year ago, while its EPS in local currency climbed 61%. TSMC once again saw strong year-over-year gross margin expansion; however, it is expecting to see pressure in the future. Gross margin increased 540 basis points year over year to 58.6%, despite the company seeing a currency headwind and dilution from the start-up of its new fab in Arizona. It expects gross margin to fall to 56.5% in Q3 due to currency and the further ramp-up of its new facilities in the U.S. and Japan. It also expects its non-Taiwanese fabs to negatively impact its gross margins by around 2% to 3% a year and then widen to 3% to 4% a year in the later stages of its build-out. Looking ahead, TSMC forecast Q3 revenue to come in between $31.8 billion and $33 billion, representing about 38% year-over-year growth at the midpoint. It projected its operating margin to range from 45.5% to 47.5%. TSMC raised its full-year revenue forecast, with it now projecting 30% growth, up from prior guidance of "close to the mid-20% range." The company pointed to accelerating AI demand as a key driver, noting that data center orders have strengthened meaningfully even compared to just three months ago. It also cited growing momentum from sovereign AI projects. That's translating into strong demand for its leading-edge 3-nm and 5-nm chip technologies. TSMC said it hasn't seen any change in customer behavior due to tariffs, but noted that the risk remains. The company is currently in the middle of investing $165 billion in advanced semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. The construction of its second fab in Arizona is already complete, and its first fab is already in high-volume production. It has plans to build six fabs, two advanced packaging facilities, and create an R&D center. Is it too late to buy TSMC stock? While tariff and trade policy concerns regarding semiconductors remain, the simple fact of the matter is that no other foundry in the world has the scale and technological expertise of TSMC. As such, it will continue to manufacture the majority of advanced chips and is one of the best-positioned companies to continue to benefit from the ongoing AI infrastructure build-out. While the company is expecting to see some gross margin pressure due to its overseas expansion, it has also seen strong pricing power, so it could have the ability to surprise to the upside in the coming years in this regard. TSMC also should benefit from the recent change of heart by the U.S. to allow Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices to sell certain chips into China. Meanwhile, TSMC's stock remains attractively valued, trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 26 times based on analysts' 2025 estimates and price/earnings-to-growth ratio (PEG) of around 0.7. Stocks with PEG ratios below 1 are typically considered undervalued. Taken altogether, I think TSMC continues to be positioned as a long-term winner, and that it's not too late to buy the stock. Should you buy stock in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing right now? Before you buy stock in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $652,133!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,056,790!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,048% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 Geoffrey Seiler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Apple, Intel, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Shares Rise on Strong Outlook. Is It Too Late to Buy the Stock? was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Who Builds Boeing's Jet Engines, And Are They The Same As Airbus Uses?
American aerospace giant Boeing has taken a bit of tarnish of late. A pair of deadly crashes and other lesser malfunctions have sullied the reputations of the latest iterations of the brand's 737 Max aircraft, but those concerns don't extend to the jets' powerful engines. Boeing is responsible for building the 737's iconic flat-bottomed nacelles, or casings, which house the engines. However, the turbofan powerplants themselves are farmed out to various global manufacturers. The world's largest producer of jet engines, including for Boeing, is a joint venture called CFM. The two entities behind CFM are General Electric and the French manufacturer Safran. As part of its 39% global market share, CFM's fuel-efficient Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion (LEAP) engines power every one of Boeing's 737 Max aircraft. Coincidentally, engines from this brand can also be found on some Airbus A320 jets, a competitor to the 737 that's assembled largely in Europe. Of course, Boeing doesn't just build the 737. Other commercial Boeing jets include the venerable widebody 777 and the high-tech 787 Dreamliner, both of which are staples of long-haul or high-capacity routes, such as between the United States and Europe. And the engines there are made by others. Read more: Nobody Does Land Yachts Like Cadillac, And These Are Five Of The Best Ones Rolls-Royce Doesn't Only Build Cars Before Rolls-Royce started selling bougie land yachts, it was known for its airplane engines. For example, its Merlin engine was a force to be reckoned with in fighter planes during World War II. Over 120 years since its inception, Rolls-Royce is still in the aeronautical sector with a 12% market share. In particular, its products can be found in many long-haul widebody jets. Rolls' Trent 1000 powers some Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets, and Rolls says the plane is 25% more fuel-efficient than its predecessor, the Boeing 767. Rolls-Royce engines also propel some examples of the widebody Boeing 777, the fuel-guzzling double-decker 747, and what remains of the largest single-aisle jet ever, the Boeing 757. Like CFM, Rolls-Royce prefers to diversity its clientele and happily accepts engine purchases from Airbus, too — for example, the Airbus A330 and A350 long-haul jets. Next up is General Electric, which also has a fairly small — about 14% — share of worldwide jet engine manufacturing. That's understandable, since most of its involvement in aerospace is via the CFM joint venture with Safran. Alone, GE turbofan engines appear on both Boeing and Airbus products in small quantities. Especially the Boeing double-aisle widebodies. An American Company Hit Big With EU's Airbus (But Sells To Boeing, Too) Finally, we come to Pratt & Whitney, a veritable institution in American aviation since 1917. When it's not building engines for fighter jets or cruise missiles, P&W captures about 35% of the market for commercial jet engines. That includes a presence at some level in nearly all Boeing products, excepting newer models like the 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner. P&W sells to Airbus, too. Notably, its engines are the only ones used in the new-ish A220 narrow-body jet, a feather in the company's cap to be sure. So there you have it. Boeing uses four sources to procure jet engines for its planes: CFM, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce. And not a single one of those companies has a problem crossing the aisle to sell to rival manufacturer Airbus. Clearly, some passengers prefer one aircraft brand or another — for example, avoiding airlines with the largest Boeing fleets following an awful 2024 for the brand. However, under the engine nacelles, there's little difference to be had between the two aircraft giants. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
