Taking life on Mars for a spin

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Scooter riders could soon take a bit of Mars technology for a spin.

NASA, SMART Tire Co. and micromobility company Spin are testing tire technology that was used on lunar and Mars rover missions for consumer applications.

SMART — which stands for Shape Memory Alloy Radial Technology — is applying NASA’s shape memory alloy tire technology to an eco-friendly bike tire named METL.

METL is an airless, lighter-weight tire that “is elastic like rubber yet strong like titanium, exhibiting perfect shape memory,” SMART said in a statement. The technology is a flexible, “space-age” metal that never goes flat, SMART says.

The company has been developing shape memory alloy tires for traditional bicycles and is conducting R&D for e-scooters at Spin, a subsidiary of Ford Motor Co.

“Shape memory alloys look extremely promising in revolutionizing the entire terrestrial tire industry,” Santo Padula, a materials science engineer at NASA, said in the statement, “and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

The partners say that the airless solution could minimize environmental impacts of traditional rubber tires. METL tires are expected to hit the market early next year.

– Alexa St. John

What you need to know

Hercules is getting a boost Detroit automaker Hercules Electric Vehicles, which has been developing an all-electric luxury pickup, said Wednesday it is opening a $20 million Series A investment round managed by boutique investment bank CMD Global Partners. Hercules plans to start selling its Alpha pickup late next year. So, will $20 million cut it? “Hercules has a very lean business model which requires significantly less capital than other EV manufacturers,” founder James Breyer said in a statement to Automotive News. “We will evaluate additional funding rounds as necessary for our growth and scale production.” On its website, the company says it plans to use “existing industrial capacity wherever possible, paired with a modular design and assembly approach.”

Tesla cameras raise privacy concerns, CR says Tesla’s use of in-car cameras to record and transmit video footage of passengers to develop self-driving technology raises safety and privacy concerns, Consumer Reports said Tuesday. The consumer advocacy organization said on its website that the usage potentially undermines the safety benefit of driver monitoring, which is to alert drivers when they are not paying attention to the road. “If Tesla has the ability to determine if the driver isn’t paying attention, it needs to warn the driver in the moment, like other automakers already do,” said Jake Fisher, senior director of Consumer Reports’ auto test center.

Roundup

Self-driving truck startup TuSimple files for U.S. initial public stock offering.

Meanwhile, Kodiak Robotics and Hesai Technology have formed a partnership to integrate Chinese lidar technology into autonomous trucks.

Not to worry: Self-driving trucks won’t have big impact on trucker jobs anytime soon.

Electric vehicle maker Rivian to pair each customer with a “guide” for the entire length of ownership of an R1T pickup or R1S SUV.

Hyundai Kona EV owners say company is mishandling a recall for battery fires.

Free2Move, the short-term vehicle rental operation of Stellantis, is expanding to the West Coast this year.

Tesla chief Elon Musk says the company’s electric vehicles can now be bought using bitcoin, and the option will be available outside the U.S. this year.

Continental spinoff Vitesco Technologies has won a contract to provide 800-volt inverters for Hyundai’s new E-GMP modular electric platform.

AV startup Momenta raises $500 million from Toyota, Bosch, SAIC, others. Meanwhile, EV battery startup QuantumScape seeks to raise $859 million to fund expansion.

Baidu is poised to become the first company in China to demonstrate paid robotaxi services.

U.S. looks to Canada for minerals to build EVs, report says.

Deborah Hersman, former Waymo chief safety officer and former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, has joined Velodyne’s board of directors.

Brain food

In its goal to eclipse Tesla as the world’s dominant electric vehicle manufacturer, Volkswagen appears to embrace “if you can’t beat them, join them,” writes Automotive News Europe Correspondent Christiaan Hetzner.

Last mile

Dumped scooter? Call 911