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Tag: Electric vehicles

  • FACT FOCUS: Trump said weaker gas mileage rules will mean cheaper cars. Experts say don’t bet on it

    DETROIT (AP) — President Donald Trump this week announced plans to weaken rules for how far automakers’ new vehicles need to travel on a gallon of gasoline, set under former President Joe Biden.

    The Trump administration said the rules, known formally as Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards, are why new vehicles are too expensive, and that cutting them will drive down costs and make driving safer for Americans.

    The new standards would drop the industry fleetwide average for light-duty vehicles to roughly 34.5 mpg (55.5 kpg) in the 2031 model year, down from the goal of about 50.4 mpg (81.1 kpg) that year under the Biden-era rule.

    Here are the facts.

    Affordability

    TRUMP: EV-friendly policies “forced automakers to build cars using expensive technologies that drove up costs, drove up prices and made the car much worse.”

    THE FACTS: It’s true that gas mileage standards have played a role in rising vehicle prices in recent years, but experts say plenty of other factors have contributed, and some much more.

    Pandemic-era inventory shortages, supply chain challenges, tariffs and other trade dynamics, and even automakers’ growing investments in their businesses have also sent prices soaring. Average prices have also skewed higher as automakers have leaned into the costly big pickups and SUVs that many American consumers love.

    President Donald Trump speaks during an event on fuel economy standards in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

    The average transaction price of a new vehicle hit $49,105 in October, according to car shopping guide Edmunds.

    A Consumer Reports analysis of vehicles for model years 2003 to 2021 — a period in which average fuel economy improved 30% — found no significant increase in inflation-adjusted vehicle prices caused by the requirements. At the same time, it found an average of $7,000 in lifetime fuel savings per vehicle for 2021 model year vehicles compared with 2003. That analysis, done primarily before the coronavirus pandemic, attributed much of the average sticker price increase to the shift toward bigger and more expensive vehicles.

    Cutting the fuel economy standards is unlikely to provide any fast relief on sticker prices, said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds’ head of insights. And while looser standards may eventually mean lower car prices, their lower efficiency means that those savings could be eaten up by higher fuel costs, she said.

    Ending the gas car?

    TRUMP: Biden’s policies were “a quest to end the gasoline-powered car.”

    THE FACTS: The Biden administration did enact several policies to increase electric vehicle adoption, including setting a target for half of new vehicle sales in the U.S. to be electric by 2030.

    The Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act included tax incentives that gave car buyers up to $7,500 off the price of an EV and dedicated billions of dollars to nationwide charging — funding that Trump tried to stop. The Biden administration increased fuel economy requirements and set stricter tailpipe emissions limits.

    While those moves sought to help build the EV market, there was no requirement that automakers sell EVs or consumers buy them. And gasoline cars still make up the vast majority of the U.S. market.

    EV charging

    TRUMP: “We had to have an electric car within a very short period of time, even though there was no way of charging them.”

    THE FACTS: While many potential EV buyers still worry about charging them, the availability of public charging has significantly improved in recent years.

    Biden-era funding and private investment have increased charging across the nation. There are now more than 232,000 individual Level 2 and fast charging ports in the U.S. As of this year, enough fast charging ports have been installed to average one for every mile (1.6 kilometers) of National Highway System roads in the U.S., according to an AP analysis of data from the Department of Energy.

    However, those fast charging stations aren’t evenly dispersed. Many are concentrated in the far West and the Northeast, where sales of EVs are highest.

    Experts note that most EV charging can be done at home.

    Safety

    TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY SEAN DUFFY: The reduced requirements will make drivers “safer on the roads because of all the great new technology we have that save lives.”

    THE FACTS: Newer vehicles — gas and electric — are full of advanced safety features, including automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping, collision warnings and more.

    Duffy suggested that consumers will be more likely to buy new vehicles if they are more affordable — meaning fewer old cars on the streets without the safety technology. This assumes vehicle prices will actually go down with eased requirements, which experts say might not be the case. Besides, high tech adds to a vehicle’s cost.

    “If Americans purchased more new vehicles equipped with the latest safety technologies, we would expect overall on-road safety to improve,” Edmunds’ Caldwell said. “However, it’s unclear whether easing fuel-economy standards will meaningfully increase new-vehicle sales.”

    The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an independent automotive research nonprofit, also says electric or hybrid vehicles are as safe as or safer than gasoline-powered cars.

    Another part of safety is public health. Efficiency requirements put into place to address the 1970s oil crisis were also a way to reduce pollution that is harmful to humans and the environment.

    “This rollback would move the auto industry backwards, keeping polluting cars on our roads for years to come and threatening the health of millions of Americans,” said Katherine García, director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign. “This dangerous proposal adds to the long list of ways the Trump administration is dismantling our clean air and public health protections.”

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    Associated Press data journalist M.K. Wildeman contributed from Hartford, Connecticut.

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    Follow Alexa St. John on X: @alexa_stjohn and reach her at [email protected]. Read more of AP’s climate coverage.

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    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • Rivian CEO’s $4.6B Pay Plan Mirrors Elon Musk’s—But Tesla’s Playbook Is Hard to Repeat

    RJ Scaringe’s award plan echoes Tesla’s model but arrives amid layoffs, missed earnings and a tougher EV climate. PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

    Earlier this month, electric carmaker Rivian unveiled a $4.6 billion compensation plan for its founder and CEO, RJ Scaringe—a package that has drawn comparisons to Tesla’s $1 trillion deal for Elon Musk. Like Musk’s award, Rivian’s plan hinges on a series of highly ambitious performance targets over the next decade, including lifting Rivian’s stock price to $140 (it currently trades around $15). In a softening EV market, and without the financial momentum or investor fervor that once buoyed Tesla, those targets appear particularly steep.

    In an SEC filing, Rivian’s board said the package is designed to retain Scaringe as the company enters a “critical next phase” and prepares to launch production of its new electric SUV, the R2. The compensation plan doubles his annual base salary from $1 million to $2 million and gives him the right to buy up to 22 million shares across 11 tranches if Rivian’s stock hits specific price milestones. Scaringe can acquire an additional 14.5 million shares if Rivian meets profit and cash-flow targets before 2032. He can exercise his first tranche at $40 per share. Scaringe currently owns about 1 percent of Rivian. If the plan vests fully, he could add roughly 3 percent more.

    Unlike Musk’s plan, Scaringe’s award does not require a shareholder vote, because it was issued under an already approved 2021 incentive program. Rivian’s board ultimately deemed the original performance goals as unrealistic, including a target that envisioned the stock hitting $295.

    The Tesla story is hard to replicate

    Much of Scaringe’s windfall hinges on the success of the new $45,000 R2 SUV and the smaller R3, which is expected to be priced in the mid-$30,000 range and has already generated significant consumer interest.

    Rivian faces a very different landscape than Tesla did during its early ascent. Tesla benefited from low interest rates, abundant capital, and an early-adopter boom in EV enthusiasm. Musk also rode a wave of unique tailwinds—from meme-stock mania to rapid early profitability and a cult-like following—that helped him meet some of the lofty targets in his famously controversial 2018 pay package.

    And a successful EV business is far from enough. Since reaching profitability in 2019, Tesla’s high stock price has been increasingly buoyed by optimism on its non-vehicle products, such as software and robotics.

    Rivian’s non-EV prospect is less clear and appears to be reliant on external partnerships. Earlier this year, the company formed a joint venture with Volkswagen Group to develop a scalable “software-defined vehicle” architecture, with winter testing of a reference vehicle planned for early 2026. This technology underpins the upcoming R2 and R3 lines, which Rivian hopes will move the company into more affordable, higher-volume segments.

    But Rivian’s financial picture remains strained. The company recently missed Wall Street earnings expectations, laid off 4.5 percent of its workforce in October, settled a $250 million lawsuit over R1 price hikes, and restructured top leadership. Although Scaringe is well-liked by Rivian owners, he lacks the cult-of-personality advantage Musk enjoys. Meanwhile, Rivian faces the same nationwide cooling in EV demand—exacerbated by cuts in EV tax credits—that is weighing on every major automaker.

    Rivian CEO’s $4.6B Pay Plan Mirrors Elon Musk’s—But Tesla’s Playbook Is Hard to Repeat

    Abigail Bassett

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  • California Startup Flies Military Version of Its Air Taxi for the First Time

    Just three months after announcing a partnership with defense contractor L3Harris, Joby Aviation flew the new hybrid version of its flying car concept that’s been repurposed for military use.

    The first flight of the turbine electric, autonomous vertical take-off and landing aircraft took place on November 7 at the company’s facility in Marina, California, Joby announced on Thursday. The California startup is known for developing all-electric air taxis for short, yet pricey, trips in places like Dubai and Saudi Arabia. Its new hybrid aircraft, however, is geared toward defense customers.

