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Britain to cut

Tesla rolls out long-awaited robotaxi service o Musk emphasises

NEW YORK: Wolfspeed plans to file for bankruptcy in the United States under a restructuring agreement with creditors, which would provide it with fresh financing and slash debt by nearly 70%, the struggling chipmaker said on Sunday. Wolfspeed raised going-concern doubts in May, as deepening economic uncertainty stemming from changing US trade policies, combined companies’ energy bills LONDON: Britain will aim to cut the electricity bills of thousands of firms under a new industrial strategy to be published this week, heeding calls from business to lower high energy costs that they say have damaged competitiveness and hindered growth. Under an industrial strategy for the decade 2025-2035, the government plans to cut the bills of electricity-intensive manufacturers by up to 25% from 2027, a move it said could benefit more than 7,000 businesses. The government has made boosting Britain’s anaemic growth a key priority. But lawmakers and business leaders had highlighted the sky-high energy costs many companies face as a hindrance to that aim, with industry body Make UK saying government should scrap climate levies imposed on firms. Britain has been under pressure to do more to support its key industries and bolster competitiveness as the United States and the European Union also seek to do likewise, in a trade landscape upended by US tariffs. Alongside the strategy, five sectoral plans for areas such as advanced manufacturing, creative industries and clean energy are also set to be published. The Industrial Strategy focuses on eight previously identified sectors of strength for Britain, which also include defence and financial services. The government will exempt energy-intensive manufacturers from levies like the Renewables Obligation to boost their international competitiveness. “Tackling energy costs and fixing skills has been the single biggest ask of us from businesses and the greatest challenge they have faced – this government has listened,” Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in a statement. The government said the energy measures would be funded through reforms to the energy system, without raising household bills or taxes. The scope and eligibility for the scheme will be finalised after a consultation. Make UK said the strategy was a “giant and much needed step forward” that also tackled a skills shortage in Britain’s workforce and access to capital. – Reuters

unclear how much control they had over the vehicles. In recent days, the automaker sent invites to a select group of influencers for a carefully monitored robotaxi trial in a limited zone. The rides are being offered for a flat fee of US$4.20, Musk said on X. Tesla investor and social-media personality Sawyer Merritt posted videos on X on Sunday afternoon showing him ordering, getting picked up and taking a ride to a nearby bar and restaurant, Frazier’s Long and Low, using a Tesla robotaxi app. If Tesla succeeds with the small deployment, it still faces major challenges in delivering on Musk’s promises to scale up quickly in Austin and other cities, industry experts say. It could take years or decades for Tesla and self-driving rivals, such as Alphabet’s Waymo, to fully develop a robotaxi industry, said Philip Koopman, a Carnegie Mellon University computer-engineering professor with expertise in autonomous-vehicle technology. A successful Austin trial, he said, would be “the end of the beginning – not the beginning of the end”.

Most of Tesla’s sky-high stock value now rests on its ability to deliver robotaxis and humanoid robots, according to many industry analysts. Tesla is by far the world’s most valuable automaker. As Tesla’s robotaxi-rollout date approached, Texas lawmakers moved to enact autonomous-vehicle rules. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, on Friday signed legislation requiring a state permit to operate self-driving vehicles. The law, which takes effect Sept 1, signals that state officials from both parties want the driverless-vehicle industry to proceed cautiously. The law softens the state’s previous anti-regulation stance on autonomous vehicles. A 2017 Texas law specifically prohibited cities from regulating self-driving cars. The new law requires autonomous-vehicle operators to get approval from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles before operating on public streets without a human driver. It gives state authorities the power to revoke permits for

operators they deem a public danger. The law also requires firms to provide information on how first responders can deal with their driverless vehicles in emergency situations. The law’s permit requirements for an “automated motor vehicle” are not onerous but require firms to attest their vehicles can operate legally and safely. It defines an automated vehicle as having at least “Level 4” autonomous-driving capability under a recognised standard, meaning it can operate with no human driver under specified conditions. Level 5 autonomy is the top level and means a car can drive itself anywhere, under any conditions. Compliance remains far easier than in some states, notably California, which requires submission of vehicle-testing data under state oversight. Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who focuses on autonomous driving, said it appears any company that meets minimum application requirements will get a Texas permit – but could also lose it if problems arise. “California permits are hard to get, easy to lose. In Texas, the permit is easy to get and easy to lose.” The Tesla robotaxi rollout comes after more than a decade of Musk’s unfulfilled promises to deliver self-driving Teslas. Musk has said Tesla would be “super paranoid” about robotaxi safety in Austin, including operating in limited areas. The service in Austin will have other restrictions as well. Tesla plans to avoid bad weather, difficult intersections, and will not carry anyone below age 18. Commercialising autonomous vehicles has been risky and expensive. GM’s Cruise was shut down after a serious accident. Regulators are closely watching Tesla and its rivals, Waymo and Amazon’s Zoox. Tesla is also bucking the young industry’s standard practice of relying on multiple technologies to read the road, using only cameras. That, Musk says, will be safe and much less expensive than lidar and radar systems added by rivals. – Reuters US$1.25 billion in debt financing led by Apollo, with the option to increase the total to as much as US$2 billion to support its US expansion. The firm has undergone a series of leadership changes in the last few months, appointing industry veteran Robert Feurle as its CEO in March after announcing in May that it will cut its senior leadership team by 30%. – Reuters

safety, limits operations to specific conditions

AUSTIN: Tesla deployed a small group of self-driving taxis picking up paying passengers on Sunday in Austin, Texas, with CEO Elon Musk announcing the “robotaxi launch” and social-media influencers posting videos of their first rides. Musk called the moment the “culmination of a decade of hard work” in a post on his social-media platform X and noted that “the AI chip and software teams were built from scratch within Tesla”. Teslas were spotted early Sunday in a neighbourhood called South Congress with no one in the driver’s seat but one person in the passenger seat. The automaker planned a small trial with about 10 vehicles and front-seat riders acting as “safety monitors”, though it remained

A Tesla robotaxi driving on the street along South Congress Avenue in Austin. – REUTERSPIC

Wolfspeed plans US bankruptcy filing in deal reached with creditors

restructuring process. As of March, it had about US$1.33 billion in cash, and about US$6.5 billion of debt obligations. Last week, Bloomberg News reported about the firm’s plans to file for a prepackaged bankruptcy. The report said that Wolfspeed would be taken over by creditors, including Apollo Global Management. In 2023, Wolfspeed announced

on its pre-packaged plan and subsequently emerge out of bankruptcy by the end of third quarter of the calendar year 2025. In a prepackaged bankruptcy, companies and their creditors agree on a reorganisation plan prior to the bankruptcy filing and creditors vote on the plan. The company intends to continue regular operations throughout the

with weakening demand, triggered a series of financial challenges. The restructuring agreement, reached with creditors and Renesas Electronics’ US subsidiary, would result in US$275 million in fresh financing backed by some existing creditors and help reduce debt by US$4.6 billion, Wolfspeed said in a statement. Wolfspeed plans to seek approval