Cruise robotaxis are headed to Japan
A press release from Cruise, GM, and Honda says that the three companies plan to launch a robotaxi joint venture in Japan starting in 2026. No word if the vehicles will play charming little MIDI tunes when they pick you up, but we can dream.
According to the statement, the yet-to-launch Origin — a dedicated-purpose robotaxi — will be the vehicle that debuts the service. Given the complexities of operating as a foreign business in Japan, it’s not exactly surprising that the three plan to start a new JV company in the market, one that will presumably be tailored and branded to the expectations of Japanese consumers.
As you’re likely aware, Japan operates some of the highest-throughput mass transit systems in the world. But at street level in a dense urban area, chances are most of the cars you’ll see driving around fall into one of two categories: taxis and commercial vehicles. Private car ownership is expensive and impractical in major Japanese cities for most residents, and taxis make up a critical part of mobility — whether last-mile or as transit to hubs like airports and train stations.
Ride-hailing services like Uber have struggled mightily to break into the Japanese market, both because of legal complexities and an extremely powerful domestic taxi lobby. While a venture like Cruise’s would be unlikely to offer major disruption at scale initially, there’s little doubt the aforementioned taxi lobby will try to derail any effort at autonomous rides. Today’s press release doesn’t get into any of the legal or practical hurdles — it’s just a statement that GM, Cruise, and Honda want to go forward with this.
As part of the announcement, an image of a Japanese-market version of the Origin AV was released (seen at the top of the article here). There appear to be some design tweaks to the front of the vehicle — slightly different headlights and a revised roof overhang — as well as an additional set of sensors or signaling devices on the sides of the vehicle not present in earlier renderings. The Japanese-market Origin will still be manufactured in the US, though it seems it will carry Honda badging in Japan.
You can find the press release here.
Electrek’s Take
Cruise unveiled the electric Origin AV back in 2020, and I’ll be the first to admit I thought this thing was a pipe dream at the time. But with both Cruise and Waymo offering reasonably functional (well, mostly) autonomous taxi services today, it doesn’t seem quite so farfetched. Launching in Japan, though? We’ll see how that goes.
From a strictly technical perspective, Japan may be better suited to vehicular autonomy than a country like the US. Road lanes and signage are extremely clear, drivers and pedestrians exercise great care, and roadworks are rigorously demarcated. For a computer, Japanese roads could offer a level of predictability that San Francisco would struggle to match.
But the power of the Japanese taxi lobby is hard to overstate. They successfully strongarmed Uber into working with existing taxi companies in Japan, and the company still doesn’t offer ridesharing in the country. So, the idea of cutting out drivers entirely is unlikely to go over well.
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10 Tesla Cybertrucks will be added to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police (LVMPD) fleet for patrol and SWAT.
The electric trucks were donated.
During the 2025 State of the Department this week, LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill announced that the department will add Cybertrucks to its fleet.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is excited to announce that we will be adding 10 Tesla Cybertrucks to our fleet! These cutting-edge vehicles will be customized for LVMPD patrol and SWAT, helping our officers protect and serve with the latest technology.
Interestingly, LVMPD said that the Cybertrucks were donated by “an anonymous supporter”:
“This fleet was entirely donated by an anonymous supporter.”
Some suspect that Tesla or Elon Musk might be behind the donation, considering the Cybertrucks are not selling and Tesla is sitting on a lot of inventory.
The LVMPD said that the Cybertrucks will be used alongside its fleet of drones:
Part of our commitment to innovation and safety, these Cybertrucks will join our expanding use of semi-autonomous drones connected to shot-spotting technology.
The Police department released these two images of Cybertrucks with the announcement:
The LVMPD is not the first law enforcement with a Cybertruck as the Irvine Police also unveiled a Cybertruck police vehicle, but it will likely have the largest fleet.
Electrek’s Take
I don’t know if Tesla is involved in the donation, but if it is, it’s not a bad idea. The trucks are not selling anyway, and some people like to have cars used by law enforcement and the military.
A fleet of police Cybertruck could help promote the vehicle.
However, I think the Cybertruck, and Tesla in general, have problems that a police fleet won’t fix.
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Environment
Block’s Bitkey rolls out bitcoin inheritance fix for ‘multibillion-dollar problem waiting to happen’
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter Inc., speaks during the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami, Florida, U.S., on Friday, June 4, 2021.
Eva Marie Uzcategui | Bloomberg | Getty Images
For over a decade, bitcoin has been lauded as a revolutionary financial asset — decentralized, self-sovereign and resistant to confiscation — all contributing to an astronomical increase in value.