    “It’s imperative that we find ways to deliver new technology into the hands of American troops more quickly and cost-efficiently than we have in the past,” JoeBen Bevirt, CEO and founder of Joby, said in a statement.

    Prepare for takeoff

    The new aircraft builds on Joby’s existing technology for its air taxis, integrating a hybrid turbine powertrain with the company’s SuperPilot autonomous flight system. That way, the new aircraft is designed to carry heavier payloads and travel longer distances than the current battery-powered version.

    Through its partnership with L3Harris, Joby will also add sensors, surveillance, communications systems, and mission equipment onto the aircraft so that its vehicle can be repurposed for use by the military.

    “The magic of dual-use technology is that it creates value in both directions,” Bevirt said. “By building on our proven technology stack, our partners can rapidly deliver new capabilities for the Department of War while we benefit from advancing the maturity of our hybrid and autonomous systems.”

    Joby is hoping to cash in on a growing demand by the U.S. military for autonomous and hybrid aircraft. The company noted that the government has allocated roughly $9 billion in the 2026 budget to go toward developing next-generation aircraft.

    “The next generation of vertical lift technology enables long-range, crewed-uncrewed teaming for a range of missions,” Jon Rambeau, president of Integrated Mission Systems at L3Harris, said in a statement. “We share a vision with Joby to deliver urgently-required innovation by missionizing VTOL aircraft for defense applications.”

    Joby will continue to test its new aircraft on the ground and in flight, and the company is hoping to begin operational demonstrations with government customers by next year.

    Passant Rabie

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  • Trump’s Hatred of EVs Is Making Gas Cars More Expensive

    This story originally appeared on Mother Jones and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

    As President Donald Trump sees it, environmental regulations that attempt to improve efficiency and address climate change only make products more expensive and perform worse. He has long blamed efficiency regulations for his frustrations with things like toilets and showerheads. He began his second term in office to “unleash prosperity through deregulation.”

    But there’s at least one big way that American companies and households may end up paying more, not less, for the president’s anti-environment policy moves.

    If you’re in the market for a vehicle, you’ve probably noticed: Cars are getting more expensive. Kelley Blue Book reported that the average sticker price for a new car topped $50,000 for the first time in September.

    And they aren’t just getting more expensive to buy; cars are getting more expensive to own. For most Americans, gasoline is their single-largest energy expenditure, around $2,930 per household each year on average.

    While a more efficient dishwasher, light bulb, or faucet may have a higher sticker price up front—especially as manufacturers adjust to new rules—cars, appliances, solar panels, and electronics can more than pay for themselves with lower operating costs over their lifetimes. And Trump’s agenda of suddenly rolling back efficiency rules has simultaneously made it harder for many industries to do business while raising costs for ordinary Americans.

    No one knows this better than the US auto industry, which has whiplashed between competing environmental regulations for over a decade.

    President Barack Obama tightened vehicle efficiency and pollution standards. In his first term, Trump loosened them. President Joe Biden reinstated and strengthened them. Now Trump is reversing course again—leaving the $1.6 trillion US auto industry unsure what turn to take next.

    Regulation Whiplash

    In July, the Environmental Protection Agency began undoing a foundational legal basis that lets the agency limit climate pollution from cars. Without it, the EPA has far less power to require automakers to manufacture cleaner vehicles, which hampers efforts to reduce one of the single biggest sources of carbon emissions.

    Trump’s transportation secretary, Sean P. Duffy, said in a statement over the summer that these moves “will lower vehicle costs and ensure the American people can purchase the cars they want.”

    But in reality, the shift may have the opposite effect. That’s because when the rules change every few years, automakers struggle to meet existing benchmarks and can’t plan ahead. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group representing companies like Ford, Toyota, and Volkswagen, sent a letter to the EPA in September saying that the administration’s moves and the repeal of incentives for electric cars mean that the current car pollution rules established under Biden and stretching out to 2027 “are simply not achievable.” The Trump administration responded by zeroing out any penalties for violations—but the industry is already planning for a post-Trump world where rules could drastically change yet again.

    Because it takes years and billions of dollars to develop new cars that comply with stricter rules, carmakers would prefer if regulations stayed put one way or the other. Every rule change adds time and expense to the development lifecycle, which ultimately gets baked into a car’s price tag.

    Changing rules are also vexing for electric car makers, whose models are gaining traction both in the US and around the world, even as the Trump administration has ended tax incentives for EVs. Trump is making things even more difficult by pulling support for domestic battery production that would help US car companies build electric cars.

    It all adds up to a huge headache for the industry. “Particularly in the last six months, I think ‘chaos’ is a good word because they’re getting hit from every angle,” said David Cooke, senior associate director at the Center for Automotive Research at Ohio State University.

    And all that uncertainty is making cars more expensive to buy and run, with even more expensive long-term consequences for people’s health and the environment.

    How Trump’s Policies Are Costing Drivers More

    As the government relaxes efficiency targets, progress will stall and car buyers will get stuck with cars that cost more to operate.

    Energy Innovation, a think tank, found that repealing tailpipe standards could cost households an extra $310 billion by 2050, mainly through more spending on gasoline. Undoing the standards would also increase air pollution and shrink the job market for US electric vehicle manufacturing due to lower demand.

    The EPA’s fuel mileage rating of a large SUV.

    Photograph: D. Lentz/Getty Images/iStockphoto

    Even the Trump administration’s own analysis of the effects of undoing the EPA’s greenhouse-gas emission regulations found that his moves would drive up gasoline prices due to more fuel consumption from less efficient vehicles.

    “Repealing these standards in particular would set America back decades,” said Sara Baldwin, senior director for electrification at Energy Innovation.

    Umair Irfan

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  • Why Are We All Still Carrying Around Car Keys?

    My iPhone Wallet stores theater and transit tickets and all of my credit and debit cards, and it lets me sashay like a boss through my gym’s turnstile. The tech works flawlessly, requiring only my proximity or the merest tilt of the device toward my face. Biometric goodness means I have few worries about security, even accessing my bank accounts.

    So … why am I still opening my EV with a key?

    OK, it’s more than just a metal key; it’s a passive electronic fob with proximity-based radio signaling, which means I don’t have to press anything to unlock my car. But it’s nevertheless a bacteria-rich, easily lost, marque-branded plastic blob that, in truth, I no longer need. And I haven’t needed it for some years.

    BMW 5 Series owners have been using smartphones to unlock, start, and digitally share access to their luxury vehicles since 2021, the year after Apple’s introduced its plainly titled Car Key. Audi, Kia, and Hyundai later implemented support for ‌the feature. During the WWDC 2025 keynote in June, Apple said that 13 additional vehicle brands would “soon” join them, including Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, and Porsche. “Soon” appears to mean 2026.

    Tesla Model 3 owners have had digital key access since 2017, when the midsize sedan launched without a fob; it could only be opened with a smartphone. Subsequently, digital-native carmakers Rivian and Polestar also enabled digital key use. (“Digital Key has been removed from the upcoming 2025.34 software update for further testing,” noted a recent update from Rivian. The company’s comms team tells WIRED it’ll be available again “soon.”)

    Owners of the latest high-end Ford vehicles can use digital keys. Still, the Dearborn, Michigan, company clearly isn’t ready to ditch fobs—in October it launched the $200 Truckle, an ornate Western-style belt buckle with a cavity to fit the oversized F-150 fob, so it need never get lost or spoil the line of your jeans.

    Courtesy of Ford

    Digital for All

    Phone-as-a-key functionality isn’t just for select luxury cars. The wire-in MoboKey device turns a smartphone into a digital key and can be fitted by an auto electrician to almost any modern car, gas or electric.

    Similarly, KeyDIY, a Chinese smart key maker, sells a USB-powered box of tricks that allows almost any car to operate with a digital key. The box grabs car connectivity signals–Flipper-Zero-style–emulating the rolling codes that key fobs use to foil signal boosting “relay” attacks where criminals use antennas and extenders to capture the signals from a car’s key fob. (Always store your fob in a Faraday cage.) KeyDIY’s box, which lives in the car, is actuated by a device connected momentarily to the vehicle’s onboard diagnostic port.

    The Key to Meaning

    In short, the picture here is that digital key tech is mature and (mostly) secure, and we’re perfectly happy using Bluetooth Low Energy, near-field communication (NFC), and ultra-wideband (UWB) in the rest of our life—unless you’re a conspiracy theorist who clings to cash, that is—so why are so many of us still seemingly so attached to our physical car fobs?

    “Most people are reluctant to go without the physical backup of an actual key,” says Sean Tucker, managing editor of automotive research company Kelley Blue Book. And, he adds, picking up a fob is now an ingrained habit. There are also emotional factors to consider.

    “A car key is full of meaning,” says Stefan Gössling, a professor at Linnaeus University, Sweden, and author of The Psychology of the Car. “Jingling them gives some motorists the opportunity to show off their automobile, even if the car is not close by. Car keys are also comforting to some, a physical reminder that your vehicle is there to take you away; to protect you.”

