This climate startup is challenging Tesla in the race to electrify big rigs

Published

1 year ago

November 12, 2024

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On the road to electrifying vehicles, cars and small trucks are getting there. Big rigs, however, pose bigger hurdles.

The trouble with electrifying tractor-trailer trucks is that the tractor component needs more power than the current charging infrastructure can handle and the necessary charging time is long.

Major truck manufacturers like Volvo, Freightliner and Tesla are introducing electric tractor-trailer trucks, but that is still a tiny and inefficient market. Big rigs make up just 10% of the vehicles on the road, but they account for nearly 30% of total vehicle carbon emissions.

Now one startup, California-based Range Energy, is focused not on the tractor but the trailer. They are introducing electrified trailers that power and propel themselves so the tractor has less to pull.

“Everything that is built into the tractor is really built to manage the load of the trailer properly, and what we’re saying is, ‘Well, why don’t we do that directly through our Range system by electrifying the trailer in a way that has never been done before?'” said Ali Javidan, CEO of Range Energy.

The Range Energy system incorporates batteries, a motor that powers one of the trailer’s dual axles and what Javidan refers to as a ‘smart kingpin’ to improve the truck’s efficiency.

“When I push this button to activate the system, the trailer follows me,” Javidan said as he demonstrated the system. “It doesn’t matter if I’m an old Peterbilt semi-truck or a brand new Tesla semi or just me pulling on it with the system activated. The trailer’s mission is to make itself feel weightless.”

The electrified trailer can also refrigerate itself as well as power onboard communications and security systems. It does all of that at a fraction of the cost of diesel.

“If we were to take one of these fleets that runs 3,000 trailers and run it through the range system and essentially incorporate the range system into their fleet, we’re looking at 100 million pounds of CO2 saved per year,” Javidan said. “But even better than that, it equates to about $50 million in fuel savings alone.”

Northern Refrigerated Transportation is piloting the Range trailers in California. The company has previously tried electric tractors but the long charging times were a hurdle, said Ricky Souza, COO at Northern Refrigerated Transportation.

Range Energy’s “trailers seem more of a natural fit because we have to load them, and we load them at night” while the trailers charge, Souza said. “So it’s not more dependent on a driver waiting for it.”

There are, however, some major roadblocks that Northern Refrigerated Transportation must overcome before the company can electrify its entire fleet of more than 300 trucks.

“There’s definitely some infrastructure challenges, like power to the buildings or properties and getting it, and the cost of the unit is more,” Souza said. “That’s part of doing the due diligence to see if you’ll make it back into fuel savings.”

Range Energy has raised $31.5 million so far, and it is backed by R7, UP.Partners, Trousdale Ventures and Yamaha Motor Ventures.

The appeal of Range Energy’s technology is the startup’s different approach to tackling the challenge of electrifying tractor-trailers, said Tyler Engh, R7’s founder and general manager.

“Seventy percent of all freight in the United States is done by trucks, and there’s no one touching a trailer, so if we can electrify the trailer, we could accelerate mass adoption for hybridization or electrification on current fleets that have diesel semis,” Engh said. “The size of what this company could become is exactly what venture capital is set up to do. It could be a humongous return for us.”

As in the EV market for cars, charging infrastructure is still not where it needs to be, but Javidan says trucking companies can leverage the power that’s available at loading docks, as Northern Refrigerated Transportation is doing. Javidan added that Range Energy is able to size the battery pack much closer to what you see in a passenger vehicle than what you see in the large commercial vehicles that are coming out from other big rig companies.

CNBC producer Lisa Rizzolo contributed to this piece.

Technology

Judge finalizes remedies in Google antitrust case

Published

3 hours ago

December 5, 2025

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Judge finalizes remedies in Google antitrust case

The logo for Google LLC is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 17, 2021.

Andrew Kelly | Reuters

A U.S. judge on Friday finalized his decision for the consequences Google will face for its search monopoly ruling, adding new details to the decided remedies.

Last year, Google was found to hold an illegal monopoly in its core market of internet search, and in September, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled against the most severe consequences that were proposed by the Department of Justice.

