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U.S. federal safety regulatory agencies are still dealing with the thorny issue of autonomous vehicles, and this time they have proposed a solution that may very clearly indicate to the public when a vehicle is operating in autonomous mode.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the United States has proposed new lighting requirements for autonomous vehicles, which include an option – I would even say it’s a strong recommendation – to use blue lights to indicate that the vehicle is in autonomous mode when there is no human occupant monitoring the road.

The institution did not propose the mandatory use of blue-green lighting. Importantly, according to this proposal, the lighting will be used when autonomous vehicles are in autonomous driving mode.

However, federal regulatory agencies are clearly seeking a unified method to identify autonomous vehicles.

This proposal specifies the device specifications, including the installation location of the lights, the color they emit, and the activation methods. It also eliminates the requirement for manual control devices for turn signals, high beams, and hazard warning lights.

According to the proposal, NHTSA suggests that the lighting should be in a cyan (blue-green) color, maintained in a constant on state rather than flashing, and should be visible from the front, rear, as well as both sides of the vehicle.

The organization is already working to advance a federal framework for autonomous vehicles and attempting to update the current federal motor vehicle safety standards that apply to automobile manufacturers. For example, the FMVSS regulations are not designed for vehicles such as Tesla’s Cybercab, Zoox, and robotaxi. These vehicles lack traditional equipment required by federal regulations, such as pedals, steering wheels, as well as design elements like rearview and sideview mirrors.

While the federal government is engaged in endless debates over future transportation regulation, General Motors has outlined how it plans to participate. The automaker held its annual GM Forward event, and many of the announcements built upon progress made last year in the AI field. However, this time we have obtained more details and a timeline.

This American automaker is reengineering the electrical and computing core of its future models, with the goal of providing faster software, more advanced autonomous driving capabilities, and a customized, conversational AI assistant, which will transform its OnStar service that has a history of 30 years.

This technology upgrade plan will make its debut in 2028 with the Cadillac Escalade IQ. The company will also launch a highway autonomous driving feature in 2028, allowing drivers to take their hands and eyes off the road without needing to be ready to take control at any time.

General Motors has also adopted enterprise-level AI across the entire company to reduce the traditional development cycle of four to five years by half.

I've been in this industry for long enough to remember the multiple attempts by General Motors and other established automakers in the past, which were all interpreted as attempts to compete with Tesla. This time, it seems that General Motors is preparing for a bigger battle.

Trade!

All of this is related to simulation, especially bringing driving data into a virtual world that matches the physical world. Rivian The person in charge of autonomous driving James Philbin told me that the company is aware of the need for a technology to reduce the gap in data between the real environment and the simulated environment, which is referred to as “sim-to-real gap”.

Readers in the autonomous driving industry might exclaim, "Simulation is so 2017!” Indeed, simulation has always been a tool relied on and continuously used by autonomous driving developers. However, the technology behind simulation is still evolving, and startups like Third Dimension are also very attractive.

The terms of this transaction have not been disclosed. Regarding the scale of the transaction, there are a few clues for reference: Third Dimension has previously completed a seed round of financing of $7 million, the team consists of about 15 engineers, and Rivian did not disclose this transaction in the SEC document (which means it did not meet the threshold for significant information disclosure).

A few other transactions that caught my attention...

The ride-hailing company inDrive, known for allowing passengers and drivers to negotiate fares, is collaborating with Chinese autonomous driving companies Pony.ai and Nvidia to start testing robotaxi in Kazakhstan in 2027. The parties have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore integrating the robotaxi of Pony.ai into the inDrive platform.

A startup company, Reliable Robotics, dedicated to commercializing autonomous flight technology that can be installed on existing aircraft, has raised $115 million in funding. This Series D financing round includes a $90 million equity investment led by Nimble Partners and a $25 million debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank. The total amount raised in this Series D financing has now reached $275 million, and it has also pushed the company's valuation above $1 billion.

The Washington Post reported that an organization opposed to robotaxi has a mysterious background. This reminds me of another anti-robotaxi organization I investigated this summer, Coalition for Accountability and Road Safety. At that time, they were going from door to door collecting votes and posting on social media. My investigation found that the organization was registered in the name of an employee of a New York lobbying firm, which had previously been employed by several unions as well as the New York Taxi Drivers Compensation Fund.

General Motors is closing a plant in southern Detroit that assembles battery packs for Cadillac's flagship electric vehicle Celestiq, as well as produces electric drive units and battery packs for the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet models Corvette E to Ray. A General Motors spokesperson stated that this closure is not related to the company's electric vehicle strategy, but rather due to the impending expiration of the lease for the plant site.

Google is upgrading a personal intelligent feature for the in-vehicle system Gemini. This feature can access Gmail, Google calendar, YouTube maps, Google search history, as well as other connected Google services, in order to understand the user's preferences, activities, and past experiences.

Tesla and SpaceX released their third-quarter financial reports this week, and the remarks of Elon Musk, the CEO of both companies, have rapidly intensified discussions regarding a potential merger. Musk stated that special committees have been established by the boards of directors of both companies to review the merger matter.

Meanwhile, the AI business of SpaceX has seen rapid growth, with revenue reaching 7.5 billion US dollars, now accounting for 52% of the company's total income. The revenue of each business segment of Tesla remained stable, while the company's expenses increased. As a result, profits decreased by 43% year-on-year. However, Musk clearly continues to focus on the company's AI and the future of robotics. Tesla has begun producing Optimus humanoid robots, and it has been reported that subscription growth is performing well, although the "unsupervised version" has been postponed to the second quarter of next year; the company also stated that it plans to start selling Cybercab to customers by the end of this year. As senior journalist Sean O Kane wrote: Tesla is preparing for the large-scale rollout of Cybercab.

Waymo continues to expand within its existing cities and enters new ones. The company stated that it plans to launch robotaxi services in Spain, with Madrid as the first stop, expected to be open to passengers in 2027. In the United States, Waymo has already begun transporting customers to and from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.

One more thing...

TechCrunch Disrupt has just come to an end, and I am already preparing for the next event. This time it's Founder Summit – a one-day event held in Boston that, as the name suggests, focuses on founders. The event will take place on November 4th and is very valuable for startup founders, would-be founders, and investors. Attendees can look forward to insightful speeches from venture capitalists and serial entrepreneurs, as well as many opportunities for networking.

And I will also be there! Feel free to say hello. To make it easier for everyone to attend, I will also offer a 30% discount on tickets for readers of TechCrunch Mobility. Click this link and use the discount code mobility30.