    Carlton Reid

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  • Toyota’s Hybrid-First EV Strategy Pays Off Even as Tariffs Bite Into Profit

    Koji Sato, CEO of Toyota Group, speaks at a press briefing during the Japan Mobility Show 2025 on Oct. 29, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. Zhang Xiaoming/VCG via Getty Images

    Toyota has long been criticized for its cautious embrace of electric vehicles. But amid slowing demand, tariffs and the phase-out of tax incentives, the world’s largest automaker’s deliberate approach looks increasingly like a smart hedge.

    The Japanese automaker reported yesterday (Nov. 5) that it sold 4.78 million vehicles globally between April and September, up 12 percent from the same period last year. That included 2.27 million hybrid electric vehicles, a record high. Still, U.S. tariffs took a toll: operating income fell by $3.3 billion from a year ago to $12.5 billion for the fiscal half-year.

    Despite those geopolitical headwinds, demand for Toyota’s reliable passenger cars remains robust. CFO Kenta Kon told investors the company is struggling to keep up with demand, saying it can “barely cover the demand.” According to Kelley Blue Book, dealers typically aim to hold about 60 days of inventory on their lots. Toyota’s U.S. inventory, by contrast, is hovering around 30 days.

    Toyota has long been hesitant to fully commit to battery-electric vehicles, but the company is a leader in the hybrid vehicle space, touting its more conservative, balanced approach to electrification as the right path forward. Battery-electric vehicles are only a sliver of Toyota’s global mix (just 1.4 percent of total sales in 2024). The long-term risk, of course, is that markets like Europe and China, which are racing toward a fully electric future, could leave Toyota lagging behind. 

    The company’s best-selling model, the RAV4, will be offered only as a hybrid or plug-in hybrid beginning in 2026. Retooling factories for the new powertrains will require temporary shutdowns, potentially tightening supply even further. A slimmer dealer inventory could also push up vehicle prices for U.S. consumers in early 2026.

    Toyota’s small steps toward software-driven cars

    The next-generation RAV4 also marks another turning point: it will be Toyota’s first software-defined vehicle (SDV). While startups like Tesla and Rivian built their cars around software from the start, Toyota’s move represents a major step into that domain. The new RAV4 will feature Arene, a Woven by Toyota software platform enabling over-the-air (OTA) updates—an early signal of Toyota’s digital ambitions and a reminder of how far it still has to go.

    In typical Toyota fashion, the rollout is cautious. The 2026 RAV4 will debut features that rivals have offered for years, such as a smartphone-like cockpit interface, conversational voice commands and OTA updates. But those updates will be limited to ADAS systems and cockpit displays, not the deeper vehicle functions that Tesla, Lucid and others regularly tweak via software. The strategy underscores Toyota’s effort to catch up with competitors, especially those in China, which have already made software a core part of their vehicles.

    Toyota now finds itself straddling two eras of the auto industry: one built on mechanical excellence and another driven by software, connectivity and climate regulations. Its hybrid-first strategy has cushioned profits as global EV momentum slows and tariffs rise. But the clock is ticking. If Toyota can extend its hybrid playbook into the software-defined, electrified era it’s hinting at with the new RAV4, it may retain its crown. If not, the conservative approach that once protected it could soon become its greatest liability.

    Toyota’s Hybrid-First EV Strategy Pays Off Even as Tariffs Bite Into Profit

    Abigail Bassett

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  • Tesla Shareholders Approve Elon Musk’s $1 Trillion Pay Package

    On Thursday, Tesla shareholders approved an unprecedented $1 trillion pay package for CEO Elon Musk. The full compensation plan will go into effect by 2035—assuming Musk and the company successfully hit ambitious financial and production targets. If that happens, Musk will also get control of some 25 percent of the business, up from the 12 percent he controls currently. More than 75 percent of Tesla shareholders approved the move in a preliminary vote.

    Musk celebrated the news onstage at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, appearing alongside two dancing humanoid robots, the company’s Optimus products. “Look at us, this is sick,” he said.

    To meet its goals, however, Tesla will have to lead in industries well beyond electric cars—and guarantee that Optimus can do much more than dance. It will also have to beat all competitors in autonomous driving technology and robotics. “Tesla will have to be the market leader not just in the US but also Europe and other regions,” says Seth Goldstein, a senior equity analyst at Morningstar, a financial services firm.

    Specifically, Tesla needs to hit an$8.5 trillion valuation over the next 10 years, deliver 20 million vehicles to customers, send out 1 million robots, operate 1 million robotaxis, and sell 10 million subscriptions for its “Full Self-Driving” software over a three-month period—in addition to other financial targets.

    Still, the vote marks a win for Musk, whose previous package, a $50 billion payday laid out in 2018, has been caught up in litigation after a shareholder alleged that the CEO had too much influence over the company’s board and that Tesla was therefore failing to uphold its legal obligations to shareholders. The lawsuit, brought in Delaware’s Chancery Court, led to Tesla reincorporating in Texas. A panel of judges heard the case on appeal in October; they’ll likely make a final decision in the coming months.

    Before the vote, Tesla’s board argued the sky-high pay package was necessary to retain Musk as CEO—and keep him focused on the car company. In a call with investors last month, Musk suggested that he would have a hard time pushing Tesla ahead in robotics and autonomy if he didn’t have a strong sway over the automaker. “If we build this robot army, do I have at least a strong influence over this robot army?” he asked. “I don’t feel comfortable building that robot army unless I have a strong influence.”

    Following Thursday’s vote, Musk told investors gathered in Texas that production of the Cybercab, a self-driving vehicle that lacks a steering wheel or sideview mirrors, would begin in April. The company will need permission from the federal government to put the unconventionally designed car on the road.

    Aarian Marshall

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  • Yale Study Quantifies How Much Elon Musk’s Politics Have Cost Tesla

    Tesla’s fading momentum may have less to do with its cars and more with its CEO’s politics. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

    How did Tesla go from the world’s fastest-growing automaker to a company beleaguered by slowing sales and shrinking market share? According to a team of Yale researchers, the answer lies in the polarizing and partisan behavior of CEO Elon Musk.

    Sure, Tesla has faced headwinds from aging models, rising competition, and a saturated customer base. But an analysis of county-level data shows that its declining demand is also linked to Musk’s increasingly political actions. The study’s authors estimate that Tesla would have sold between 1 million to 1.26 million more cars in recent years without what they call the “Musk partisan effect.”

    During the most recent quarter, Tesla’s profit plunged 37 percent year-over-year. Revenue fell for two consecutive quarters this year. (The most recent quarter saw a rebound thanks to tax credits-fueled buying rush.)

    The Yale researchers argue that much of Tesla’s decline stems from the alienation of its traditional consumer base. Drawing on vehicle registration data from S&P Global and county-level voting records, they found that Tesla’s customer base has long leaned Democratic and environmentally conscious.

    That began to change in 2022, when Musk acquired X and rolled back content moderation policies. The shift deepened amid his involvement in the 2024 U.S. presidential election and his subsequent appointment as head of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). “Musk’s actions antagonized his most loyal customer base,” the authors wrote.

    The trend has only grown more pronounced. Between October 2022 and April 2025, Musk’s partisan behavior caused Tesla to lose between 67 percent and 83 percent of its potential car sales, according to the study. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, that figure jumped to 150 percent.

    Musk himself has acknowledged the backlash. During an April earnings call, he said his DOGE role had led to “blowback” and announced plans to scale back his time with the agency to refocus on Tesla.

    The fallout hasn’t even benefited Tesla’s competitors. The study found that, absent Musk’s partisan behavior, sales of other EV and hybrid models would have been 17 to 22 percent lower over the past three years and 25 percent lower in early 2025, suggesting his actions helped rival automakers.

    Musk’s controversies have also had unintended policy consequences, the researchers noted. In California, which aims for zero-emission vehicles to make up 25 percent of new sales by 2026, 68 percent by 2030, and 100 percent by 2035, progress has stalled. The study estimates that without Musk’s partisan impact, California would have added 139,700 more EV sales in the first quarter of 2025. The reality is that California fell short by 28,000 vehicles in that quarter to stay on track.

    This study highlights just how impactful a CEO’s partisan actions can be,” the authors concluded.

    Yale Study Quantifies How Much Elon Musk’s Politics Have Cost Tesla

    Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly

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  • Tesla investors set to vote on Elon Musk’s proposed $1 trillion pay package

    Tesla shareholders are voting this week on whether to award CEO Elon Musk a new pay package potentially worth up to $1 trillion over a decade, with some prominent investors in the electric car maker criticizing the compensation plan. 

    Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, which holds a stake in Tesla, on Tuesday said it would vote against the pay package.

