Sean O'Kane, Author at TechCrunch

Google Maps announces new features and somehow none of them are ‘pause navigation’

Sean O'Kane — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 21:52:04 +0000

Look, we’ve all been there. You’re on a road trip and you pull off the highway for some food or fuel. And then Google Maps starts (rudely) yelling at you to get back on the road. The company has all the money and AI chips in the world and yet the app can’t just chill […]

The question haunting Fisker’s bankruptcy

Sean O'Kane — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 21:51:41 +0000

As failed EV startup Fisker winds its way through bankruptcy, a persistent and tricky question has become a flashpoint of the proceedings: does its only secured lender, Heights Capital Management, deserve to be at the front of the line to reap the proceeds of a liquidation? Heights has maintained an unequivocal “yes.” But new information […]

Applied Intuition closes $300M secondary four months after raising $250M

Sean O'Kane — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 19:16:24 +0000

Autonomous vehicle software startup Applied Intuition has closed a $300 million secondary sale just four months after raising a $250 million Series E round, yet another sign of how white-hot the investment scene is for artificial intelligence companies. The secondary round adds Fidelity Management & Research Company to an already-stacked lineup of investors in the […]

Elon Musk sets new date for Tesla robotaxi reveal, calls everything beyond autonomy ‘noise’

Sean O'Kane — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 23:50:17 +0000

Elon Musk says he will show off Tesla’s purpose-built “robotaxi” prototype during an event October 10, after scrapping a previous plan to reveal it August 8. Musk said Tesla will also show off “a couple of other things,” but didn’t explain what that meant. The comments, made on Tesla’s second-quarter earnings call Tuesday, largely confirms […]

Monarch Tractor CEO says $133M raise will help it escape ‘quite a challenging time’

Sean O'Kane — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 22:36:28 +0000

Monarch Tractor was in a tricky spot late last year as the autonomous electric tractor startup juggled growth and an uncertain fundraising environment. Now, with $133 million in new funds, CEO Praveen Penmetsa tells TechCrunch that the startup is plowing ahead into greener pastures. The $133 million Series C funding round was co-led by agri-food […]

Elon Musk is now a villain in Joe Biden’s presidential campaign

Sean O'Kane — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 20:03:53 +0000

Biden centering Musk in his campaign is a notable escalation, considering he spent most of his presidency seemingly pretending the billionaire didn't exist.

Fisker cleared to sell North American EVs for $46.25 million

Sean O'Kane — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 22:05:55 +0000

Fisker has been given the green light by a bankruptcy judge to sell more than 3,000 of its Ocean SUVs to a vehicle leasing company, a deal that will net the defunct EV startup a maximum of $46.25 million. The approval of the sale clears the way for the rest of Fisker’s bankruptcy process to […]

Fisker has one major objector to its Ocean SUV fire sale

Sean O'Kane — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 19:28:40 +0000

One major dissenter threatens to upend Fisker’s apparent best chance at offloading its unsold EVs, a deal that would keep the startup’s bankruptcy proceeding alive and pave the way for paying back creditors some of what they’re owed. The objection to the sale comes from the office of the U.S. Trustee, an arm of the […]

Elon Musk confirms Tesla ‘robotaxi’ event delayed due to design change

Sean O'Kane — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 17:26:36 +0000

Tesla had internally planned to build the dedicated robotaxi and the $25,000 car, often referred to as the Model 2, on the same platform.

Henrik Fisker drops salary to $1 to keep Fisker Inc. bankruptcy case alive

Sean O'Kane — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 17:00:02 +0000

Fisker Inc. co-founders Henrik Fisker and his wife, Geeta Gupta-Fisker, are lowering their salaries to $1 in order to keep their failed EV startup’s bankruptcy proceedings funded, as lawyers work to complete a sale of its remaining inventory. Fisker Inc.’s restructuring officer, John DiDonato, said in a Tuesday morning filing that the couple, who co-founded […]

Lucid Motors sets new record for EV deliveries as it seeks ‘escape velocity’

Sean O'Kane — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 13:25:27 +0000

These efforts have come as Lucid is looking to start building its Gravity SUV by the end of this year.

Fisker asks bankruptcy court to sell its EVs at average of $14,000 each

Sean O'Kane — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 19:14:00 +0000

Fisker has a willing buyer for its remaining inventory of all-electric Ocean SUVs, and has asked the Delaware Bankruptcy Court judge overseeing its Chapter 11 case to approve the sale. If approved by the judge, Fisker would be able to offload 3,231 finished EVs to a New York-based vehicle leasing company for $46.25 million. That […]

Volkswagen’s Silicon Valley software hub is already stacked with Rivian talent

Kirsten Korosec, Sean O'Kane — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 18:17:21 +0000

VW Group’s struggling software arm Cariad has hired at least 23 of the startup’s top employees over the past several months.

VW to invest up to $5B in Rivian software deal

Kirsten Korosec, Sean O'Kane — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 20:32:54 +0000

Volkswagen Group will invest $1 billion into EV startup Rivian as part of a broad software development deal that could expand to as much as $5 billion. It’s a boon for Rivian, which has a tenuous path ahead as it pushes to develop its mass-market R2 SUV. The company’s shares shot up more than 49% […]

The fight over Fisker’s assets is already heating up

Sean O'Kane — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 20:40:03 +0000

Fisker is just a few days into its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and the fight over its assets is already charged, with one lawyer claiming the startup has been liquidating assets “outside the court’s supervision.” At issue is the relationship between Fisker and its largest secured lender, Heights Capital Management, an affiliate of financial services company […]

Fisker faced financial distress as early as last August

Sean O'Kane — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 17:37:14 +0000

Fisker was facing “potential financial distress” as early as last August, according to a new filing in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding, which the EV startup initiated earlier this week. The admission provides a clearer picture of Fisker’s troubles in 2023 as it struggled to ramp up deliveries of its flagship Ocean SUV, despite CEO […]

Fisker failed because it wasn’t ready to be a car company

Sean O'Kane — Tue, 18 Jun 2024 22:02:37 +0000

Two years ago, an employee at Fisker Inc. told me that the most pressing concern inside the EV startup was not whether its Ocean SUV would get built. Fisker was outsourcing the manufacturing of its first EV to highly respected automotive supplier Magna, after all. The startup’s November 2022 start-of-production target was aggressive, but not […]

EV startup Fisker files for bankruptcy

Kirsten Korosec, Sean O'Kane — Tue, 18 Jun 2024 08:06:36 +0000

Fisker Group Inc., the EV startup founded by famed designer Henrik Fisker, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection — a capstone to months of problems with its Ocean SUV that included recalls and dozens of lemon law lawsuits. The California-based company, which filed for bankruptcy in Delaware District Court, had been seeking a deal with another […]

Tesla shareholders vote yes again to approve Elon Musk’s $56B pay plan

Rebecca Bellan, Sean O'Kane — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 21:30:06 +0000

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has secured enough shareholder votes to have his 2018 stock option compensation package approved. Shareholders also approved the company’s decision to re-incorporate Tesla in Texas, moving it away from the state where Musk’s pay package was struck down: Delaware. Shareholders present at the company’s annual meeting Thursday, held at Tesla’s Texas […]

Tesla shareholders sue Musk for starting competing AI company

Rebecca Bellan, Sean O'Kane — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 18:44:09 +0000

Tesla shareholders are suing CEO Elon Musk and members of the automaker’s board of directors over Musk’s decision to start xAI, which they say is a competing AI company, and then divert talent and resources from Tesla to the new startup. The lawsuit is one of the most direct challenges to Musk’s decision to start […]