Captain Delusional - 1 November 2022

FOLLOW UP: BRITISHVOLT IN RISK OF RECEIVERSHIPThings are moving quickly at Britishvolt. A week or so ago we were talking about them seeking funding, as of Monday’s news, they could well have been in receivership by the time you listen to this episode. They had sought to draw some of their funding from the Government early but have been rebuffed as they decide not to risk more public money. However, it appears they do have some short and medium term funding secured, but we don’t know from where. To get an idea of what has gone spactacularly wrong, click this Twitter thread link from Peter Campbell. To learn how they have found some funding click this BBC News article link. EU BANS NEW ICE CARS FROM 2035The 27 countries of the EU have agreed to ban all new internal combustion engined cars, powered by fossil fuels, from 2035. There is also an increase in the reduction of CO2 emissions from 2030, up to 55% reduction on 2021 engines, where previously it was 37.5%. There are some exemptions though, for smaller production numbers. Those registering between 1,000 and 10,000 will be exempt until the end of 2035, whilst those registering less than 1,000 cars do not need to comply. Autocar has more information, which you can get to via their link here. FORD AND MERCEDES THE LATEST TO LEAVE RUSSIABoth Ford and Mercedes have sold their Russian facilities to in-country partners as there is no end in sight to the current geo-political instability, thanks to the invasion of Ukraine. Ford have paid a “nominal” fee and have a nice year buy-back clause agreed. We know very little of the details of Mercedes’s deal. Click here to access the Reuters article about the Ford story. For more on the Mercedes news, click this Reuters link. FORD AND VW PULLING THE PLUG ON ARGO AIArgo AI is an autonomous vehicle technology company founded in 2017. Ford and Volkswagen were their major investors but are now pulling their funding meaning that the company is closing. Argo AI were the only AV company who produced a safety case for their work, unlike all others in the industry. However, statements by Ford CEO has made it clear this would never succeed as board members still have no real understanding of what is and is not autonomous and automated tech. You can find out more by clicking this TechCrunch article link. GEORGE HOLTZ QUITTING COMMA AIGeorge Holtz, who rose to fame claiming he could write autonomous vehicle software until the US Government told him to stop experimenting on public roads, is leaving his company Comma AI. Recently he pivoted the business to target driver assistance technology and started to call those still attempting to create AVs as con artists. He stated that he is not the right person to now lead the company as it needs to be led, to ensure it is successful. More can be learnt about this, by clicking this The Verge link here.TESLA FACING CRIMINAL PROBE OVER SELF-DRIVING...