Tag: ford

Should the Company Trucks Go Electric? Depends on When You Charge

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The Southern Company didn’t need this pilot to sell it on EVs. The firm—which operates Alabama Power, Georgia Power, and Mississippi Power, as well as other subsidiaries across six southern and midwestern states—has been using Ford electric vehicles since 2023. Its fleet now includes more than 200 F-150 Lightning trucks and 150 Ford Pro chargers. The company at one point aimed to electrify half of its fleet by 2030; it now says it is no longer pursuing that goal, but will continue to transition its vehicles.¹

Now it wanted to see if it could use Ford Pro’s charging software to ramp down its vehicles’ and chargers’ energy consumption during periods of high demand. (Ford Pro is the commercial fleet arm of the US automaker.) Such “managed charging” programs save fleet owners money by scheduling charging for times when utilities are charging less for electricity, and put less stress on the electric grid. Southern Company is particularly aware of that last point: With the AI boom, data centers are flooding into the US southeast.

“We’re trying to figure out how we can save every kilowatt-hour that is out there to be saved, because we’ll have a more constrained system in the future,” says Lea Clanton, who directs business development and innovation for Southern Company New Ventures.

The utility invested in over 200 F-150 Lightning trucks and 150 Ford Pro chargers for its fleet operations.

Courtesy of Southern Company

Ironically, the experiment’s most exciting moments came when the two companies worked together to shut down all their chargers. By turning off the chargers for 30 minutes—something that might be suddenly necessary during very hot or cold days, or during an emergency—Southern Company and Ford say they were able to reduce the demand on the grid by 0.5 megawatts, immediately freeing up an amount of electricity equivalent to what’s needed to power between 200 and 450 homes for a year.

One day, EV fleets like those operated by the Southern Company might use this sort of software to save money and electricity. But Clanton says the utility firm needs more information before it’s ready to hook its EVs up to smarter chargers. It needs to guarantee that its drivers—especially those responding to electricity emergencies—always have charge when the unexpected happens.

“If we were to adopt something more permanent, we would need to take some time to better understand where our drivers need to be, how often they charge, and make sure that it’s not going to impact our delivery of clean, safe, reliable, affordable energy to customers at all, 24 hours a day,” says Clanton.

¹Update, September 4 at 3 pm: This story was updated to correct details around Southern Company’s efforts to electrify its fleet.

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Aarian Marshall

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September 4, 2025
Ford to pause production of F-150 Lightning electric pickup trucks

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Ford to idle F-150 Lightning plant for 7 weeks

Ford to idle F-150 Lightning plant for 7 weeks

01:57

Ford Motor on Thursday said it is temporarily halting production of the Detroit automaker’s F-150 Lightning pickup truck until 2025 amid waning consumer demand for electric vehicles.

Ford will pause manufacturing of the EV at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Plant on November 15 and resume on January 6.

“We continue to adjust production for an optimal mix of sales growth and profitability,” the company said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch.

Ford also said it will furlough roughly 730 hourly employees, although it noted that not all workers will be sidelined for the duration of the production freeze.

Ford launched the F-150 Lighting, which MotorTrend named its truck of the year in 2023, two years ago, underlining the car maker’s push into EVs. With sales sluggish, Ford last year slashed the vehicle’s price by thousands of dollars.

What consumers should know about buying used electric vehicles

03:20

For the third quarter, Ford reported a $1.2 billion loss on Model e, its separate EV unit. The company projects losses of $5 billion for Model e for all of 2024, attributing the financial hit in part to “industrywide pricing pressure.”

Earlier this year, Ford scrapped plans for an all-electric, three-row SUV to focus on hybrid models. At the time, the company said its plan was to “speed customer adoption” of more affordable vehicles with longer driving ranges. That includes developing a new family of three-row, hybrid SUVs.

Electric vehicle prices are tumbling as cars pile up on lots amid cooling consumer demand. The average price of a new EV in May was $56,648, according to Kelley Blue Book, down roughly 15% from two years earlier, when the average price was $65,000.

Megan Cerullo

Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

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October 31, 2024
Jeep Wagoneer excels as other large SUVs fall short in safety tests

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When it comes to driving a safe SUV, size matters, but some larger models offer more protection than others, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, or IIHS.

Case in point: the Jeep Wagoneer is the only one of three popular large SUVs to qualify for a 2024 Top Safety Pick award, which is one step down from its highest ranking, IIHS said Thursday in releasing new ratings.

