If you’re reading this, chances are you feel like you need more information. Welcome to the club. This week we followed a bunch of transportation players in search of more nuggets of knowledge. Retailers jumping on the ecommerce bandwagon are hoping to discover how to lose fewer deliveries, which is costing them tons of moolah. Concerned scientists are wondering whether the whizz-bang augmented reality making its way into your car might actually distract more than help. And Wall Street analysts are trying to figure out which competing transportation app has the best path to profitability—or if a path exists at all.
Plus: Look at this plane! It’s been a week; let’s get you caught up.
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Headlines
Stories you might have missed from WIRED this week
Wall Street seems to be buying the strategic international chaos of Uber more than the focused approach of Lyft.
Late and failed deliveries cost retailers a ton of money—nearly $18 per package. Better data might fix it.
Thanks to a gigantic storm, a 747 made it across the Atlantic Ocean in record time.
The little Maveric plane is super efficient. But it has a long road to production, and the skies.
Welcome to the augmented-reality arms race happening inside your car.
PSA of the Week
We hope you’re enjoying a long weekend. We also hope you’re not off-roading in Death Valley National Park, like an inconsiderate butthead. The National Park Service released photos this week of more than 130 miles of unauthorized 4×4 tracks, which have damaged protected areas near some of the park’s most popular sites. There are plenty of places you can off-road! For free! Get outta the protected areas, people!
Stat of the Week: 100,000*
The number of “robotaxi” rides that self-driving vehicle developer Aptiv and ride-hailer Lyft have completed in Las Vegas, according to the companies. There’s a reason for that asterisk: All those vehicles had a human safety driver behind the wheel, and that driver always controlled the car in parking lots and around hotels. But Lyft and Aptiv say the experiment has helped them discover how people use and react to self-driving vehicles—information both companies may be able to use once the technology is ready to lose that pesky human.
Required Reading
News from elsewhere on the internet
Chinese automakers are slashing their sales targets because of the coronavirus outbreak.
This week in yikes: A former Waymo contractor is arrested for terrorizing the company’s self-driving cars in Arizona.
The SEC has opened a new inquiry into Tesla, even as it closed another probe into Model 3 numbers.
Also in Tesla: The company is hoping to raise more than $2 billion in a stock sale.
Jaguar’s I-Pace has run out of batteries.
Hyundai and Kia team up with California-based electric-vehicle startup Canoo.
Outside of the densest cities, scooters need a little help from friendly regulations.
American, Southwest, and United have extended their Boeing 737 MAX-related flight cancellations through the summer.
In the Rearview
Essential stories from WIRED’s canon:
Last time an airplane broke a record for a cross-Atlantic flight, we broke down why jets are traveling the route faster than ever.
More Great WIRED Stories
- Want to fight climate change? Stop believing these myths
- Why are we polarized? Don’t blame social media
- This coronavirus is bad. Comparing it to the flu is worse
- CollegeHumor helped shape online comedy. What went wrong?
- Investors hit the brakes on automotive startups
- ? The secret history of facial recognition. Plus, the latest news on AI
- ? Torn between the latest phones? Never fear—ch