That included the proposal of a forced sale of Google’s Chrome browser, which provides data that helps the company’s advertising business deliver targeted ads. Alphabet shares popped 8% in extended trading as investors celebrated what they viewed as minimal consequences from a historic defeat last year in the landmark antitrust case.

Investors largely shrugged off the ruling as non-impactful to Google. However some told CNBC it’s still a bite that could “sting.”

Mehta on Friday issued additional details for his ruling in new filings.

“The age-old saying ‘the devil is in the details’ may not have been devised with the drafting of an antitrust remedies judgment in mind, but it sure does fit,” Mehta wrote in one of the Friday filings.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has previously said it will appeal the remedies.

In August 2024, Mehta ruled that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act and held a monopoly in search and related advertising. The antitrust trial started in September 2023.

In his September decision, Mehta said the company would be able to make payments to preload products, but it could not have exclusive contracts that condition payments or licensing. Google was also ordered to loosen its hold on search data. Mehta in September also ruled that Google would have to make available certain search index data and user interaction data, though “not ads data.”

The DOJ had asked Google to stop the practice of “compelled syndication,” which refers to the practice of making certain deals with companies to ensure its search engine remains the default choice in browsers and smartphones.

The judge’s September ruling didn’t end the practice entirely — Mehta ruled out that Google couldn’t enter into exclusive deals, which was a win for the company. Google pays Apple billions of dollars per year to be the default search engine on iPhones. It’s lucrative for Apple and a valuable way for Google to get more search volume and users.

Mehta’s new details

In the Friday filings, Mehta wrote that Google cannot enter into any deal like the one it’s had with Apple “unless the agreement terminates no more than one year after the date it is entered.”

This includes deals involving generative artificial intelligence products, including any “application, software, service, feature, tool, functionality, or product” that involve or use genAI or large-language models, Mehta wrote.

GenAI “plays a significant role in these remedies,” Mehta wrote.

The judge also reiterated the web index data it will require Google to share with certain competitors.

Google has to share some of the raw search interaction data it uses to train its ranking and AI systems, but it does not have to share the actual algorithms — just the data that feeds them.” In September, Mehta said those data sets represent a “small fraction” of Google’s overall traffic, but argued the company’s models are trained on data that contributed to Google’s edge over competitors.

The company must make this data available to qualified competitors at least twice, one of the Friday filing states. Google must share that data in a “syndication license” model whose term will be five years from the date the license is signed, the filing states.

Mehta on Friday also included requirements on the makeup of a technical committee that will determine the firms Google must share its data with.

Committee “members shall be experts in some combination of software engineering, information retrieval, artificial intelligence, economics, behavioral science, and data privacy and data security,” the filing states.

The judge went on to say that no committee member can have a conflict of interest, such as having worked for Google or any of its competitors in the six months prior to or one year after serving in the role.

Google is also required to appoint an internal compliance officer that will be responsible “for administering Google’s antitrust compliance program and helping to ensure compliance with this Final Judgment,” per one of the filings. The company must also appoint a senior business executive “whom Google shall make available to update the Court on Google’s compliance at regular status conferences or as otherwise ordered.”

This is breaking news. Check back for updates.

WATCH: Judge Issues final remedies in Google antitrust case

Technology

Amazon had a very big week that could shape where its stagnant stock goes next

Published

5 hours ago

December 5, 2025

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Amazon had a very big week that could shape where its stagnant stock goes next

Technology

Meta acquiring AI wearable company Limitless

Published

6 hours ago

December 5, 2025

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Meta acquiring AI wearable company Limitless

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wears the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, as he delivers a speech presenting the new line of smart glasses, during the Meta Connect event at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, U.S., Sept. 17, 2025.

Carlos Barria | Reuters

Meta is acquiring artificial intelligence wearable startup Limitless, the companies said Friday.

“We’re excited that Limitless will be joining Meta to help accelerate our work to build AI-enabled wearables,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.

Limitless makes a small, AI-powered pendant that can record conversations and generate summaries.

Limitless CEO Dan Siroker revealed the deal on Friday via a corporate blog post but did not disclose the financial terms.

“Meta recently announced a new vision to bring personal superintelligence to everyone and a key part of that vision is building incredible AI-enabled wearables,” Siroker said in the post and an accompanying video. “We share this vision and we’ll be joining Meta to help bring our shared vision to life.”