The Chevrolet Tahoe and Ford Expedition, also bestsellers, fell short for reasons including subpar performance in the small overlap front crash test, the Arlington, Virginia-based nonprofit said. More than 90% of new models have sailed through the evaluation with good ratings since 2021, IIHS noted.

All three vehicles are designed to haul people and to tow boats and campers, yet none offer good protection for backseat passengers, an issue that kept the Wagoneer from earning the higher-tier Top Safety Pick+ award.

“The huge mass of these large SUVs provides some additional protection in crashes with smaller vehicles, though that also means they present more danger to other road users,” IIHS President David Harkey stated in a release. “The flip side of their large size is that there is a lot more force to manage when they crash into a fixed obstacle like a tree or bridge abutment or the barrier we use in our front crash tests.”

Good rating

The Wagoneer did a good job maintaining survival space for the driver and front passenger in the small overlap evaluation. It performed slightly worse in the driver-side test: slight intrusion in the footwell brought a modest risk of injury to the driver’s left foot and ankle, IIHS found. In both driver-side and passenger-side tests, the front and side curtain airbags prevented crash dummies’ heads from hitting the vehicle’s rigid structures.

“This recognition validates the dedication of our engineers, who integrated state-of-the-art technology in every aspect of the Wagoneer’s design,” said Bill Peffer, senior vice of Jeep North America, in a statement to CBS News. “The combination of a robust body structure and a comprehensive suite of over 120 standard and available advanced safety features, helps create a secure environment for drivers and passengers.”

Acceptable rating

The Tahoe maintained adequate survival space for the driver, but substantial risk of lower leg injuries. Performance was worse in the passenger-side test, with IIHS finding a high risk of injury to the right foot and moderate risk of injury to the passenger’s left leg.

“We are confident in the safety of the Chevrolet Tahoe that achieved a 4-star safety overall rating from NHTSA’s comprehensive New Car Assessment Program,” said General Motors spokesperson Bill Grotz in a statement provided to CBS News. “We value consumer metric ratings from IIHS and will look to incorporate these latest findings into our new vehicle designs.”

Marginal rating

The Expedition did not perform well in the tests of either side. In the driver-side test, the steering column partially detached from the instrument panel, and in both tests the A-pillar separated from the rocker panel. Excessive intrusion into the footwell contributed to a high risk of injury to the driver’s right leg and moderate risk to the left. Footwell intrusion was also seen in the passenger-side test to a lesser degree, IIHS found.

The vehicles were given varied ratings in other tests, including pedestrian crash avoidance. Front crash prevention systems in the Expedition and Wagoneer were given good marks, while the Tahoe was given a marginal ranking.

A Ford spokesperson provided CBS News with the following statement:

“Overall: The 2023 and 2024 Expedition meets or exceeds the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) regulatory requirements, and it is the only vehicle in the segment to achieve a five-star overall vehicle score in NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program (NCAP).

“For small overlap: Expedition is carefully designed to provide excellent protection for its own occupants and protection of occupants in other vehicles in multi-vehicle accidents, which were not replicated by the IIHS small overlap rigid barrier test. Designing SUVs in Expedition’s weight category to perform better in the small overlap rigid barrier test could potentially increase injury to occupants in lighter-weight vehicles involved in a crash.

“For moderate overlap: IIHS recently changed their moderate front overlap test procedure for the second row, however, Expedition received a “Good” rating in the previous moderate overlap test. We are always working to continuously improve, and we consider third-party feedback in vehicle development.”

More from CBS News

Kate Gibson

Kate Gibson is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch in New York, where she covers business and consumer finance.

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June 5, 2024
Ford’s New Mach-E Rally Is Ideal for Gravel Noobs

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Is there a more natural place for someone to really floor it for the first time in an electric car than the ballyhooed DirtFish Rally School outside Seattle, Washington? With the gravel wet from a day of cool, classic, spring Pacific Northwest rain? Surely there must be.

And yet, here I am, behind the wheel of the 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally, politely—and clearly all too slowly—following directions as a very patient rally instructor asks me to “really punch it this time.” Shortly after this instruction, and nearly on purpose, I drive sideways.

If this sounds fun, then, sure, absolutely. The Mustang Mach-E Rally, arguably Ford’s best foot forward in the controversially-named electric car series in 2024, shows the Detroit automaker is ready to entertain. (Controversial because not everyone is convinced that a crossover should ever be called a Mustang, plug or not.)

The future of Ford’s electric business may be murky, or at best complicated—more on that later—but the Mustang Mach-E Rally shows the automaker willing to throw in a few tricks to persuade a new audience to put down the gas pump and pick up the plug.