    “While we appreciate the significant value created under Mr. Musk’s visionary role, we are concerned about the total size of the award, dilution and lack of mitigation of key person risk consistent with our views on executive compensation,” said Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages the country’s government pension fund. 

    The fund has a 1.16% stake in Tesla, the sixth-largest holding among institutional investors.

    Another investor, Baron Capital Management, said Monday that it would vote in favor of the package.

    Musk “has built one of the most important companies in the world,” wrote Ron Baron, founder of the asset management firm. “He’s redefining transportation, energy and humanoid robotics and creating lasting value for shareholders while doing it. His interests are completely aligned with investors.”

    Musk is the world’s richest person, with Bloomberg estimating his wealth at $477 billion. 

    Tesla’s board of directors introduced the proposed pay package in early September. Musk, who controls nearly 16% of Tesla’s outstanding shares, would also receive more voting power under the plan. In a Sept. 5 regulatory filing, the board described the proposed compensation package as an “ambitious plan to retain and incentivize Mr. Musk through the issuance of a highly customized, performance-based restricted stock award.” 

    Tesla would be required to hit certain financial and operational milestones for Musk to earn the full pay package. Those include the company reaching a market capitalization of at least $8.5 trillion; delivering 20 million vehicles; producing 1 million self-driving “robotaxis”; and manufacturing 1 million of the company’s humanoid robots, dubbed Optimus, which are currently under development.

    Robyn Denholm, chairperson of the Tesla board, warned investors last week that Musk could leave the company if shareholders reject the enhanced pay proposal. 

    “If we fail to foster an environment that motivates Elon to achieve great things through an equitable pay-for-performance plan, we run the risk that he gives up his executive position, and Tesla may lose his time, talent and vision, which have been essential to delivering extraordinary shareholder returns,” Denholm wrote in a letter to shareholders posted on social media.

    Edited by

    Alain Sherter

    The Associated Press

    contributed to this report.

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  • The EV Battery Tech That’s Worth the Hype, According to Experts

    You’ve seen the headlines: This battery breakthrough is going to change the electric vehicle forever. And then … silence. You head to the local showroom, and the cars all kind of look and feel the same.

    WIRED got annoyed about this phenomenon. So we talked to battery technology experts about what’s really going on in electric vehicle batteries. Which technologies are here? Which will be, probably, but aren’t yet, so don’t hold your breath? What’s probably not coming anytime soon?

    “It’s easy to get excited about these things, because batteries are so complex,” says Pranav Jaswani, a technology analyst at IDTechEx, a market intelligence firm. “Many little things are going to have such a big effect.” That’s why so many companies, including automakers, their suppliers, and battery-makers, are experimenting with so many bit parts of the battery. Swap one electrical conductor material for another, and an electric vehicle battery’s range might increase by 50 miles. Rejigger how battery packs are put together, and an automaker might bring down manufacturing costs enough to give consumers a break on the sales lot.

    Still, experts say, it can take a long time to get even small tweaks into production cars—sometimes 10 years or more. “Obviously, we want to make sure that whatever we put in an EV works well and it passes safety standards,” says Evelina Stoikou, who leads the battery technology and supply chain team at BloombergNEF, a research firm. Ensuring that means scientists coming up with new ideas, and suppliers figuring out how to execute them; the automakers, in turn, rigorously test each iteration. All the while, everyone’s asking the most important question: Does this improvement make financial sense?

    So it’s only logical that not every breakthrough in the lab makes it to the road. Here are the ones that really count—and the ones that haven’t quite panned out, at least so far.

    It’s Really Happening

    The big deal battery breakthroughs all have something in common: They’re related to the lithium-ion battery. Other battery chemistries are out there—more on them later—but in the next decade, it’s going to be hard to catch up with the dominant battery form. “Lithium-ion is already very mature,” says Stoikou. Lots of players have invested big money in the technology, so “any new one is going to have to compete with the status quo.”

    Lithium Iron Phosphate

    Why it’s exciting: LFP batteries use iron and phosphate instead of pricier and harder-to-source nickel and cobalt, which are found in conventional lithium-ion batteries. They’re also more stable and slower to degrade after multiple charges. The upshot: LFP batteries can help bring down the cost of manufacturing an EV, an especially important data point while Western electrics struggle to compete, cost-wise, with conventional gas-powered cars. LFP batteries are already common in China, and they’re set to become more popular in European and American electric vehicles in the coming years.

    Why it’s hard: LFP is less energy dense than alternatives, meaning you can’t pack as much charge—or range—into each battery.

    More Nickel

    Why it’s exciting: The increased nickel content in lithium nickel manganese cobalt batteries ups the energy density, meaning more range in a battery pack without much more size or weight. Also, more nickel can mean less cobalt, a metal that’s both expensive and ethically dubious to obtain.

    Why it’s hard: Batteries with higher nickel content are potentially less stable, which means they carry a higher risk of cracking or thermal runaway—fires. This means battery-makers experimenting with different nickel content have to spend more time and energy on the careful design of their products. That extra fussiness means more expense. For this reason, expect to see more nickel use in batteries for higher-end EVs.

    Dry Electrode Process

    Why it’s exciting: Usually, battery electrodes are made by mixing materials into a solvent slurry, which then is applied to a metal current collector foil, dried, and pressed. The dry electrode process cuts down on the solvents by mixing the materials in dry powder form before application and lamination. Less solvent means fewer environmental and health and safety concerns. And getting rid of the drying process can save production time—and up efficiency—while reducing the physical footprint needed to manufacture batteries. This all can lead to cheaper manufacturing, “which should trickle down to make a cheaper car,” says Jaswani. Tesla has already incorporated a dry anode process into its battery-making. (The anode is the negative electrode that stores lithium ions while a battery is charging.) LG and Samsung SGI are also working on pilot production lines.

    Why it’s hard: Using dry powders can be more technically complicated.

    Cell-to-Pack

    Why it’s exciting: In your standard electric vehicle battery, individual battery cells get grouped into modules, which are then assembled into packs. Not so in cell-to-pack, which puts cells directly into a pack structure without the middle module step. This lets battery-makers fit more battery into the same space, and can lead to some 50 additional miles of range and higher top speeds, says Jaswani. It also brings down manufacturing costs, savings that can be passed down to the car buyer. Big-time automakers including Tesla and BYD, plus Chinese battery giant CATL, are already using the tech.

    Why it’s hard: Without modules, it can be harder to control thermal runaway and maintain the battery pack’s structure. Plus, cell-to-pack makes replacing a faulty battery cell much harder, which means smaller flaws can require opening or even replacing the entire pack.

    Silicon Anodes

    Why it’s exciting: Lithium-ion batteries have graphite anodes. Adding silicon to the mix, though, could have huge upsides: more energy storage (meaning longer driving ranges) and faster charging, potentially down to a blazing six to 10 minutes to top up. Tesla already mixes a bit of silicon into its graphite anodes, and other automakers—Mercedes-Benz, General Motors—say they’re getting close to mass production.

    Why it’s hard: Silicon alloyed with lithium expands and contracts as it goes through the charging and discharging cycle, which can cause mechanical stress and even fracturing. Over time, this can lead to more dramatic battery capacity losses. For now, you’re more likely to find silicon anodes in smaller batteries, like those in phones or even motorcycles.

    It’s Kind of Happening

    The battery tech in the more speculative bucket has undergone plenty of testing. But it’s still not quite at a place where most manufacturers are building production lines and putting it into cars.

    Sodium-Ion Batteries

    Why it’s exciting: Sodium—it’s everywhere! Compared to lithium, the element is cheaper and easier to find and process, which means tracking down the materials to build sodium-ion batteries could give automakers a supply chain break. The batteries also seem to perform better in extreme temperatures, and are more stable. Chinese battery-maker CATL says it will start mass production of the batteries next year and that the batteries could eventually cover 40 percent of the Chinese passenger-vehicle market.

    Why it’s hard: Sodium ions are heavier than their lithium counterparts, so they generally store less energy per battery pack. That could make them a better fit for battery storage than for vehicles. It’s also early days for this tech, which means fewer suppliers and fewer time-tested manufacturing processes.

    Solid State Batteries

    Why it’s exciting: Automakers have been promising for years that groundbreaking solid state batteries are right around the corner. That would be great, if true. This tech subs the liquid or gel electrolytes in a conventional li-ion battery for a solid electrolyte. These electrolytes should come in different chemistries, but they all have some big advantages: more energy density, faster charging, more durability, fewer safety risks (no liquid electrolyte means no leaks). Toyota says it will finally launch its first vehicles with solid state batteries in 2027 or 2028. BloombergNEF projects that by 2035, solid state batteries will account for 10 percent of EV and storage production.

    Why it’s hard: Some solid electrolytes have a hard time at low temperatures. The biggest issues, however, have to do with manufacturing. Putting together these new batteries requires new equipment. It’s really hard to build defect-free layers of electrolyte. And the industry hasn’t come to an agreement about which solid electrolyte to use, which makes it hard to create supply chains.

