NHTSA Proposes Cyan Lights for Robotaxis as GM Targets 2028

U.S. safety regulators want autonomous vehicles to display steady cyan lights on all four sides when no human is monitoring the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed the lighting requirements this week, and the rule would also scrap manual controls for turn signals, high beams and hazard lights.

The agency stopped short of a mandate for the blue-green lights. But it set equipment specifications covering where the lights mount, the color they emit and how they activate. NHTSA suggests the lights stay steadily illuminated rather than flash, and remain visible from the front, rear and both sides.

NHTSA administrator Jonathan Morrison framed the proposal as part of a broader push. He said it's one piece of a bigger effort to update regulations that speed up AV adoption while maintaining safety. The agency is already building a federal automated vehicle framework and rewriting federal motor vehicle safety standards. Those FMVSS rules were never designed for vehicles like the Tesla Cybercab and Zoox robotaxi, which lack pedals, steering wheels, side mirrors and rearview mirrors.

How does GM plan to compete?

GM used its annual GM Forward event to lay out dates. The automaker will overhaul the electrical and computational architecture of its future vehicles, aiming for faster software, more capable automated driving and a conversational AI assistant that will replace its 30-year-old OnStar service.

The overhaul debuts in 2028 on the Cadillac Escalade IQ. That same year, GM plans to launch an autonomous highway driving feature that lets drivers take hands and eyes off the road with no obligation to retake control. GM has also deployed enterprise AI across the company to cut its traditional four- to five-year development timeline in half. TechCrunch's Kirsten Korosec, who has covered previous GM tech pushes billed as Tesla rivals, writes that this time GM seems to be preparing for a bigger fight.

What did Rivian buy?

Rivian acquired Third Dimension, a U.K. startup founded by gaming and autonomous vehicle veterans that uses AI to turn images and videos into lifelike 3D worlds. Rivian's head of autonomy, James Philbin, said the company needed technology to close the "sim-to-real gap" — the data gap between real and simulated environments.

The terms weren't released. Clues point to a modest deal: Third Dimension had raised a $7 million seed round, employs about 15 engineers, and Rivian didn't file it with the SEC, meaning it fell below the material-information threshold.

Other deals landed this week:

• inDrive, the ride-hailing company known for negotiated fares, signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese AV firm Pony.ai and Nvidia to test robotaxis in Kazakhstan in 2027.
• Reliable Robotics raised $115 million — $90 million in equity led by Nimble Partners and $25 million in debt from Silicon Valley Bank. The Series D extension brings the round to $275 million and pushes the autonomous-flight startup's valuation past $1 billion.

What happened with Tesla and SpaceX earnings?

Tesla and SpaceX reported third-quarter results, and Elon Musk kicked merger talk into fifth gear. Musk, who runs both companies, said each board has formed a special committee to review a merger.

The numbers explain the pressure. SpaceX's AI business generated $7.5 billion in revenue and now accounts for 52% of company income. Tesla's revenue was flat across segments while expenses grew, sending profits down 43% year over year. Tesla started production of its Optimus humanoid robot, reported strong FSD subscription growth even as the unsupervised version slipped to Q2 next year, and plans to start selling the Cybercab to customers by year's end.

Where is Waymo going next?

Waymo plans to launch robotaxi service in Spain, starting with Madrid, and expects to open it to riders in 2027. Closer to home, the Alphabet-owned company now shuttles customers to and from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.

What else moved this needle?

• A group fighting robotaxis has mysterious origins, the Washington Post reported. TechCrunch previously found that an anti-robotaxi group called the Coalition for Accountability and Road Safety was registered to an employee of a New York lobbying firm retained by labor unions and the New York Black Car Operators' Injury Compensation Fund.
• GM is closing a plant south of Detroit that built battery packs for the Cadillac Celestiq and electric drive units and battery packs for the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray. A GM spokesperson said the closure stems from an expiring lease, not the company's EV strategy.
• Google is upgrading Gemini in vehicles with a personal intelligence feature that pulls from Gmail, Google Calendar, YouTube, Maps, Search history and other connected services to understand a driver's preferences and past behavior.
• Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe laid out a vision for vehicles radically different from today's R1T pickup and R1S and R2 SUVs. TechCrunch notes all eyes are on the R4.

The through-line for the year ahead: regulators are writing rules for cars without steering wheels, incumbents are locking in 2028 deadlines, and the capital is flowing to whoever can close the gap between simulation and reality first.