Dirty EV

The Rally edition of the Mach-E can go from 0 to 60 in 3.4 seconds with its dual motors.

Photograph: Ford

This is Ford’s first rally-inspired electric. Note the phrase “rally-inspired”—those interested in such a car sadly won’t get something akin to Ari Vatanen’s record-setting 1988 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb ride, made legend in Climb Dance (skip to 3:08 to see Ari’s casual genius at work).

What you do get, compared to the Mach-E GT version, are a few trim tweaks to make the EV friendlier on rocky, slippy surfaces: suspension raised by an inch, protective shielding for front and rear motors, rally-style wheels covering Michelin CrossClimate2 tires (designed to slide), two front hood racing stripes, and of course, a rear spoiler. At the Ford event at DirtFish, nice men lovingly wiped the mud off the Rally’s windshield and driver door between laps, though this does not come standard.

Trim tweaks include rally-style wheels …

Photograph: Ford

… and, of course, a rear spoiler.

Photograph: Ford

The Mach-E Rally does come with RallySport Drive Mode, made off-road friendly with added yaw (more sideways sliding) and aggressive damping to better navigate gravely turns. Linked to that extra inch of ride height is the addition of Ford’s MagneRide suspension system, which is designed to adapt to changing road conditions. It’s powered by embedded sensors and pistons equipped with magnetic damper fluid, which produces firmer or softer shocks, depending on what the road demands.

In practice, RallySport Drive Mode creates a notably looser ride, with the SUV much more willing to slide. Still, the vehicle didn’t let a Rally noob convict, much less kill, herself—which meant the whole thing was really very fun. Even in the muck, I felt I picked up the trick quickly. (Granted, an instructor called out extremely specific braking directions.)

One of the advantages of driving electric is the immediate power you get without having to mess with gears, which—for a red-blooded American who can’t remember the last time she was in a manual transmission car, much less behind the wheel of one—is appreciated.

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Aarian Marshall

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June 5, 2024
How the Chevy Silverado EV Compares to the Ford Lightning, Cybertruck, and Rivian

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The Chevy Silverado EV Stacks Up to Its EV RivalsChevrolet

Even though the Chevrolet Silverado EV is late to the electric pickup game, its first venture into the growing segment is a strong one, as our own Executive Editor Mike Austin found out recently. With over 400 miles of range, a respectable if battery-draining towing capacity of 10,000 pounds, as well as a beefy 754 hp and 785 lb-ft of torque, the Chevrolet Silverado EV RST comes off as perhaps a better all-around truck than the gas version next to it on the dealership floor.

But a comparison between decades of gas-powered performance and the initial entrance of an electric truck doesn’t really seem fair. In fact, it’s highly unlikely that buyers will be cross shopping a Silverado EV and a Silverado 1500. Rather, a prospective Silverado EV buyer is certain to be found at a Ford dealership lot or a Rivian pop-up location before succumbing to the dirty ways of gasoline.

So, it’s only right that the Silverado EV gets put against its true competitors: Ford’s F-150 Lightning, the Rivian R1T, and Tesla’s Cybertruck. The inclusion of Tesla’s Cybertruck is not one of generosity, exactly, as it’s currently leading the Rivian in (very provisional) sales numbers. And it does have a bed, technically.

Tesla

Size

The Silverado EV reigns supreme as the largest of the bunch, with a length of 233.1-inches, a width of 83.8/94.1 inches (with/without mirrors), a height of 78.7 inches, and a 5 foot, 11 inch bed.

Ford’s F-150 Lightning comes in second, with a length of 232.7 inches, a width of 80/96 inches (with/without mirrors), a height of 78.3 inches, and a 5.5-foot bed.

Though it may not look it, the Tesla Cybertruck is actually bigger than the Rivian in some metrics, with a length of 223.7-inches, a width of 86.6/95 inches (folded/unfolded mirrors), a height of 70.5 inches, and a 6-foot bed. Rivian’s R1T also falls short of the two legacy domestic models, with a length of 217.1-inches, a width of 87.1/81.8 inches (with/without mirrors), a height of 72.1/78.3 inches (lowest/highest suspension mode), and a 4.5-foot bed.

Curb weights on all of these trucks are ridiculous, with a low weight of 6843 pounds from the Cybertruck. Ford’s F-150 Lightning is the next lightest, at 6855 pounds, followed by the dual motor Rivian R1T at 6914 pounds. Chevy’s Silverado EV is the chunkiest, at around 8800 pounds.

