1.REDDIT:-Social media platform Reddit said on Wednesday it had confidentially filed for a proposed initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Reddit, known for its message boards that became the go-to destination for day traders during this year’s meme stock frenzy, was looking at a valuation of more than $15 billion, Reuters had reported in September.
2.TESLA:Tesla Inc has told the French government there is no indication that a fatal accident in Paris involving a Tesla Model 3 taxi was caused by a technical fault, a government spokesman said on Wednesday.
Paris taxi company G7 has suspended the use of the 37 Model 3 cars in its fleet after the accident on Saturday evening, which involved one of its drivers.
BFM TV reported that the driver had been placed under formal investigation for suspected manslaughter. Under French law, a formal investigation means there is “serious or consistent evidence” implicating a suspect in a crime. It is one step closer to a trial, but such investigations can be dropped.
One person was killed in the crash and 20 injured, three of them seriously.
“We have been in contact, of course, with Tesla’s management and they tell us that there is no technical problem to flag on their vehicles,” government spokesman Gabriel Attal told reporters.
He added that the government was waiting for the outcome of the ongoing judicial investigation.
Still in shock four days after the accident, witnesses told Reuters the car ploughed through metal posts, a row of pay-to-ride bicycles, a recycling bin full of glass and hit pedestrians and a van before finally coming to a halt.
3.NISSAN:-Nissan Motor Co Ltd plans to build new battery recycling factories in the United States and Europe by the end of fiscal 2025, the daily Nikkei reported on Thursday.
Nissan hopes that recycling batteries and re-using them in electric vehicles (EVs) would help lower production costs as the price of rare metals rise, Nikkei said.
The factories would be the company’s first battery recycling facility built outside of Japan, the report added, without specifying the country in Europe where the factory would be built.
4.UBER:Aurora Innovation Inc on Wednesday said it had launched a pilot program with the freight unit of Uber Technologies Inc to transport goods in Texas and to integrate autonomous trucking into Uber Freight’s shipping platform.
Aurora said it began autonomously transporting loads for Uber Freight customers between Dallas and Houston last week. The company plans to launch its commercial autonomous trucking business by the end of 2023, starting in Texas.
Uber is an investor in Aurora after the self-driving company bought Uber’s autonomous vehicle unit ATG last year https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-atg-idUKKBN28H2RX and Uber acquired a 26% ownership interest in Aurora.
Uber Freight is a platform that acts as a middleman in connecting shippers who need goods hauled with available truck drivers, oftentimes independent contractors in a highly fragmented market.
An Aurora spokesperson said prior to last week’s launch, the company began collaborating with Uber Freight a year ago, hauling goods over thousands of miles in Texas to gain insight.
Aurora said carriers who subscribe to its self-driving product will be able to book autonomous trucks through the Uber Freight platform once commercial self-driving trucks launch in 2023.
Using autonomous trucks, carriers will be able to increase utilization of the truck and haul more goods more often between terminals, Aurora said. Human truck drivers are not allowed to drive more than 11 hours per day – restrictions that do not apply to self-driving trucks.
5.AMTRAK :-U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak said on Wednesday that Chief Executive Bill Flynn will retire next month and be replaced by its president as it begins a big expansion of operations funded by Congress.
Flynn, 68, has overseen the railroad since April 2020 and steered it through the COVID-19 crisis and a massive falloff in demand. Amtrak President Stephen Gardner will succeed him effective Jan. 17, becoming the company’s fifth CEO since 2016.
Congress has approved $66 billion for rail as part of a massive infrastructure bill, with Amtrak receiving $22 billion and setting aside $36 billion for competitive grants.
Amtrak is adding service, upgrading key stations and has a contract with Siemens Mobility Inc to manufacture a new fleet of up to 83 multi-powered trains and options for up to 130 additional trains.
Flynn will continue as a senior adviser to Gardner and the company through Sept. 30, 2022.
Amtrak said on Tuesday it would suspend a vaccine mandate for employees and no longer expects to be forced to cut some service in January. It said 95.7% of its 17,000 employees were either fully vaccinated or had an accommodation, and cited a U.S. District Court decision halting enforcement of President Joe Biden’s executive order mandating vaccines for federal contractors by January.