    Maybe It’ll Happen

    Good ideas don’t always make a ton of sense in the real world.

    Wireless Charging

    Why it’s exciting: Park your car, get out, and have it charge up while you wait—no plugs required. Wireless charging could be the peak of convenience, and some automakers insist it’s coming. Porsche, for example, is showing off a prototype, with plans to roll out the real thing next year.

    Why it’s hard: The issue, says Jaswani, is that the tech underlying the chargers we have right now works perfectly well and is much cheaper to install. He expects that eventually, wireless charging will show up in some restricted use cases—maybe in buses, for example, that could charge up throughout their routes if they stop on top of a charging pad. But this tech may never go truly mainstream, he says.

    Aarian Marshall

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  • Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe on the Carmaker’s High-Stakes Return to Formula 1

    Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe says the company’s 2026 Formula 1 comeback reflects a broader strategy linking performance, EVs and brand power. Jay Hirano/Honda Global

    Honda has moved in and out of Formula 1 multiple times over the past 60 years, depending on the state of business. “Business is going good sometimes, and going bad sometimes,” Honda Global CEO Toshihiro Mibe told a roundtable of reporters, including Observer, in Mexico City last week, ahead of the F1 World Championship Grand Prix. “So, sometimes we quit [racing] to focus on the core business,” he said through a translator.

    Next year, Honda will return to F1 as a standalone team in 2026, as F1 grows in global popularity and the Japanese auto giant navigates shifting consumer appetite for EVs, hybrids and internal combustion engine vehicles. As F1 grows in global popularity as the world’s most elite and expensive racing series, Honda’s comeback isn’t just about chasing podiums. It’s a calculated business move to merge performance, electrification, and brand relevance at a time when both automakers and consumers are redefining innovation.

    Honda’s approach to racing has always centered on building brand recognition. The company began its racing journey with motorcycles in the 1960s, when founder Soichiro Honda believed that entering F1 was the only way for the small Japanese carmaker to be taken seriously on the global stage. At the time, Honda had barely begun building cars—let alone the powerful machines needed for F1.

    Honda won its first F1 race in 1965 with the RA272, a car it brought back to Mexico City last week to commemorate the 60th anniversary of that victory. Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda took on the challenge of driving the vintage F1 car around Mexico’s 2.5-mile track ahead of the race on Oct. 26. Though the car stalled twice and needed a push out of the pits, it was a sight to behold.

    In the 1980s, Honda established the Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) to focus on motorcycle racing and prove its engineering prowess. Its racing technology eventually trickled down to consumer bikes. In 2022, HRC absorbed Honda’s four-wheel racing programs, including IndyCar and F1, to “provide some stability” for car racing and investment, said Mibe.

    Honda officially exited F1 at the end of the 2021 season to focus on EV development. But the company is now preparing a full-scale return in 2026 as the power unit supplier to the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team.

    “The reason we decided to participate in F1 is that our business is concentrated in North America, and because of Netflix, F1 has taken off,” Mibe said. “With the new homoglation, and our strong relationship between F1 and the U.S., we can use that for our business.”

    Honda’s largest market is the U.S., where it holds roughly 9 percent of the automobile market. This week, American Honda reported strong October sales, with total U.S. deliveries up 3.6 percent year-over-year. Growth was driven by demand for internal combustion vehicles, including the Accord and Passport, as well as electrified models like the popular CR-V hybrid. Notably, Honda sold a record 30,471 electric cars in October.

    A group of people surrounding a vintage Honda race car.A group of people surrounding a vintage Honda race car.
    The Honda RA272 at the Formula 1 World Championship Grand Prix. Jay Hirano/Honda Global

    The race track is a sandbox for new tech

    Racing has always been a proving ground for automakers to push the limits of technology. F1, known for its blistering speed, high thermal loads and extreme engineering precision, is an ideal environment to test advancements in everything from batteries to engines.

    The demands of F1—extreme acceleration, punishing temperatures, and ultra-efficient energy recovery—push performance, packaging and durability to levels far beyond what consumers experience. Yet, many of those lessons eventually find their way into everyday vehicles.

    Honda’s decision to return to F1 was driven in part by upcoming regulation changes, said Ikuo Takeishi, general manager of HRC’s automobile racing division. Beginning in 2026, all F1 power units must be 50 percent electric and 50 percent internal combustion, powered by sustainable fuel. That balance aligns with Honda’s long-standing focus on hybrid and battery technologies. At the same time, it underscores how Honda, like many major automakers, continues to rely on internal combustion technology amid headwinds for EVs and shifting consumer preferences.

    “The technology we’re using in F1 won’t show up directly in consumer cars,” Takeishi said. “But much of what we learn on the track can show up in consumer cars,” he added, citing improvements in battery technology and efficiency gains from high-powered magnets.

    Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe on the Carmaker’s High-Stakes Return to Formula 1

    Abigail Bassett

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  • Rivian’s CFO hints the end of EV tax credits means manufacturers are being forced to finally make more affordable electric cars | Fortune

    As the EV market enters choppy waters, legacy automakers are pulling back on electrification plans, delaying EV launches, and cutting production at EV plants.

    That’s not an option for pure-play EV makers like Rivian. Instead, the Irvine, California-based manufacturer has its sights set firmly on the launch next year of its second-generation product: a midsize SUV called the R2 that’ll start at $45,000.

    “One of our core strategies and approaches to offset some of the impacts of the…elimination of some of the credits for consumers is to bring a product to market that opens up the addressable market of consumers that can now say yes to a Rivian,” Claire McDonough, Rivian’s CFO, said during a Reuters automotive conference in Detroit on Wednesday.

    Goodbye, tax credits: President Donald Trump’s tax and budget bill ended tax credits of up to $7,500 on eligible EV purchases as of Sept. 30, and EV demand is expected to cool without federal incentives. Rivian recently cut 4.5% of its workforce, or about 600 workers, The Wall Street Journal reported.

    “With the changing operating backdrop, we had to rethink how we are scaling our go-to-market functions,” CEO RJ Scaringe wrote to employees, per the WSJ.

    Pricing starts above $70,000 for the EV maker’s current passenger vehicles.

    “It meant that we needed to reduce our costs in our vehicle roadmap,” McDonough said of the end of the EV tax credits. “And the key strategy for us is to bring to market a more mass-market-priced product, which is coming out next year.”

    R2: Rivian employees have been building R2 prototypes in California, and the vehicle is now going through various validation and durability tests, McDonough said. The manufacturer has added a 1.1 million-square-foot expansion to its Normal, Illinois, plant to support R2 production. The company remains “on track” to launch production in the first half of next year, according to McDonough.

    “As we look at R2, that’s where we’re opening up a much larger aperture of potential new customers into the brand and business,” McDonough told reporters at an earlier event. “We’re really excited about the opportunity to take younger consumers, older consumers that don’t necessarily need a three-row SUV, for example.”

    The Illinois plant delivered just over 50,000 R1 units last year. With R2, the capacity of the plant can go up to 215,000 units annually. And Rivian plans to break ground on a new plant in Georgia next year to support production of the R2 and the future R3.

    “You’ll see additional savings as we reduce and spread our overhead and cost across a much larger volume of products,” McDonough said.

    As for Rivian’s path to profitability, McDonough noted cost savings derived from the launch of the second-generation R1 last year, and said the company will achieve further reductions with the R2.

    Rivian employees were able to cut the material costs in half compared to R1, and to reduce manufacturing costs via scale and design efficiencies. McDonough also pointed to opportunities to raise awareness of the brand with the introduction of R2, for a company that she acknowledged is “not yet a household name.”

    Execs also see opportunities to advance the company’s autonomous features with the R2, which will feature in-house-designed cameras.

    “That allows us to have a closed, end-to-end data loop, and being vertically integrated across our software stack, across the hardware design of the product, and then the buildout of our large driving model as well, which is an in-house neural net that’s capturing data from our customer fleet over time,” McDonough said. “R2 is also really important for Rivian as we think about the continued progress of our autonomous growth, given the proliferation of our car park with a product like R2.”

    This report was originally published by Tech Brew.

    Jordyn Grzelewski, Tech Brew

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  • SCCC breaks ground on auto training center | Long Island Business News

    THE BLUEPRINT:

    • SCCC opens groundbreaking for 38,000 sq. ft. automotive center in Brentwood.

    • Empire Automotive Group partners with SCCC through naming agreement.

    • Facility features advanced labs, hybrid/electric vehicle tech, and simulation areas.

    • Program aims to strengthen Long Island’s skilled automotive workforce pipeline.

    Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for its 38,000-square-foot Automotive Technology Training Center on the Michael J. Grant Campus in Brentwood.