Ford

Battery Capacity and Power

Quantifying the size and power of the legacy trucks from Ford and Chevrolet gets a bit confusing, as both are offered with a variety of battery packs and power figures.

The Silverado EV comes with a minimum of 510 hp and 834 lb-ft of torque (in Wide Open Watts mode) and a maximum of 754 hp and 1064 lb-ft of torque. All that power is delivered by the 24-module Ultium battery cells as the GMC Hummer EV pickup, but with a usable 205 kWh of battery capacity in Silverado form. Similarly, the Silverado EV uses two electric motors instead of the three on its GMC sibling.

Tesla’s Cybertruck is currently available in only two powertrain configuration with a third to follow shortly. For now, only dual- and tri-motor models are available, with 600 hp and 834 hp respectively. Both variants of the Tesla Cybertruck are said to have a 123.0-kWh battery.

Rivian’s R1T is offered in two variants as well, with dual-motor and quad-motor versions available for 2024. As a base model, the dual-motor makes 533 hp and 610 lb-ft of torque while the quad-motor version makes 835 hp and 908 lb-ft of torque. Standard, dual motor Rivian R1T models feature a 106.0-kWh battery pack, though 121.0-kWh and 142.3 kWh battery packs are also available.

Ford’s F-150 Lightning can come with two different battery packs, ranging from 98 kWh of usable energy to 131 kWh of usable energy. Power figures start on the low-end at 452 hp and 775 llb-ft of torque and rise up to 580 hp and 775 lb-ft of torque on the high-end. Both powertrains use two inboard three-phase fixed magnet AC motors.

All-wheel-drive is standard on all four models.

Rivian

Range

Operated under the EPA test cycle, the Chevrolet Silverado EV boasts an estimated range from 393 miles to 450 miles of range depending on the trim. Note that those are for the two current WT trims. The RST model has a gross vehicle weight above 10,000 pounds, thus making it exempt from light-duty reporting rules, but Chevy’s representatives say the 440-mile range is calculated from the same procedure.

Tesla’s Cybertruck, also excused from official EPA figures, comes with some qualifiers. The shortest range is 250 miles on the single-motor model, an intermediary figure of 301 miles per charge on the quad-motor Cyberbeast, and a maximum of 340 miles on the dual-motor truck. Tesla plans to offer a range-extender battery pack that will stretch the dual- and quad-motor models to 440 and 470 miles, respectively, but it is not available as of this writing.

Rivian’s R1T has as little range as 270 miles on the Standard Pack and as much as 410 miles on the maximum pack, with in-between figures of 315 miles on the Standard+ pack, 328 miles with Quad-Motor and large battery pack, and 352 miles with Dual-Motor equipped with the large pack.

Finally, the smaller standard battery pack of Ford’s F-150 Lightning results in 230 miles of range, with the larger pack providing 320 miles on the high end. Those are official EPA estimates for both the Ford and Rivian

Towing

The Silverado EV has a maximum towing capacity of 10,000 pounds. A big number, but not the class leader. It’s matched by the Ford F-150 Lightning with the extended range battery pack and optional towing package included. That goes down by half to 5000 pounds with the standard battery pack on the Ford.

Both dual-and tri-motor Cybertrucks have a maximum towing capacity of 11,000 pounds, besting Ford and Chevrolet. Only the impending single-motor Cybertruck model does worse. It will be limited at 7500 pounds.

Rivian’s R1T puts up a strong fight against Tesla, also showing off a 11,000 pound towing capacity.

Chevrolet

Price

It’s no secret that these electric pickup trucks are, well, very expensive. In other words, they’re not for the common man just yet, but some are cheaper than others.

The Chevrolet Silverado EV starts at $74,800 and goes up to $96,495.

The Ford F-150 Lightning starts at $57,090 and goes up to $95,090, with four trim levels in between these starting and ending price points.

Tesla’s Cybertruck was marketed as a starting closer to $62,985 a rear-wheel-drive variant, but is currently only available in $81,895 dual-motor and $101,985 quad-motor (Beast) variants.

The Rivian R1T is a bit cheaper, starting at $71,700 and going up to $88,800.

In summary, the Silverado EV is the heaviest in its class, with the biggest battery. But those are the only stats where it is a far and away standout. In terms of power, it is not leagues ahead of the beefiest Rivian or Tesla, both of which slightly edge it on max capacity towing, though the Silverado does similar figures with two motors that Tesla and Rivian do with three. The Silverado EV does start off expensive but it only very nearly tops out the highest price, pipped by the Influencer-spec Cyberbeast. Where the Silverado EV may shine is in the real world, and we’re excited to see how they fare as they make their way from dealership lots into driveways.

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May 24, 2024
Rivian targets gas-powered Ford and Toyota trucks and SUVs with $5,000 ‘electric upgrade’ discount | TechCrunch

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Rivian is offering discounts up to $5,000 on its EVs — and a year of free charging — to customers willing to trade in their gas-powered trucks and SUVs.

The deal, which kicked off April 22, is aimed directly at some of the best-selling and most ubiquitous gas-powered trucks and SUVs on the market today, including the Ford F-150, Toyota Tacoma and Jeep Wrangler. Rivian is even going after German automakers Audi and BMW. The price cut varies between $1,000 and $5,000 depending on the model. Rivian is offering discounts on three R1T pickup truck trims and one R1S SUV model.

The company promoted Monday the “electric upgrade offer” in an email to prospective customers as well as posts on social media. The discounts come as demand for premium and luxury EVs has softened across the industry, prompting automakers such as Ford, Lucid and Tesla to reduce prices. Faced with uncertain demand, many legacy automakers have also pared down plans to shift their portfolios to only battery-electric vehicles. Gas-powered vehicles and hybrids are back en vogue, thanks to the steady sales and profit margins they provide.

Rivian, which is only expected to produce about 57,000 EVs in 2024, won’t unseat the best-selling trucks on the market. But the approach could help it win over a new batch of customers.

Only owners of specific gas-powered vehicles will be eligible for the trade in. Those include 2018 or newer Ford F-150 trucks, Ford Explorer, Ford Expedition and Bronco, with the exception of the Bronco Sport. Other eligible trade-ins are 2018 or newer Toyota Tacoma, Toyota Tundra, Toyota Highlander, Toyota 4Runner Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator. The Audi Q5, Q7 and Q8 as well as the BMW X3, X5 and X7 also qualify.

The deals applies to customers who want to lease or buy a vehicle, although they must take delivery by June 30. Rivian is also throwing in a year of free charging at any Rivian-owned charger in the United States as an added sweetener. Rivian fast-chargers, which are branded the Rivian Adventure Network, are not nearly as plentiful as the Tesla Supercharging network. The company has installed 433 fast-chargers at 71 stations, including in Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado and along the East Coast. Rivian has also installed 482 Level 2 chargers (called Waypoints) at 180 lives sites throughout the United States.

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Kirsten Korosec

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April 22, 2024
Ford Recalls Nearly 43,000 SUVS – KXL

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DETROIT (AP) — Ford is recalling nearly 43,000 small SUVs because gasoline can leak from the fuel injectors onto hot engine surfaces, increasing the risk of fires.

But the recall does not fix the fuel leaks.

It covers certain Bronco Sport SUVs from the 2022 and 2023 model years, as well as Escape SUVs from 2022, all with 1.5-liter engines.

Ford says fuel injectors can crack, and gasoline or vapor can accumulate near ignition sources.

Dealers will install a tube to let gas flow away from hot surfaces to the ground.

They’ll also update software to detect a fuel pressure drop.

If that happens, the software will disable the high pressure fuel pump, reduce engine power and cut temperatures in the engine compartment.

Owners were to be notified starting April 1.

More about:

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Grant McHill

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April 10, 2024
‘Drive-Away Dolls’ and Book Club No. 1—Francis Ford Coppola, ‘Apocalypse Now,’ and ‘The Path to Paradise’

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Sean and Amanda are joined by Ringer contributor and beloved “Mean Pod Guy” Adam Nayman to discuss Drive-Away Dolls, the latest solo Coen movie—this time directed by Ethan and written along with his wife, Tricia Cooke (1:00). After that, it’s the first iteration of The Big Picture Book Club. Sean and Amanda dig into The Path to Paradise: A Francis Ford Coppola Story, what it reveals about the highs and lows of Coppola’s career, what it tells us outside of the already well-known mythology of Coppola, and—with Megalopolis likely coming out this year—the ways it contributes to Coppola’s presence in the film zeitgeist in 2024 (24:00).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins
Guest: Adam Nayman
Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner

Subscribe: Spotify / Apple Podcasts / Stitcher / RSS

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Sean Fennessey

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February 23, 2024
Ford preps for its next big fight, Waymo recalls its self-driving car software and layoffs come for another AV startup | TechCrunch

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TechCrunch Mobility is a weekly newsletter dedicated to all things transportation. Sign up here — just click TechCrunch Mobility — to receive the newsletter every weekend in your inbox. Subscribe for free.

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. This week’s news includes a BMW security lapse that exposed sensitive information, blowback from a federal agency over an anti-Tesla Super Bowl ad and a new federal investigation into Fisker.

But first, some words about my recent visit to Detroit, where I met with a few Ford executives to find out what they’re focused on for 2024 and beyond.

It’s safe to say that Chinese EV automakers and Tesla are top of mind; and in the view of Ford execs, a low-cost EV and cutting-edge software are the best ways to thwart those threats. The company’s EV skunkworks project, which recently came to light, is charged with that task.

Ford CFO John Lawler didn’t mince words during an interview at the company’s headquarters.

“We have to assume that eventually they’ll be here,” Lawler said. “China has been looking for its global champion for decades. They couldn’t get there with a traditional gas vehicle; they saw the writing on the wall as early as 2010 that electric was the way to go and they have subsidized and focused on that since then.”

Lawler said Chinese automakers are now competitive. Now armed with production capacity and “fantastic” designs, China is pushing into other regions.

“It’s not a short stakes game; it’s long,” Lawler said. “So everybody’s thinking about the next couple of years, they’re thinking about the next 25, 30 years. They’re not gonna sweat what’s happening right now. They’ll keep building their footprint and building their brands up, keep building their technology and building out the advanced development of their vehicles, and eventually, there won’t be any stopping it.”

China and Tesla aren’t the only concerns taking up their collective gray matter. Ford CEO Jim Farley is also intent on clawing back $2 billion in cost savings across the company’s industrial system. A big part of that is improving the quality of new vehicles — which are directly tied to warranty costs — and was a point he emphasized during a recent interview at Wolfe Research’s Global Auto and Auto Tech Conference in New York.

Let’s go!

A little bird

A little bird pointed us to a recent filing regarding Faraday Future that got our attention. For the unfamiliar, Faraday Future is an EV startup that went public in 2021 via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company. Once upon a time, Faraday Future was about as buzzy as a startup could get. But years of internal drama, a revolving door of executives and federal investigations has the company hanging on the end of its financial threads.

Now it appears the company is at risk of losing its LA headquarters. The company’s landlord filed a lawsuit seeking to repossess the commercial space after Faraday Future failed to pay rent. The current bill is close to $1 million.

Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or Sean O’Kane sean.okane@techcrunch.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, click here to contact us, which includes SecureDrop (instructions here) and various encrypted messaging apps.

Deal of the week

No deal of the week! Instead, here’s a list of deals that got my attention.

Celadyne, a hydrogen fuel cell startup, raised $4.5 million in a seed round was co-led by Maniv and Dynamo Ventures, with major participation from EPS Ventures.

Revel, the Brooklyn-based startup initially known for its fleet of rentable blue electric mopeds, is reportedly trying to raise $200 million in equity, Bloomberg reported. The company shutdown its shared moped business in November and is now trying to build out electric ride-hailing and EV fast-charging businesses.

Roam, a Kenyan EV startup, has raised $24 million in a Series A round, including up to $10 million debt commitment from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. Equator, an Africa-focused climate tech VC fund, led the round At One Ventures, TES Ventures, Renew Capital, The World We Want and One Small Planet also participated.

Skylo Technologies, a direct-to-device satellite connectivity service provider, raised $37 million in a round co-led by Intel Capital and Innovation Endeavors and joined by BMW i Ventures, Samsung Catalyst Fund, Seraphim Space, and Next47.

Velocys, a startup developing sustainable aviation fuel, raised $40 million from Carbon Direct Capital, Lightrock, GenZero and Kibo Investments.

Notable reads and other tidbits

ADAS

GM is expanding access to Super Cruise, with plans to let drivers use the hands-free advanced driver-assistance system on about 750,000 miles of roads in the United States and Canada. The expansion will nearly double the automaker’s Super Cruise network by 2025 and includes rural and minor highways.

The National Transportation Safety Board ordered the Dawn Project organization to stop using its seal after it appeared in a Super Bowl ad that called for consumers to boycott Tesla.

Autonomous vehicles

Cruise named Steve Kenner, an autonomous vehicle industry veteran who has held top safety roles at Kodiak, Locomation, Aurora and Uber’s now-defunct self-driving division, as its first “chief safety officer.” My take: This is a position that Cruise should have had years ago. Meanwhile, Cruise lost another key employee. Carl Jenkins, head of hardware at Cruise, resigned from the company.

May Mobility laid off 40 people, or about 13% of its staff.

