Autonomous

Google asked the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration for permission to test drones to research how the technology can help monitor and control fires.

DETROIT — Merchants Fleet, a fleet management company, plans to purchase commercial EV vans from General Motors Co.’s newly formed company BrightDrop.

Amazon .com Inc. began testing the first lot of its Rivian Automotive Inc. electric delivery vans in Los Angeles as it works to fulfill a pledge to meet the goals of the Paris climate accord 10 years early.

REE Automotive, an electric-vehicle technology startup, has agreed to go public through a merger with 10X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp., a blank-check company, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Experts advised people to manage their expectations of automated vehicles for their traveling capabilities.

Tesla Inc. reported lower-than-expected profit and record revenue, mixed results that disappointed investors used to razzle-dazzle — but more in tune with the S&P 500 heavyweight it has become.

Nikola Corp. backer Luxor Capital Group LP is investing in European electric truck startup Volta Trucks AB to help the company scale its manufacturing and expand into North America and Asia.

NEW YORK — Walmart is enlisting the help of robots to keep up with a surge in online orders.

U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc. announced it made a “significant” investment in autonomous trucking company TuSimple and that CEO Eric Fuller was named to TuSimple’s executive advisory board.

Tesla Inc. has taken a misguided approach to developing fully autonomous cars and its “full self-driving” system will fail to live up to its billing, the head of Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo told a German business magazine.