    The college and the Suffolk Community College Foundation have entered into a naming agreement with Empire Automotive Group, a Long Island–based company recognized for its commitment to workforce development and community engagement. Financial terms of the naming agreement were not disclosed.

    With the new facility, the college will expand its automotive program capacity with the goal of strengthening Long Island’s pipeline of skilled automotive technicians.

    “The college and our foundation are delighted to partner with Empire Automotive Group in order to advance and enhance our automotive technology training program,” Edward Bonahue, SCCC president, said in a news release about the groundbreaking. “Today, we join with our student body and over 145,000 alumni to extend our gratitude and sincere thanks to Michael Brown, president and CEO of Empire Automotive Group, for this generous naming gift.”

    Brown said in the news release that “the future of automotive technology depends on highly skilled technicians. We’re proud to partner with the college to help create a workforce that will drive Long Island’s automotive industry forward.”

    The facility will feature advanced classrooms, training labs, workshops and simulation areas outfitted with the latest vehicles, diagnostic equipment, and hybrid and electric vehicle technology. Students will receive instruction from industry professionals and gain hands-on experience with modern automotive systems.

    More than 100  elected officials, industry partners and community members attended the event, showing support for the program’s expansion and oppportunities for graduates.

    SCCC will continue its existing automotive program on the Ammerman Campus in Selden, with both facilities providing training opportunities. The college’s programs are accredited by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence Education Foundation, preparing students for employment in dealerships, franchise shops and independent repair facilities.

     

     


    Adina Genn

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  • Study finds EVs quickly overcome their energy-intensive build to be cleaner than gas cars

    DETROIT — Making electric vehicles and their batteries is a dirty process that uses a lot of energy. But a new study says that EVs quickly make up for that with less overall emissions through two years of use than a gas-powered vehicle.

    The study also estimated that gas-powered vehicles cause at least twice as much environmental damage over their lifetimes as EVs, and said the benefits of EVs can be expected to increase in coming decades as clean sources of power, such as solar and wind, are brought onto the grid.

    The work by researchers from Northern Arizona University and Duke University, published Wednesday in the journal PLOS Climate, offers insight into a transportation sector that makes up a big part of U.S. emissions. It also comes as some EV skeptics have raised concerns about whether the environmental impact of battery production, including mining, makes it worthwhile to switch to electric.

    “While there is a bigger carbon footprint in the very short term because of the manufacturing process in creating the batteries for electric vehicles, very quickly you come out ahead in CO2 emissions by year three and then for all of the rest of the vehicle lifetime, you’re far ahead and so cumulatively much lower carbon footprint,” said Drew Shindell, an earth science professor at Duke University and study co-author.

    The researchers evaluated several harmful air pollutants monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as emissions data, to compare the relative impact over time of EVs and internal combustion engines on air quality and climate change.

    Their analysis said that EVs produce 30% higher carbon dioxide emissions than gasoline vehicles in their first two years. That can be attributed to the energy-intensive production and manufacturing processes involved in mining lithium for EV batteries.

    They also sought to account for how the U.S. energy system might develop in coming years, assuming growth in clean energy. And they modeled four different scenarios for EV adoption, ranging from the lowest — a 31% share of vehicle sales — to the highest, 75% of sales, by 2050. (EV sales accounted for about 8% of new vehicle sales in the U.S. in 2024.)

    The researchers said the average of those four models found that for each additional kilowatt hour of lithium-ion battery output, carbon dioxide emissions drop by an average of 220 kilograms (485 pounds) in 2030, and another 127 kilograms (280 pounds) in 2050.

    The consistent decrease in CO2 emissions from EVs is “not only driven by the on-road vehicles, but also reduction that has been brought due to electricity production,” said lead author Pankaj Sadavarte, a postdoctoral researcher at Northern Arizona University.

    Greg Keoleian, a University of Michigan professor of sustainable systems who wasn’t involved in the research, called it a “valuable study” that echoes other findings and “confirms the environmental and economic benefits” of EVs.

    “Accelerating the adoption of battery electric vehicles is a key strategy for decarbonizing the transportation sector which will reduce future damages and costs of climate change,” he said.

    Shindell, the Duke researcher, said the grid will evolve to have more solar and wind power.

    “When you add a bunch of electric vehicles, nobody’s going to build new coal-fired power plants to run these things because coal is really expensive compared to renewables,” he said. “So the grid just overall becomes much cleaner in both the terms of carbon emissions for climate change, and for air pollution.”

    Outside experts agreed — as long as the policy landscape supports it. That hasn’t been the case under President Donald Trump, who has worked to boost fossil fuels and restrain solar and wind power development.

    “The great news is the rest of the world isn’t slowing down in terms of its embrace of this technology,” said Ellen Kennedy, principal for carbon-free transportation at RMI, a clean energy nonprofit. As for the U.S., she said, “I think it’s important to keep in mind states and local governments, there’s a lot that’s happening on those fronts.”

    One thing the study didn’t address was recycling or disposal of batteries at the end of their life. Kennedy said battery recycling will improve, helping to address one of the environmental impacts of their production.

    The study comes at a notable time given the challenges that EVs face in the U.S.

    EVs have seen more interest in recent years as an alternative to gas-powered cars and trucks — particularly as they become more affordable and charging infrastructure becomes more available.

    But growth has slowed amid shifting federal policy toward EVs and an industry step back from ambitious EV production promises.

    Former President Joe Biden set a target for 50% of all new vehicle sales in the U.S. to be electric by 2030. But Trump reversed that policy, and Congress has terminated federal tax credits for an EV purchase. The administration has also targeted vehicle pollution rules that would encourage greater uptake of EVs in the U.S., and the president has attempted to halt a nationwide EV charging buildout.

    “The study is important to show how really misguided the current administration’s policies are,” Shindell said. “If we want to protect us from climate change and from the very clear and local damage from poor air quality, this is a really clear way to do it: Incentivize the switch from internal combustion engines to EVs.”

    ___

    Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate reporter. Follow her on X: @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ast.john@ap.org.

    ___

    Read more of AP’s climate coverage.

    ___

    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • Elon Musk’s “polarizing and partisan actions” hurt Tesla sales, Yale study finds

    Elon Musk is widely recognized as an electric car pioneer. Yet the Tesla CEO has also single-handedly chilled the automaker’s sales, according to a recent study by researchers at Yale University.

    Public controversy over Musk’s role as leader of the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), as well as his acquisition of social media platform Twitter (now known as X) in 2022, reduced Tesla’s sales by up to 1.2 million vehicles over a three-year period, the researchers estimated in a working paper published this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research that aimed to measure the effect of Musk’s politics on Tesla’s business. 

    “This study highlights just how impactful a CEO’s partisan actions can be,” the researchers wrote. “We show that Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest person and CEO of the most valuable automaker by market capitalization, had a dramatic effect on Tesla sales due to his politically partisan activities unrelated to Tesla’s core business.”

    Musk’s adverse impact on Tesla’s business became visible starting in mid-2022, with sales especially dropping in Democratic-leaning states and counties, the study further concludes. 

    “Musk’s actions antagonized his most loyal customer base, for, as we show, Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to purchase a Tesla,” the researchers said. 

    The study’s lead author is energy and environmental economist Kenneth Gillingham, who is the senior associate dean of academic affairs at the Yale School of the Environment. His research focuses on consumer behavior and policy in the transportation and energy sectors. 

    Musk announced in May that he was pulling back from DOGE, which the Trump administration formed to shrink the federal government and cut spending. 

    Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment on the paper’s findings.  

    Musk’s foray into politics and emergence as a prominent adviser to President Trump early in his second term raised the entrepreneur’s visibility but alienated some potential Tesla customers, Mike O’Rourke, chief market strategist at Jonestrading, previously told CBS News.

    Tesla last week reported third-quarter earnings of $1.4 billion, down 37% from the year-ago period, citing higher costs and tariff-related headwinds. Tesla’s vehicle sales fell 1% in 2024 despite a 7% increase in EV sales across the car industry. 

    Tesla’s stock fell 27% in February, a period of time that coincided with Mr. Trump’s first full month in the White House. But the shares have rebounded and are now up roughly 14% on the year, with investors betting on growth in the company’s fledgling robotaxi business, autonomous driving technology and plans to build AI-powered humanoid robots. 

    “We estimate the AI and autonomous opportunity is worth at least $1 trillion alone for Tesla,” Wedbush Securities technology analyst Dan Ives said in a recent report, adding that he expects the Trump administration to fast-track such initiatives.  

    Another measure of Musk’s perceived value to Tesla is the enormous pay package shareholders are preparing to vote on for the executive. That total package could be worth up to $1 trillion in a decade, one of the richest compensation packages in corporate history. 

    For Musk to earn the full amount, Tesla would have to hit certain profitability and production targets, as well as reach a market cap of $8.5 trillion — nearly six times its current value — in 10 years.