San Francisco Giants are swapping out the Cruise robotaxi uniform patch for a less controversial one that advertises Chevrolet, another GM brand.

Waymo voluntarily recalled the software that powers its robotaxi fleet after two vehicles crashed into the same towed pickup truck in Phoenix, Arizona, in December. It’s the company’s first recall. As reporter Sean O’Kane notes, the recall comes at a time when self-driving cars are facing intense scrutiny following a series of high-profile crashes and controversies, including this week when a crowd of people in San Francisco swarmed, vandalized and torched a Waymo robotaxi.

Electric vehicles, charging & batteries

EVs had a white-hot 2023 — but data in December shows sales are cooling, Automotive News reported. New EV registrations rose 52% in 2023 over the previous year, according to data from S&P Global Mobility. EVs now have 7.7% of the U.S. light-vehicle market, up from 5.7% a year earlier.

Lucid Motors dropped the price of its luxury Air sedan by thousands of dollars. Lucid also got the attention of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this week. The regulators opened an investigation into a Lucid windshield defroster recall from January, saying it’s “concerned” the company’s over-the-air update solution doesn’t go far enough to fix the problem. Is the NHTSA starting to push back against OTAs?

The NHTSA opened a second investigation into EV startup Fisker‘s Ocean SUV, after the agency received four complaints about the vehicle rolling away unexpectedly, including one injury. Fisker also received a noncompliance notice from the New York Stock Exchange because its stocks has closed under $1 for the past 30 days, according to a regulatory filing.

Stellantis, the parent company of brands like Jeep and Chrysler, announced it will adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS). Stellantis is the last major Western automaker to announce compatibility with NACS.

Ride-hailing and ride-sharing

HopSkipDrive, the youth ride-share startup, beat two new key California emissions standards in 2023, an accomplishment the company believes will bolster its case for relying more on shared passenger vehicles to get kids and teens to and from school.

This week’s wheels

Image Credits: Kirsten Korosec

During my short trip to Michigan, I used a 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E to drive to various meetings in Dearborn and Detroit. (The press car came courtesy of Ford.)

My primary interest was in Blue Cruise, the hands-free active driver assistance system. I had a lot of time to test it out thanks to a number of 20- to 30-mile commutes, most of which were on highways. I was testing the Blue Cruise 1.3 version, which accelerates or brakes to maintain a selected following distance from a vehicle ahead, keeps the vehicle centered in the lane and steers. When the driver hits the turn signal, the vehicle will change lanes. It also will make a suggestion to pass if traffic is slow.

What I liked: It’s simple to engage Blue Cruise and crystal clear when the system is handling the driving. The passing is crisp and vehicle doesn’t ping pong within the lane, which is common in other systems. My one picky critique is that the word “ready” is illuminated in green in the instrument cluster right below Blue Cruise, when it is engaged (see photo). That “ready” has nothing to do with Blue Cruise and is instead meant to let the EV driver know their vehicle is ready to drive. I’m sure drivers will get used to it, but I could also see it causing some confusion.

A feature I loved: I could take over the steering and Blue Cruise would remain engaged. I know that in some circles this is frowned upon because the driver might get confused. However, I loath how often I accidentally disengage other systems like Tesla’s Autopilot by moving the steering wheel just a skosh too much.

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Kirsten Korosec

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February 18, 2024
Kim gifting Mercedes cars to pals – and no one knows how he's getting them

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KIM Jong-un is said to be giving top end Mercedes cars to members of his inner circle – but no one knows how he is getting them.

The North Korean dictator clearly isn’t short of cash despite ruling over an impoverished nation as he has been splashing out on a slew of fancy cars.

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Cabinet Premier Kim Tok Hun seen arriving for a meeting in a stretch Mercedes limo on December 27, 2023Credit: KCTV

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South Korean President Moon Jae-in, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ride in a car parade in September 2018 in PyongyangCredit: Getty

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Kim drives off after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in September 2023Credit: AP

The purchases would make him in breach of UN sanctions.

Kim, 39, has recently been seen riding around in four new foreign vehicles, including an armoured Mercedes Maybach S560 sedan, which would cost at least £179,000, other luxury Mercedes-Benz, Lexus SUVs and Ford vans, according to the Seoul-based NK News.

He has also been seen in a Rolls-Royce Phantom, in the past.

Mystery though surrounds just how Kim managed to get his hands on the vehicles and into North Korea.

The country has been restricted by severe United Nations sanctions in an attempt to curb the escalation of the communist regime’s nuclear weapons and missile programme.

