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The current state of U.S. tariff policy is uncertain and subject to change. As of Friday morning, there is a 90-day pause on “reciprocal” tariffs imposed on most countries. However, a 10% base tariff remains in place, and President Trump has increased tariffs on China to approximately 145%. This situation is likely to affect various U.S. companies, including those in the transportation sector.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives has lowered his price targets for Apple and Tesla due to the potential disruption caused by tariffs to their businesses. You can find more information on this topic in our article about how tariffs may impact Apple and Tesla.
The transportation sector, particularly companies that manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, are highly exposed to the effects of tariffs on Chinese imports. Although the pause on higher tariffs imposed on goods from Mexico and Canada provides some relief, the situation remains uncertain. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as more information becomes available.
The effects of the tariffs are expected to take months to fully materialize, and we will be closely following the situation to provide our readers with the latest news and insights.
A Little Bird Told Us…
We received a tip about a secretive EV startup called Slate Auto almost a year ago, which led to a lengthy investigation. Our senior reporter, Sean O’Kane, has written an in-depth article about the company, including its origin story, business model, and the fact that it is backed by high-profile investors such as Jeff Bezos, Mark Walter, and Thomas Tull. You can find more information about Slate Auto in our article here.
Additionally, we have a second story that confirms a recent spy shot of Slate Auto’s first product, an electric pickup truck. You can read more about it here.
If you have any tips or information you’d like to share with us, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or contact her via Signal at kkorosec.07. You can also reach out to Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. For more information on how to contact us securely, you can visit our tips page.
Recent Deals
In a surprising move, Lucid Motors has acquired some of Nikola‘s assets out of bankruptcy. You can read more about this deal in our article here.
Nikola’s founder and former CEO, Trevor Milton, had also expressed interest in acquiring the company’s assets. However, his bid was met with resistance, and Lucid ultimately emerged as the winner, committing around $30 million in cash and non-cash considerations for the factory, lease, and equipment.
Other notable deals that caught our attention include:
Ayan Capital raised £25 million ($32.6 million) in Sharia-compliant financing from Partners for Growth to expand its halal vehicle financing services.
Nowos, a European lithium-ion battery repair and maintenance startup, raised €6 million in a round led by Shift4Good, with participation from Fair Capital Impact Fund and Goeie Grutten Impact Fund.
Nuro, a California-based autonomous vehicle startup, secured $106 million in a Series E round, bringing its total funding to $2.2 billion and valuation to $6 billion.
Parallel Systems, which is developing autonomous, electric freight technology, raised a $38 million Series B round led by Anthos Capital.
Notable Reads and Other Tidbits
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