    Robyn Denholm, chairman of Tesla’s board of directors, is urging shareholders to approve Musk’s proposed compensation. “Without Elon, Tesla could lose significant value, as our company may no longer be valued for what we aim to become: a transformative force reimagining the fundamental building blocks of mobility, energy and labor,”  Denholm said in the letter. 

    Edited by

    Alain Sherter

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  • I Test-Drove Maeving’s New RM2 Electric Motorcycle

    I test-ride electric kick scooters as a part of my job. They’re fantastic to ride and zip around town, but they are not cool nor particularly comfortable. You’re standing on this L-shaped object, like a meerkat on wheels. Motorcycles, on the other hand? There is no other category of vehicle that oozes this much style, especially one that looks like Maeving’s new RM2.

    If you love the roar of a motorbike and the smell of petrol, this electric motorcycle is probably not for you. Seb Inglis-Jones, Maeving’s cofounder, tells me the company is after a demographic of people who perhaps want something more robust than an electric bicycle but not as intense as a gas-powered bike. Someone who may actually prefer the practically silent ride experience (read: me). However, you still need a motorcycle license in the US to ride.

    The Maeving RM2 opens up for preorder today in the US for $10,995, a small jump from the prior RM1S and a bigger price bump from the original RM1. They’ll ship in January 2026. It shares the same powertrain as the RM1S, hitting a top speed of 70 miles per hour with an 80-mile range.

    However, the RM2’s calling card is the bench seat, so you can finally ride with a passenger. The tank is shorter and wider to accommodate the pillion seat, but you can enjoy a more upright sitting experience. An added boon: You can also add a rear rack and top box for helmet storage.

    Electric Start

    Maeving’s RM2 comes in red.

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    Maeving was founded in the UK right before the pandemic by Inglis-Jones and Will Stirrup, neither of whom had a background in motorbikes (or vehicles, for that matter). The duo decided to build a company together after meeting at university, with two stipulations. They didn’t want to start a business right out of college with no experience, and whatever they built should in some way help combat climate change. Stirrup went to work in the finance world after college, and Inglis-Jones dove into a sales and marketing career.

    Julian Chokkattu

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  • Get ready for more EV chargers at affordable apartments in Denver

    Mayor Mike Johnston wields a plug during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for new Buzze electric vehicle charging stations at Koelbel and Company’s Sienna on Sloans Lake affordable apartments. Oct. 23, 2025.

    Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

    Besides the upfront price tag, there’s a good reason most electric vehicle drivers own single-family homes.

    If you have a garage or carport, it’s easy enough to replenish an EV battery with a standard outlet or a faster “Level 2” home charger. Besides convenience, recharging at home also unlocks steep cost savings, allowing EV owners to avoid the high price of visiting the gas pump or fast charger once or twice a week. 

    A new initiative aims to bring the same benefits to Denver’s less wealthy apartment dwellers. On Thursday, Mayor Mike Johnston joined a ribbon-cutting for a bank of six chargers outside Sienna at Sloanes Lake, a former 1940s-era dorm for nurses converted into an affordable apartment complex.

    Mayor Mike Johnston helps cut a ribbon on new Buzze electric vehicle charging stations at Koelbel and Company’s Sienna on Sloans Lake affordable apartments. Oct. 23, 2025.
    Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

    “It used to be that if a vehicle was electric, only some folks could afford it,” Johnston said. “No one is more likely to want to use an electric vehicle than someone who’s living in affordable housing.” 

    The average price of a new EV is around $58,000 in the U.S, which remains far out of reach for most low-income families. Colorado, however, offers programs to help less wealthy residents afford EVs. And since plug-in cars quickly lose value, pre-owned electric cars and trucks are now almost as cheap as used cars powered by fossil fuels, according to recent sales figures published by Cox Automotive.

    Apartment chargers could unlock a new category of potential EV buyers. It could also help places like Denver reach closer to its climate goals as the federal government withdraws support for climate-friendly technology.

    The project, however, wasn’t financed by the city. Koelbel and Co., the developer behind the affordable housing project, built the chargers by contracting Buzze, a company focused on installing EV plugs at commercial and multifamily properties. Xcel Energy also offered rebates to subsidize the plugs.

    The same collaboration has plans for similar charging setups across the Mile High City. Over the next year, Buzze plans to install 600 chargers in Denver, putting a majority at or near affordable housing projects, according to Aaron Lieberman, the company’s founder and CEO.

    Aaron Lieberman, CEO of Buzze EV Charging, speaks during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for new electric vehicle charging stations at Koelbel and Company’s Sienna on Sloans Lake affordable apartments. Oct. 23, 2025.
    Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

    Lieberman started the company after buying his own electric car. At first, he didn’t own a garage charger, which left him planning errands around unreliable and expensive public fast chargers, where recharging can cost $20 to $45 per session. Once an electrician installed a plug at home, he said EV ownership became “a dream.” 

    “That’s the dream that’s being made possible for everybody who lives in this development,” Lieberman said.

    Colorado is an especially favorable environment for EV charging companies

    It’s clear there are plenty of Colorado drivers willing to at least try all-electric driving.

    On Wednesday, Gov. Jared Polis’ office announced that 32% of new vehicles registered in the state in the last quarter were electric, according to the latest report from the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association. 

    Sales surged nationwide as drivers rushed to claim the federal EV tax credit before it expired on Sept. 30. Colorado, however, not only set the pace for the highest EV adoption rate in the nation between July and September, surpassing California. It also set the highest single-quarter EV adoption rate ever recorded in any state.

    A new Buzze electric vehicle charging station juices up a Ford truck at Koelbel and Company’s Sienna on Sloans Lake affordable apartments. Oct. 23, 2025.
    Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

    Colorado drivers have now registered more than 210,000 EVs, according to state data. More than 55,000 are plug-in hybrids, which can drive short distances on a battery before switching to a gas- or diesel-powered motor. The other 155,000 are battery-electric vehicles demanding either overnight charging or visits to public fast chargers. 

    Xcel Energy, Colorado’s largest power provider, has also made EV adoption a priority. In 2024, it won approval for a $264 million plan to offer EV purchase rebates and subsidize EV infrastructure. The utility now offers up to $20,000 to offset the cost of each charging port at an apartment, with additional support available in less wealthy communities.

    Robert Kenney, the president of Xcel Energy’s Colorado division, said the utility is investing more than $80 million to help commercial customers, like apartment complexes, design and build EV charging stations.

    “The future of transportation is electric, and that future has to be accessible to everyone,” Kenney said.

    Robert Kenney, president of Xcel Energy Colorado, speaks during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for new Buzze electric vehicle charging stations at Koelbel and Company’s Sienna on Sloans Lake affordable apartments. Oct. 23, 2025.
    Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

    It’s still way cheaper to charge an EV in a privately-owned garage

    Residents using the new Buzze charging station will pay between 35 cents to 40 cents per kilowatt hour. Since most standard EV batteries hold between 60 to 100 kWhs, recharging a car to full capacity should cost roughly $30.

    That’s far more than it costs to recharge an EV in a garage. In Colorado, Xcel Energy currently charges residential customers around 15 cents per kWh, so topping off a battery would cost roughly half as much as using one of the Buzze chargers installed at the apartments.

    A new Buzze electric vehicle charging station at Koelbel and Company’s Sienna on Sloans Lake affordable apartments. Oct. 23, 2025.
    Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

    Lieberman said the extra cost helps pay for physical infrastructure and software behind the charging system. Even though it’s more expensive than home charging, it’s still cheaper than high-powered fast chargers owned by companies like Tesla and Electrify America. 

    “And all of it beats gas without the oil changes and everything else,” Lieberman said. 

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  • Elon Musk frets over controlling Tesla’s ‘robot army’ as car biz rebounds slightly | TechCrunch

    Tesla’s record sales quarter has offered the company a reprieve after a terrible start to 2025. But CEO Elon Musk is focused on building a “robot army” and making good on his years-long, unfulfilled promise of self-driving cars — tasks he needs to accomplish if he is to unlock the full value of the $1 trillion compensation package that Tesla wants to award him.

    The tension between Tesla’s current automotive-driven business and the AI-centric one that Musk is aiming for has never been more clear.

    Tesla delivered a record number of vehicles in the third quarter of 2025, thanks in large part to a rush of customers in the United States who took advantage of the expiring federal EV tax credit. But that record quarter did not lead to greater earnings. In fact, Tesla’s third-quarter profit was still 37% lower than it was in the same quarter last year.

    Tesla shipped 497,099 cars in the third quarter, which generated $21.2 billion in automotive revenue — the company’s best revenue figure in more than a year. But Tesla only pulled in a profit of $1.4 billion, up just $200 million from the second quarter of this year, according to a shareholder letter released Wednesday. The record quarter came after an abysmal start to the year for Tesla, which saw sales drop mightily in part because of Musk’s involvement with the Trump administration.

