If there was one phrase that captured the vibe and theme of 2024 — at least in the transportation sector — it was “business whiplash.” Legacy automakers changed direction on their all-EVs-or-bust strategy, startups pivoted, and some Silicon Valley VCs and executives adjusted their views on a changing political landscape in which they now are playing starring roles.
Jaguar went in an entirely new polarizing direction with a rebranding that got a lot of attention — and lit social media on fire, at least for a few days. GM slowed its EV plans and was forced to change lanes on software — an internal restructure accelerated by problems with the Chevy Blazer EV that has had positive developments. But the automaker’s most striking shift was its decision to no longer fund development of the Cruise robotaxi.
Everywhere we looked, founders, VCs, and automotive execs were changing course to take advantage of shifting consumer demand and, in many cases, to simply survive.
Here are the biggest topics and stories in transportation in 2024.
Autonomous vehicles: Pivots, survivors, and scale
The buzzy years of autonomous vehicle tech — from 2016 to 2020 — are long gone, and the hype cycle has brought us through the trough of disillusionment. A handful of remaining AV startups, including Ghost Autonomy and Phantom Auto, which had already pivoted, took their final breaths in 2024. Other AV startups took a cue from their brethren in other sectors and turned to defense, officially becoming dual-use companies. And others, like TuSimple, have pivoted almost entirely away from developing autonomous technology and instead have moved to embrace *checks notes* AI animation and gaming.
The path to a commercial robotaxi business is still fraught. GM decided to no longer fund the Cruise robotaxi development program; the automaker will now use that tech and talent to incrementally improve its hands-off advanced driver-assistance system and eventually introduce personal autonomous vehicles.
AVs did, however, get a boost thanks to a booming and hypey AI industry and newfound interest in the end-to-end approach to autonomy (just ask Wayve). Waymo and Zoox, two well-funded AV companies, are still on the commercial robotaxi path. And of course there’s Tesla, which this year revealed its Cybercab prototype with plans to start production in 2025 or 2026. CEO Elon Musk also promised to unleash “unsupervised FSD” and launch a robotaxi service in California and Texas next year, but we’re taking those promises with a heavy dose of skepticism given Musk’s penchant for missing deadlines.
Other AV must-reads of 2024:
EVs are put to the test
Legacy automakers like Ford and GM spent billions of dollars beefing up their electric vehicle lineups and investing in U.S. battery manufacturing facilities to keep on top of supply chains. EV sales — bolstered by the Biden administration’s EV tax credit — continued to reach record highs this year. But automakers and investors have feared that sales for electric cars, which accounted for 8.9% of total auto sales in the third quarter, haven’t risen at the pace they hoped for. Tesla even saw its own profits drop at the start of the year, with Musk noting that automakers were pulling back from EVs due to pressure from hybrids. That pullback might just continue into 2025 with the incoming administration’s plans to cut the EV tax credit.
Meanwhile in EV startup land, the SPAC model has continued to prove unsuccessful for driving long-term business growth. We chronicled the messy downfall of Fisker — which crumbled under its founders’ whims — including how the startup left its HQ in complete disarray and had to sign a deal with American Lease, the company that bought Fisker’s fleet, to help owners get help with recall repairs.
Canoo has also struggled to maintain enough cash to operate, and in December it began to furlough workers. Perhaps the startup’s money troubles came from unsustainable spending habits, like spending double Canoo’s annual revenue on CEO Tony Avila’s private jet, or acquiring the assets of its bankrupt peer Arrival.
Faraday Future, despite raising over $1 billion when it merged with a SPAC in 2021, is also sinking fast — to the point where data mining company Palantir now owns an 8.7% stake in the company after Faraday was unable to pay for services rendered.
One of the only new EV players that didn’t go public through a special purpose acquisition merger was Rivian. While Rivian hasn’t had the smoothest run since its record-breaking IPO, the EV maker hit some major milestones in 2024, albeit with some speed bumps along the way, including a series of lawsuits alleging top executives of harassment.
Rivian unveiled in March its next-generation R2 SUV and a surprised R3 hatchback. In the summer, Rivian’s path to survival became linked to being able to sell its revamped R1T pickup and the R1S SUV at a profit to sustain itself long enough to get its cheaper R2 SUV on the road. Rivian even snagged a $6.6 billion loan to restart production on its Georgia plant, although it appears that deal was helped along thanks to a secret agreement with the United Auto Workers union.
Tesla was in a state of flux as Musk fought to hold onto his $56 billion pay package through sheer determination and investor loyalty. The automaker issued mass layoffs this year, axed its entire Supercharger team, abandoned plans to build a $25,000 EV, oversaw seven Cybertruck recalls, and unveiled its robotaxi prototype.
Other EV must-reads of 2024:
EVTOLs are still attracting investors
2024 was a year of big intentions for the electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles industry. It felt like every other week there was an announcement as two of the biggest players — Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation — shared plans for future commercial electric air taxi launches starting in 2025.
It’s also been a year of big fundraises as both companies tried to secure more cash to achieve Federal Aviation Administration certification and launch commercial air taxi services in 2025. Joby, for example, first secured a $500 million bag from Toyota, then raised $222 million before launching a $300 million public offering. Archer recently raised $430 million and teamed up with Anduril to dive into defense — a theme we’re expecting to continue into 2025 as defense tech heats up. And Beta Technologies raised a $318 million Series C.
There were also plenty of partnerships between eVTOL startups and more-traditional air carriers — like Beta’s recent win with Air New Zealand — and the development of vertiports in key urban areas across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
Not every startup has been so lucky, though, as companies burned through capital and failed to find more funding. German eVTOL startup Lilium filed for bankruptcy after failing to raise enough capital to continue. In December, the company shut down and laid off 1,000 workers, but appears to have gotten a last minute lifeline from an investor. Stay tuned.
2025 will be the year where we’ll see if the companies that remain can secure proper FAA approval and begin to make a business out of eVTOLs.
Here are some other eVTOL must-reads of 2024:
Micromobility wobbles forward
The hype over shared micromobility has long since died. This year saw the last gasps of consolidation, pivots, and a few survivors.
Tier and Dott finally merged, and Lime continued on its steady path to, if not consistent profitability, at least sustainability and market dominance.
VanMoof’s bankruptcy in 2023 revealed how difficult it is to scale a new e-bike business, despite a consumer appetite for sexy, sleek e-bikes. Cake filed for bankruptcy at the start of the year, and Onyx Motorbikes was on the verge of bankruptcy itself when its 37-year-old owner died suddenly, leaving an absolute mess in his wake. Cake and Onyx have been given fresh chances of survival in 2025.
Some startups have managed to find a way to keep an e-bike business afloat. Just look at Joco. The startup has fought the odds and managed to turn its docked e-bike rental service for delivery workers into a profitable business, and has even branched out into building battery charging cabinets.
Here are some other micromobility must-reads of 2024: