Daily Insight:

SpaceX will double the speed of its Starlink internet service to 300 Mbps according to CEO Elon Musk. (Click to Tweet).

Apple has held discussions with multiple suppliers of LiDAR self-driving car sensors, according to Bloomberg. The report comes as the tech giant continues to take steps towards developing its own autonomous electric vehicle.

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• LiDAR sensors enable a vehicle to sense its surroundings and determine the distance between it and other objects.
• Apple has been secretly working on an autonomous vehicle for years. It has already developed key software such as underlying processors and artificial intelligence algorithms.
• The tech giant is looking for an external supplier for hardware as it works toward developing a car design. This is a clear indication that a final product is a few years away.
• In recent weeks, news broke that Apple held conversations with Hyundai/Kia and Nissan over a potential partnership. However, talks with both companies fell apart.
• Since 2017, the tech giant has tested its robotaxi technology (with a human safety driver) on Lexus SUVs on California's public roads. Last year, Apple test cars drove 18,800 miles, more than double the total from 2019.
• However, this number is significantly fewer than the 628,839 miles driven by Waymo vehicles or 770,000 driven by Cruise vehicles.

Airlines in the U.S. and Japan have grounded Boeing 777 planes that feature the same type of engine involved in a mid-flight fire on Saturday. Three airlines — United, Japan Airlines, and ANA — said they will temporarily ground their 777 jets fitted with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines. 

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• A Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine on a United Airlines' Boeing 777 caught fire while the plane was flying over Colorado, scattering debris onto residential areas. No one was injured and the plane landed safely.
• Boeing recommended airlines stop using Boeing 777s featuring that same engine until authorities investigate the accident.
• The company said that there are 69 Boeing 777s of that type in service and 59 in store.
• The Pratt & Whitney engines feature in just 10% of the about 1,600 Boeing 777s ever produced, and many of those planes are due for retirement soon — the plane involved in Saturday's accident had been in service for 26 years

This story first appeared in Inside Daily Brief. You can read the full issue here.

Ford recalled 87,350 F-150 and Super Duty trucks due to windshield defects. The vehicles were produced between October 2020 and February 2021 at the automaker's Dearborn and Kentucky plants. According to Ford, no injuries have been reported.

More:

• The automaker also recalled 11,729 2020 F-Series Super Duty trucks that had inaccurate payload information on their labels.
• In 2020, the Ford F-Series was the top-selling vehicle in America for the 39th consecutive year.
• Last week, Ford recalled 153,000 Ford Rangers from 2004 to 2011 due to faulty airbag systems that were accidentally installed in the vehicles.

Motional, a joint venture of Hyundai and Aptiv, began testing its autonomous vehicles this month on public roads in Las Vegas. The company is testing its self-driving cars without a human safety driver in the vehicle, known as Level 4 autonomous driving.

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• Motional was first announced in March 2020, and Hyundai said it would invest $1.6B to better compete against its rivals in the self-driving vehicle industry. Motional is currently valued at $4B.
• Motional has also tested its vehicles in Boston and Pittsburgh. They have a physical presence in Las Vegas, Singapore, and Seoul.
• In December, Motional announced it would partner with Lyft to launch robotaxis in multiple cities across the U.S. in 2023.
• Since 2018, Aptiv has partnered with Lyft to offer a robotaxi service (with a human safety driver) in Las Vegas. The company has completed 100,000 rides.
• Motional's engineers launched the world's first robotaxi pilot in Singapore in 2016.
• In 2015, they were behind the first cross-country autonomous trip from New York to San Francisco.

Velodyne removed founder and Chairman David Hall and his wife, Marta Thoma Hall — Chief Marketing Officer, from their positions. An investigation initiated by the board’s audit committee in December found the Halls "failed to operate with respect, honesty, integrity, and candor." The company didn't provide exact details, but the Halls have been ordered to receive remedial training. In an interview with Reuters, Martha Hall called their dismissal an "ambush."

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• Velodyne defended its decision in a statement to Reuters, saying it informed the Halls about the probe last month and gave them weeks to prepare.
• David Hall has championed the use of LiDAR in autonomous vehicles and is widely respected in the industry as a pioneer.
• Hall started Velodyne in 1983 and served as CEO until January 2020, when he stepped down and became the company's chairman.
• David Hall is Velodyne's largest shareholder with a 35.43% stake, while his wife has a 3.74% stake.

About Velodyne:

• Last year, Velodyne merged with a SPAC to go public at a $1.8B valuation.
• The company's share price is down 15% following the announcement.
• In 2016, Ford invested $75M into Velodyne, and earlier this month, the automaker liquidated its entire 7.6% stake.

SpaceX news roundup:

• CEO Elon Musk said the company will double the speed of its Starlink internet service to 300 Mbps later this year. Musk said the company will achieve global internet coverage next year.
• The Federal Aviation Administration ended an investigation into the company's Starship SN9 and SN8, both of which exploded, on Feb. 19. This paves the way for the launch of the SN10, which Musk said could happen this week.
• 29-year-old Hayley Arceneaux, who survived bone cancer as a child, will be aboard SpaceX's Dragon as part of the first all-civilian mission to space.
• Musk recruited 4,300 SpaceX employees to participate in an internal COVID-19 study that examines potential links between antibodies and immunity.

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• NASA released a video showing the successful descent and touchdown of its Perseverance rover on Mars. Watch the video here.
• Google removed UberCheats, an app that helped drivers determine if they were underpaid, from its app store after the ride-sharing company claimed a trademark infringement.
• A report from the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity warned autonomous vehicles are  “highly vulnerable to a wide range of attacks.”
• Lyft partnered with CVS Health and the YMCA to offer rides to COVID-19 vaccination sites for Black and Hispanic communities.
• What are the costs of inefficiencies in your product release cycle? Read how top companies save over $1M each year.*

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