Pressure Systems edition
Tesla Cybercabs Face Federal Probes While Uber Drivers Organize
September 7, 2026
What this edition shows
Federal regulators have launched safety investigations into Tesla's newly deployed, steering wheel-free Cybercab as Elon Musk's autonomous vehicle and satellite broadband strategies draw fresh scrutiny. Meanwhile, gig economy organizing expands as UFCW 1518 incorporates hundreds of new Uber drivers across Kamloops and Kelowna into structured collective agreements.
Reporting and analysis behind this edition 6 sources
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Robotaxis enter their villain era
It's Bullitt meets Christine meets Waymo. A new short film imagines a San Francisco car chase where the other driver isn't human - and the car may be trying to kill you. That a robotaxi can now be cast as the villain with almost no explanation says something about the present moment. Autonomous cars…
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Tesla’s Cybercab has been deployed, and it’s already under investigation
The US government is investigating whether the Cybercab meets vehicle safety standards.
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Elon Musk’s heterodox robotaxi philosophy gets put to the test
Believe it or not, the Tesla Cybercab is coming. Nearly two years after Elon Musk first unveiled the gold-tinted, gull-wing door sporting, steering wheel-free two-seaters as the future of Tesla's autonomy efforts, the company is finally putting them into operation as part of its robotaxi service in…
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Tesla Cybercab is barely on the road and it’s already under investigation
Elon Musk's gilded robot car barely made it on public roads before federal regulators launched an investigation into the vehicle's lack of traditional features - many of which are required by law. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it was opening an audit query (AQ) into the Tes…
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Uber Union Expands to Kamloops and Kelowna
About 1,000 new drivers will enter the agreement that Victoria Uber drivers bargained with UFCW 1518.
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Texas Politicians Slowly Realize Elon Musk Hijacked Billions In Taxpayer Broadband Grants
Back in June I wrote a feature for The Verge about how Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos had convinced Republicans to redirect billions in taxpayer money away from future-proof fiber optic upgrades, and toward their low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband networks they’d already planned to deploy. Curious…