TechCrunch Mobility: Travis Kalanick's return proves it really is 2016 again

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility ! This newsletter was wrapped and ready to go and then Travis Kalanick brought me back to 2016 by making an eyebrow-raising announcement. Uber’s co-founder and former CEO who resigned in 2017 after a string of controversies is back and building a robotics company called Atoms . And, wait for it, he is on the precipice of acquiring Pronto , the autonomous vehicle startup focused on industrial and mining sites that was created by his former Uber colleague, Anthony Levandowski . Kalanick revealed he is already the “largest investor” in Pronto. That is a lot to digest and the final sign that, yes, we really are back in 2016. For those who may not remember, 2016 was a hyped year for AVs. Uber acquired Levandowski’s startup Otto — a deal that went sideways almost immediately and resulted in Waymo suing the ride-hailing company for trade secret theft. Now, back to our original programming. Just last week I waxed on about Rivian and the EV maker’s bid to make the upcoming R2 SUV one of the fastest vehicle launches in history. ICYMI, here it is .  This week, I’m in Austin for SXSW — the annual tech meets music meets film, TV, and comedy festival. Rivian, the headline sponsor of SXSW, used the event to share pricing and other specs of its R2. There is still a lot to unpack and I’m still interviewing folks as I write this (including CEO RJ Scaringe later today), but here is what we know. Techcrunch event Disrupt 2026: The tech ecosystem, all in one room Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation. Register now to save up to $400. Save up to $300 or 30% to TechCrunch Founder Summit 1,000+ founders and investors come together at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 for a full day focused on growth, execution, and real-world scaling. Learn from founders and investors who have shaped the industry. Connect with peers navigating similar growth stages. Walk away with tactics you can apply immediately Offer ends March 13. San Francisco, CA | October 13-15, 2026 REGISTER NOW The performance launch edition, which will be the first version of R2 on the line, will start at $57,990. My initial article digs into what you get for that price. And senior reporter Sean O’Kane focused on the long-promised $45,000 version and why it won’t be coming until late 2027 . My time at SXSW with the Rivian folks has begun to reveal some of their R2 strategy. The company is leaning heavily into experiential marketing targeted directly at its core market. SXSW attendees in Austin, who include well-heeled tech and creative folks from all over world, are about as close as you can get to a Rivian customer archetype.  But will it work? The EV itself is far more approachable IMO than the much larger and expensive flagship R1 truck and SUV. The R2 also has a few items, including a new operating system, that is more powerful and capable than its pricey peer. The operating system software, which admittedly I haven’t tested at length, is a standout improvement from the R1 in terms of computing and user interface. For instance, the R2 has one SoC (system on chip) that runs the infotainment and handles 200 TOPS (tera operations per second) of computing on the edge. The next-gen R1 vehicles have four SoC and do most of the computing in the cloud.  Rivian’s head of software, Wassym Bensaid , told me this edge computing matters because it allows the company to run large language models locally, which will provide much lower latency and better performance.  Another big change that I will briefly mention are the “halo wheels” on the steering wheel, which are pictured above. These wheels give haptic feedback and let the driver quickly change the temperature, fan speed, and speaker volume without moving their hands or eyes over to the central screen. Chief designer Jeff Hammoud told me this addressed some of the biggest requests from customers without adding a bunch of buttons. Notably, software allows the company to add more capability to these halo wheels over time. A little bird Image Credits: Bryce Durbin Lucid Motors tried to make a splash at its investor day when it showed a robotaxi concept designed to be built on the company’s “midsize” EV platform. Interim CEO Marc Winterhoff sounded declarative onstage, saying the company is “working on a dedicated Lucid Robotaxi” that would come after the midsize EVs debut. The company later clarified to TechCrunch that there is no active development happening and that the vehicle is just a concept. A little bird tells us the project is very new, having started only in the last two to three mo