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Sent Oct 13, 2026

• As a domestic car sales slump continues, China’s automakers lean on exports

  Fast Company

  China’s passenger-car exports surged 64% year on year in September as automakers turned to overseas demand—especially for plug-in hybrids and EVs—to offset a 27% domestic sales drop. The growth is running into trade barriers, with the EU preparing to cap Chinese hybrid imports at 350,000 a year and Chinese companies expanding local production abroad to sidestep tariffs.

• Should Cars Just Drive Themselves?

  The New Yorker

  Waymo’s robotaxis now operate in fifteen cities and are expanding, but their odd behavior—and the hostility they provoke—has made public acceptance a bigger challenge than the safety statistics suggest. The piece examines why people scrutinize autonomous cars more harshly than human drivers, and how Waymo still relies on humans even as it sells a driverless future.

• NHTSA weighs probe into claims Tesla Robotaxis speed in school zones

  Electrek

  NHTSA is weighing an investigation into claims that Tesla Robotaxis speed through active school zones, involving roughly 1,000 vehicles including Model Y cars and Cybercabs. It would be the third federal action targeting Tesla’s driverless fleet in about five weeks, adding fresh scrutiny to its safety and certification practices.

• Flock is facing a surveillance backlash. Meanwhile, its drone business is booming

  Fast Company

  Flock Safety’s license-plate-reader business is facing bans, vandalism, and a growing privacy backlash, but its drone division is surging: CEO Garrett Langley says it is the company’s fastest-growing unit and could generate nearly half of future revenue. Its drone-as-first-responder systems are spreading rapidly through U.S. policing, raising fresh questions about warrantless surveillance, data retention, and whether “human in the loop” safeguards can keep an expanding surveillance ecosystem in check.

• Exclusive: Microsoft’s departing science president plans to join Mercedes F1 team as AI advisor

  Fortune | FORTUNE

  Peter Lee is leaving Microsoft after 16 years to become an AI advisor to Mercedes’ Formula 1 team, where he’ll apply machine learning to car physics, team operations, financial modeling, and future regulation. His move highlights how the AI talent race is spreading beyond Silicon Valley—and into the pit lane.

• How AI-guided visual inspections can help fleets catch defects early

  Home | Fleet Maintenance

  AI-guided visual inspections can help fleets catch visible defects, missing equipment, and damage before a vehicle leaves the depot, while linking findings to reviews, repairs, and return-to-service decisions. The technology is not a replacement for measurements or professional judgment, but it can create a clearer condition history and reduce avoidable safety, scheduling, and service disruptions.

• Electric trucks meet hydro power at one of Canada’s busiest ports

  Electrek

  Peterbilt’s battery-powered box vans are moving cargo at one of Canada’s busiest container terminals, replacing diesel and propane without tailpipe pollution. Their performance is now earning recognition—and offering a practical glimpse of cleaner port operations powered by electricity.

• Ford’s electric pickup is suddenly selling like hotcakes at 50% off used

  Electrek

  Used Ford F-150 Lightnings are moving in about 20 days, with prices rising 4% to roughly $50,000 after falling to 50%–60% below their original sticker prices. The bargain has revived demand for a truck Ford stopped building after high-priced EVs underperformed and losses ballooned. Ford’s next attempt, the Fathom, is due in 2027 starting at under $30,000, though battery, range, and towing details remain under wraps.

• These are the top 10 best-selling EVs in the US through Q3

  Electrek

  US EV sales rebounded in Q3, with 266,630 vehicles sold—the strongest quarter in a year—even as volume remained below last year’s tax-credit-fueled rush. Tesla still dominates with the Model Y and Model 3, while Toyota’s bZ nearly doubled sales and newer models like the Rivian R2 could reshuffle the rankings by year-end.

• BYD reveals flagship 7-seat electric SUV with over 400 miles of range

  Electrek

  BYD has unveiled the seven-seat Atto 8, its European flagship electric SUV, with up to 405 miles of WLTP range from a 115 kWh Blade 2.0 battery. Its headline feature is Flash Charging, which can take the battery from 10% to 80% in five minutes; European sales are due to begin in the first quarter of 2027, though pricing has not been announced.