In a major move reshaping its plans for product leadership, General Motors has hired Sterling Anderson, the respected co-founder and former chief product officer at Aurora, to take over as GM’s own chief product officer. Anderson, who recently announced his departure from Aurora, shared that he wouldn’t have considered this new role had Aurora not succeeded in launching its commercial self-driving truck service in Texas earlier this month. Although Anderson has yet to officially begin his tenure at GM, he is expected to oversee the entire product spectrum—spanning gas-powered and electric vehicles, software and services, and overall customer experience.
Meanwhile, turmoil has engulfed automotive lidar startup Luminar, where founder and CEO Austin Russell was abruptly ousted amid a flurry of confusion and concern from insiders. Russell, whose departure followed an ethics investigation conducted by Luminar’s board audit committee, surprised many employees, shareholders, and industry observers. Adding to the drama, just one day after Russell stepped down, board member and audit committee member Jun Hong Heng resigned his seat as well. Sources close to the situation describe internal chaos and anticipate further repercussions as the company adjusts to this sudden leadership change.
Uber also found itself in headlines again after announcing a $1 billion private placement of exchangeable senior notes due in 2028, triggering a negative market reaction. Investors, worried about potential dilution and its implications for Uber-affiliated Aurora’s stock value, caused share prices to slip soon after the announcement.
Several investment deals caught attention in the mobility sector, notably AutoUnify’s $5 million seed round raised from Porsche Ventures-backed Up.Labs. The Santa Monica-based firm offers a real-time communication API linking dealerships and auto services with manufacturers and software providers. Elsewhere, China’s battery giant CATL plans an ambitious $4 billion public offering in Hong Kong in what would rank as the largest IPO globally in 2025. Additionally, Elon Musk’s tunneling outfit, The Boring Company, has engaged in talks with federal regulators concerning a high-value Amtrak infrastructure project. And brokerage platform Flock Freight secured $60 million in a Series E financing round led by O’Neil Strategic Capital.
In the autonomous vehicle sphere, Tesla’s anticipated rollout of a robotaxi fleet in Austin faces scrutiny from federal safety authorities, who have requested extensive information on Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” software. Waymo issued a recall for its fleet of 1,200 robotaxis due to a software bug causing minor collisions with gates and barriers, echoing similar issues recently seen at Zoox. Meanwhile, Chinese firm WeRide expanded its robotaxi operations in Guangzhou and launched pilot trials of fully autonomous taxi services in Abu Dhabi.
In electric mobility developments, General Motors unveiled plans for a lithium manganese-rich battery chemistry focused on cutting costs and reducing dependency on cobalt and nickel. Luxury EV maker Lucid revealed strong quarterly figures boosted by leasing and rental sales, while Slate Auto reported an overwhelming public response, surpassing 100,000 reservation requests for its affordable electric pickup truck.
Flush from past setbacks, Toyota seeks a fresh start by revamping—and renaming—its all-electric bZ4X model to simply “bZ,” aiming to rekindle consumer interest ahead of its 2026 arrival. The company also resurrected its C-HR as an electric vehicle for the U.S. market, hoping for better traction than earlier EV ventures.
Meanwhile, Uber’s transformation from transportation service provider to a multifaceted consumer super app—mirroring Amazon’s integrated ecosystem model—continued apace, adding lifestyle and convenience features increasingly placed behind subscription paywalls.
On the frontier of aviation innovation, U.S. lawmakers introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at overturning the longstanding FAA restriction against domestic supersonic flight. The Supersonic Aviation Modernization Act could significantly benefit pioneering startup Boom Supersonic as it readies its next-generation aircraft. Additionally, Vertical Aerospace announced its intention to develop a hybrid-electric variant of its VX4 vertical take-off aircraft, clearly positioning itself to capitalize on Europe’s defense and logistics sectors.
In vehicle technologies, Apple finally unveiled CarPlay Ultra, the long-promised upgrade to its in-car infotainment software, debuting initially with Aston Martin’s North American models. Google similarly announced the integration of Gemini, its generative AI platform, into vehicles equipped with Android Auto, promising enhanced automation and smarter assistance for drivers.