    The company explained in the letter that a big increase in operating expenses — 50% higher compared to the third quarter last year — was one of the culprits. That operating expense bump was thanks to spending on AI and other R&D projects, as well as “restructuring” charges of nearly $240 million. Tesla didn’t explain what those restructuring charges were for, but it’s possibly related to the recent decision to shut down the company’s six-year-old Dojo supercomputer project.

    Tesla cited tariffs as another drag on profits this past quarter, meaning Musk spent around $300 million to help elect a president who has hurt the company’s business. Tesla’s chief financial officer, Vaibhav Taneja, said on a conference call Wednesday the tariff hit was about $400 million.

    “We’re at a critical inflection point for Tesla and our strategy going forward as we bring AI into the real world,” Musk said on the call. Tesla is at the “beginning of scaling, quite massively, Full Self-Driving and Robotaxi, and fundamentally changing the nature of transport,” he said.

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    All of this will put even more pressure on the company’s final quarter of the year.

    Tesla already needs another record quarter (and then some) if it wants to simply match the number of cars it shipped in 2024 or 2023. The company could get some help from the new slightly cheaper stripped-down versions of the Model 3 and Model Y EVs. But even in that best-case scenario, Tesla is way off the path of 50% year-over-year growth that it once promised to investors and shareholders.

    But Musk has spent the last few years trying to get shareholders, investors, employees, and everyone else to look beyond the company’s core business of making and selling cars. He’s bet the future of Tesla on being able to create a vast network of self-driving vehicles that he thinks can challenge Uber. And he thinks the humanoid robot, Optimus, will become the best-selling product ever.

    Tesla offered little new info on those programs in Wednesday’s letter. Musk said on the conference call that Tesla may start building the third version of Optimus in the first quarter of 2026. He had once promised to build thousands of the robots by the end of this year, but as The Information has reported, Tesla has run into problems in early production with Optimus.

    “Bringing Optimus to market is an incredibly difficult task, to be clear. It’s not like some walk in the park,” Musk said.

    But Musk continued Tesla’s gauzy, unspecific claims about how much Optimus will change the world. “You can actually create a world where there is no poverty, where everyone has access to the finest medical care,” he said. “Optimus will be an incredible surgeon.”

    The increased focus on AI, robotics, and self-driving cars (including starting production of the two-seater “Cybercab”) will also cost Tesla more next year. Taneja said capital expenditures will increase “substantially” in 2026 thanks to those projects. He also said Tesla has had to increase employee-related spending to stay competitive in the ongoing AI talent war.

    Tesla’s third-quarter results come amid the backdrop of the company’s proposal to hand $1 trillion worth of shares to Musk. That plan is up for a vote at the Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting in a few weeks. The company — and Musk — are campaigning hard. While advisor groups like ISS and Glass Lewis are recommending against the pay package, it’s most likely going to pass given the overwhelming support from shareholders on previous efforts.

    That hasn’t stopped Musk from threatening to walk away from Tesla if the package isn’t approved.

    On Wednesday’s call, he reiterated his claim that he cares more about the voting control the compensation package would afford him than the money.

    “I just don’t feel comfortable building a robot army here and then being ousted because of some asinine recommendations from ISS and Glass Lewis, who have no friggin’ clue. I mean, those guys are corporate terrorists,” Musk said.

    This story has been updated with new information from Tesla’s third-quarter conference call.

    Sean O’Kane

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  • ‘I Think It’s Quite a Scandal’: Plug-in Hybrids Not as Climate-Friendly as They Seem, Researchers Say

    Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (aka PHEVs) are a popular choice among those who want to reduce their carbon footprint but are not yet ready to make the full commitment to all-electric vehicles.

    But a previous assumption by regulators like the European Union that PHEVs emit 75% less carbon than gasoline and diesel-dependent cars is actually false, according to researchers from Brussels-based non-profit Transport & Environment who studied hundreds of thousands of cars registered in Europe between 2021 and 2023.

    In a new study published on Thursday, the researchers claim that plug-in hybrids actually only emit 19% less than cars with internal combustion engines.

    “I think it’s quite a scandal to have this gap between real world and official data,” one of the co-authors of the study, Yoann Gimbert, told Gizmodo.

    That gap has also been widening over the years. In 2021, PHEVs actually emitted 3.5 times the official emissions estimates. By 2023, that number was nearly five times.

    There are several reasons why this could be the case, according to Gimbert.

    The first is that plug-in hybrid owners, at least Europeans, might not be using the cars in their intended way. Both plug-ins and standard hybrids rely on both an electric motor and an internal combustion engine. But, unlike standard hybrids, plug-in hybrids have a larger battery. As the name suggests, this allows them to be plugged in to charge externally and to drive some distances while relying entirely on the electric motor.

    Gimbert said that European drivers might not be incentivized to drive it fully in electric mode. This could be due to things like a lack of fast charging capability or relatively lower power of the electric motor, he says. This gap is shown in the data as well when you look at something called “the utility factor,” which is the ratio of miles that a car travels in electric mode over the total travel distance. It’s used by EU estimates as well.

    Official EU estimates had the utility factor of PHEVs penciled in at over 84%, but the researchers found that it was much lower at just 27%.

    And even with the utility factor completely accounted for, the real-life to estimate gap still exists. That’s because plug-in hybrids are never fully electric, Gimbert said.

    Even in electric mode, the car continues to rely partially on hybrid mode. That is, the researchers found that PHEVs are not designed to operate fully in electric mode: the internal combustion engine still provides significant additional power and burns fossil fuels for at least one-third of the way when driving in electric mode. The engine especially assists the electric motor while accelerating, driving at higher speeds, or going uphill.

    “It’s actually 68 grams of CO2 per kilometer in electric mode, instead of being zero emission,” Gimbert said. The number is nine times higher than the 8 grams per kilometer estimated by the EU’s methodology. “That’s something that is often not really expected by consumers,” he added.

    “Frequent reliance on the combustion engine means many PHEVs emissions are no better than many conventional hybrids or petrol cars,” the researchers concluded.

    The EU has announced some corrections to its measure of the utility factor, and is getting ready to review its carbon emissions standards for cars completely next year. Researchers say that the corrections are a good start, but real-world emissions will still be 18% higher than official figures without a full review of the standards.

    But the European automotive industry stands against it. German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) is lobbying to cancel the corrections, keep the current methodology, and roll back a controversial ban on new combustion engine cars in the EU by 2035, Gimbert said.

    According to the researchers, the underestimation of carbon emissions from plug-in hybrids has helped major automakers like Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW to avoid roughly €5 billion (a little under $6 billion) in fines between 2021 and 2023. The EU has strict fleet-average carbon emissions targets for automakers.

    If the auto industry’s lobbying efforts succeed, the researchers claim it can result in a 64% increase in the carbon emitted by 2050 under current EU regulations.

    “PHEVs are not fitted for 100% emission reduction by 2035,” Gimbert said.

    Across the pond, Americans are growing less interested in electric vehicles than their European counterparts as EV prices continue to soar high in the U.S., especially in the absence of the electric vehicle tax credit. The American Automobile Association thinks consumers might show more interest in hybrids and plug-in hybrids as electric vehicle demand continues to wane. But according to preliminary data from earlier this year, while demand for hybrid cars is soaring, plug-in hybrid demand, at least for now, is pretty much stagnant.

    Ece Yildirim

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  • China’s exports of electric vehicles doubled in September

    HONG KONG — HONG KONG (AP) — China’s exports of electric vehicles doubled in September from a year earlier as its automakers expanded their reach into overseas markets.

    Domestic passenger car sales climbed 11.2% year-on-year in last month down from a 15% rise in August, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said Tuesday.

    Exports of “new energy vehicles,” including battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, jumped 100% to 222,000 units in September, the industry organization said. That was slightly lower than the 224,000 units exported in August.

    China’s EV makers have been increasingly looking abroad to markets such as Europe and Southeast Asia as overcapacity and price wars back home have pressured their profit margins. They invested more abroad than inside China last year, for the first time since 2014, the U.S.-based consultancy Rhodium Group said in a recent report.

    BYD -– one of China’s largest EV makers -– said this month that the United Kingdom has become its largest market outside China. Its sales there rocketed 880% year-on-year in September.

    Chinese automakers increasingly are expanding investments in the Middle East and Africa after the European Union, U.S., Canada and other countries imposed stiff tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.

    In China, manufacturers have been cracking down on price wars that have raged due to fierce competition.

    BYD’s monthly domestic sales fell in September for the first time since February 2024, down 5.5% from the same month a year earlier, while some of its rivals still recorded strong growth in sales.

    September is a traditional peak period for auto sales in China, with carmakers launching various new models in a month dubbed “Golden September.”

    Subsidies for trade-ins for new energy vehicles have helped lift domestic demand and sentiment, though some local governments have suspended such payments in recent months.

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