We can’t quit electric cars — or robotaxis

Robotaxis: in. EVs: Out? The Verge's Andy Hawkins joins the show to talk about the goings-on in the transportation industry, including the reasons car makers are slowing down on EV production (but not giving up entirely) and why suddenly everyone's back in on robotaxis. Then, The Social Web Foundation's Evan Prodromou tells us what's new with the fediverse. We talk about Bluesky, Threads, Mastodon, and the increasingly ambitious plans for the ActivityPub protocol. Finally, we talk through some feedback on last week's episode about the pricing of the iPhone 16E, and how the way you buy your phone changes the way you feel about its price.

Further reading:

• EV truck maker Nikola goes bust
• Senate Republicans introduce bills to make EVs more expensive
• Volkswagen claims it’s actually making that $20,000 EV and will show it next month
• Ford lost $5 billion on EVs in 2024, teases new models
• Lyft eyes robotaxi launch in 2026
• Uber to Austin: get ready for Waymo
• The fediverse, explained: Mastodon, Threads, and the open future of social networking
• Flipboard’s Surf app is a feed reader for the fediverse
• Tumblr’s fediverse integration might finally happen soon.
• The Social Web Foundation
• Apple launches the iPhone 16E

Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.

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