Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, the role AI is playing in it.

Depending on which corner of social media you frequent, the Tesla Cybercab event was either proof that the company is a robotaxi leader delivering the future or an overhyped affair with little substance. Whatever your view, Wall Street wasn’t impressed by the Cybercab event in Austin, which was unusually quiet and lacked the festival-like atmosphere of past Tesla events. CEO Elon Musk didn’t even attend — a notable and puzzling absence, especially considering he has spent years arguing that Tesla’s future — and its value — hinges on robotics and AI.

As senior reporter Sean O’Kane wrote before the event, “The Cybercab is Tesla’s fork in the road. This is either the moment the company begins to transform urban transportation as we know it, or the moment that reveals that, despite its many efforts, Tesla really is just an automaker after all.”

The event did little to boost confidence, but I don’t put much stock in events or demos. The real test is whether Tesla can launch a robotaxi service safely and at scale. For now, there is no scale, at least compared with Waymo. (As of today, Tesla has registered 45 Cybercabs in Texas, according to the state’s automated vehicle tracker.)

Another wrinkle emerged early Friday morning. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into Tesla just hours after the company put its first Cybercabs, which lack a steering wheel and pedals, on Austin streets. Federal vehicle safety regulations require manual controls like brake pedals, though the Department of Transportation recently proposed removing those requirements for vehicles that are designed to drive themselves.

Tesla chose to self-certify, the standard route taken by automakers for traditional human-driven vehicles. The NHTSA responded by tapping the brakes, although Tesla may choose to operate even as the investigation plays out. To be clear, there is precedent for the NHTSA’s action, and you can read all about it here.

Curious about the Cybercab? Tesla published several guides that reveal a few important details, including that this gilded robotaxi is not for kids. Here is a complete roundup of the Tesla Cybercab, as well as the company’s interest in selling the autonomous vehicles to fleet operators.

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Notable reads and other tidbits

Flock continues to face backlash over privacy concerns and misuse of its tracking technology. Florida and Texas have both said they will no longer use the surveillance giant’s license plate readers.

Ken Karklin, the CEO of the Larry Page-backed flying car company Pivotal, has left the company. Mike Ross, an aviation exec who is on the board, was named interim CEO. 

Meet Liux, the Spanish microcar startup that thinks it can compete with a tiny electric car built around sustainability. 

Autonomous vehicle technology startup May Mobility and NTT Mobility plan to deploy Toyota’s e-Palette vehicles on public streets in Japan this year. May Mobility’s self-driving system will be integrated into the vehicles.

Uber is laying off about 3,300 people, or about 10% of its global headcount, as part of a restructuring that will cut management and combine its engineering, science, and delivery divisions. 

Waymo went on the offensive ahead of Tesla’s Cybercab event, arguing that fully autonomous vehicles aren't possible without using a mix of sensors and warning that pure end-to-end AI systems aren't safe enough. Meanwhile, the Alphabet-owned company started to open its robotaxi service to the public in Denver, San Diego, and Tampa.

Zoox extended its commercial robotaxi service in Las Vegas to include rides to and from Harry Reid International Airport.

One more thing

I typically test drive electric vehicles, but that doesn’t mean I never drive vehicles with different powertrains. I recently spent a week with the 2027 Kia Telluride hybrid X-Line SX- Prestige trim outfitted in sparkly black jade paint. My fully loaded model was priced at $61,180.

This second-generation Kia Telluride comes with a turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-four hybrid engine that generates 329 horsepower and 339-pound of torque. Importantly, it delivers more horsepower and torque than its non-hybrid equivalent while improving fuel economy to 31 mpg (in the combined cycle).

Kia tweaked the design of the new Telluride, and it did give me Kia EV9 vibes, although it felt more like a cousin to that EV, not its twin. A few of my positive impressions: It's roomier than its predecessor and it is quiet on the road. It’s not the fastest three-row SUV out there and some critics have worried that Kia’s move from a V6 to a 4-cylinder engine would sap its power. But I found it zippy enough, especially for a vehicle of its size. 

Finally, I included a pic of the interior because I tend to focus on the UX and user interface of infotainment centers. This layout is not my favorite on the market, but it gets a few things right. For instance, it places a row of controls below the touchscreen for easy access. There is one design choice that I will probably never get over, even though I am sure I would eventually get used to it — and that’s the location of the gear shifter, which is a stalk attached to the right side of the steering column. I found that I was always searching for it.