But one problem has remained largely unsolved: What happens to your bitcoin when you die?
While traditional financial institutions allow for the seamless transfer of stocks, mutual funds and retirement plans, bitcoin’s self-custodial nature makes inheritance and estate planning inherently thorny. Coinbase requires probate court documents and specific will designations before releasing funds, while physical wallets offer little to no support, potentially leaving all that digital value stuck on a private key.
Jack Dorsey‘s Block says it’s created a fix, and the company is now bringing it to market.
In November, Block’s Bitkey self-custody bitcoin wallet introduced an inheritance feature that lets users set a beneficiary for their bitcoin holdings, creating a simple system for transferring the digital currency in the case of death. The feature is being rolled out on Wednesday.
“A lot of people have significant amounts of bitcoin at this point, or appreciating bitcoin, that’s sitting in a place where it’s not going to get to their loved one,” said Jason Karsh, who joined the company in July and is now Bitkey’s head of business. “It’s just kind of a multibillion-dollar problem waiting to happen that we’re hoping to solve by making it super easy to recover in the case of your death.”
Karsh said that with other bitcoin storage products, beneficiaries typically have to provide extensive legal documentation. And hardware wallets often require a user to store seed phrases in a way that exposes their bitcoin to unnecessary risks.
Bitkey is one of the remaining pieces of Dorsey’s crypto strategy at the company he originally started as Square. The same month that Block announced the inheritance product, the company said it was winding down its unit called TBD, which was created in 2021 to focus on bitcoin. TBD was designed to be Block’s platform for developers in an effort to create a more decentralized, secure and private internet.
In shuttering TBD, the company said it would still be investing in Bitkey as well as a bitcoin mining initiative, while continuing to allow users to buy bitcoin through the Cash App.
Unlike traditional crypto exchanges that profit from holding user funds, Bitkey makes money through hardware sales and, potentially, transaction fees. The Bitkey device is a self-custody bitcoin wallet that users purchase to store their private keys securely.
For the inheritance offering with Bitkey, the company lets the user create a separate key for the beneficiary that’s uploaded to Block’s servers. The beneficiary has no access to the key until six months after the owner dies. The funds will then be securely transferred to the beneficiary’s own Bitkey wallet.
Beyond Bitkey, Dorsey said in the company’s latest earnings report that Block expects to deliver its first bitcoin mining chips this year, and is “building the infrastructure to scale faster, investing in next generation chip design and mining systems.”
Volvo is raising the bar with its new fully electric ES90. It’s the fastest-charging Volvo yet, and with up to 435 miles (700 km) range, it can also drive further than ever. Volvo calls it “one of the most technically advanced cars,” EV or gas-powered on the market.
Volvo ES90 driving range and charging specs
With its official debut just a week away, Volvo is giving us a closer look at its flagship electric sedan set to shake up the EV market.
With up to 435 miles (700 km) WLTP driving range, the ES90 can drive further than any Volvo available today. Although it will be slightly lower on the EPA scale, it’s still a significant upgrade over its current lineup. Volvo’s three-row EX90 has a WLTP range of 373 miles (600 km) and 310 miles EPA-estimated range.
The ES90 is also the brand’s fastest charging, giving you over 185 miles (300 km) in just 10 minutes. Volvo says the higher performance is thanks to its advanced new 800V electric system.
“Our 800V technology marks another significant technological upgrade for our customers as we move towards full electrification,” Volvo’s chief engineer, Anders Bell, explained.
According to Bell, the advanced platform “helps you charge your electric Volvo faster and go further on a single charge. “
Most electric vehicles today use a 400V system outside the Tesla Cybertruck, Porsche Taycan, Lucid Air, most Hyundai Motor Group models (including Kia and Genesis), and a select few others. With up to 350 kW, it could even charge faster.
Combined with its Superset tech stack, the ES90 is “one of the most technically advanced cars on the market today,” Bell said.
The flagship electric sedan will be Volvo’s first vehicle with dual NVIDIA Drive AGX Orin computers and its most powerful in terms of computing capacity.
NVIDIA’s new in-vehicle platform delivers about 508 trillion operations per second (TOPS), a considerable upgrade over the 254 trillion TOPS in its previous Drive Orin system.
Volvo’s new EV will include an array of sensors, a lidar, five radars, eight cameras, and twelve ultrasonic sensors, providing advanced safety and assisted driving features.
The ES90 will officially debut next week on March 5. You can watch the livestream event on YouTube here. Check back soon with Volvo revealing additional info leading up to the event.
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