Despite those sanctions, the regime has been able to smuggle in luxury items, including flash watches, designer bags and clothes as well as expensive alcohol, all enjoyed by Kim and his Pyongyang cronies.

Japanese cops last week foiled an attempt to smuggle a $70,000 Lexus into North Korea via Bangladesh, according to the Asahi Shimbun.

Police reportedly raided a car dealer who had allegedly claimed that Singapore was the vehicle’s final destination, breaking the Japanese Customs Act.

Despite huge swathes of the country in poverty and going hungry, Kim likes to show off his wealth and his liking for expensive, flashy items, including yachts, jet skis as well as fancy, high-end cars.

In 2018, he put on a grand show of riding to a historic meeting with the South Korean president in a black Mercedes limousine, flanked by a dozen bodyguards jogging along side.

Last weekend, state TV channel KCTV showed footage of Kim arriving in a new S650 sedan at the National Meeting of Mothers, where he gave a speech stating the importance of having children and bringing them up to love the regime, according to NK News.

Accompanying him was a convoy of Lexus and Toyota SUVs, some of which had been fitted out with new police lights and other emblems.

Despite the US and its allies carrying out surveillance operations to try to prevent sanction breaches, luxury cars and other top-end goods appear regularly in the country.

It’s thought a new route used by Russian cargo ships heading to North Korea’s Rason, on the country’s northeast coast, is thought to be facilitating the latest shipments.

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What you get for your money

According to a 2019 report by the Washington-based Centre for Advanced Defence Studies, Pyongyang’s ability to smuggle vehicles through China, South Korea and Japan showed how it was also able to supply its nuclear weapons programme.

The centre said last week it had identified 17 vessels registered to Pacific nations that it believed were linked to “illicit” North Korean oil supply chains.

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Kim is surrounded by a dozen security guards during talks in 2018 with South KoreaCredit: AFP or licensors

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Even North Korean cops drive around in MercedesCredit: Getty

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Jon Rogers

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December 30, 2023
How the Tesla Cyberbeast compares to other high-priced electric pickups | TechCrunch

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After keeping some key specs close to its proverbial chest, Tesla is finally sharing more details about the final production versions of the Cybertruck electric pickup.

Tesla published battery, speed and other stats during its delivery event on Thursday, during which the automaker went out of the way to compare the Cybertruck to some of its competitors, including Ford’s F-150 Lightning and Rivian’s R1T.

We know the more affordable Cybertruck isn’t coming for a while, but Tesla aims to deliver its maxed-out variant — the Cyberbeast — sometime next year. Here we’ll check in on how the high-priced model compares (as far as specs go) to a few other fancy electric trucks on the market.

Range-wise, Tesla estimates the Cyberbeast will go 320 miles on a single charge (or more, with an external battery pack). Ford, meanwhile, says its 2023 F-150 Lightning Platinum features a 300-mile range. Rivian says its maxed-out RT1 (quad-motor AWD) will go farther: 328 miles on a single charge.

The Cyberbeast is indeed a beast — weighing in at 6,843 lbs, Tesla says. Yet, that’s less than an F-150 Lightning Platinum (6,893 lbs) and Rivian RT1 (7,148 lbs). Increasingly, supersized EVs are simply the standard, to the detriment of basically everyone else on the road.

As for maximum towing, Tesla markets 11,000 lbs for the Cyberbeast, tying Rivian’s claimed max towing capability and falling short of Ford’s advertised max of 15,900 lbs.

Length-wise, the Cybertruck sits in the middle of the pack at 223.7″ long. Ford’s high-priced EV pickup is a bit longer, at 232.7″, while Rivian’s measures 217.1″ long. At 70.5″ tall, the Cybertruck is a bit shorter than EV pickups from Rivian (78.2″) and Ford (77.2″).

Lastly, speed: Tesla says the Cyberbeast tops out at 130 MPH, while Ford and Rivian both top out at 110 MPH.

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Harri Weber

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November 30, 2023
Ford’s production workers at Kentucky, Louisville vote against new labor deal

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(Reuters) – The United Auto Workers (UAW) production workers at Ford’s Louisville assembly and Kentucky truck plants have voted against a proposed four-and-a-half year contract, while the skilled trades workers voted in favor of the deal, the union’s local unit said on Facebook.

The UAW Local 862 union said that 55% of the production workers voted against ratifying the contract. However, 69% of the skilled trades workers cast votes in favor of the contract.

The union did not disclose the overall percentage of the votes in favor of the deal, or the total number of votes cast.

The union and Ford did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment

Union workers are voting on contracts from each of Chrysler-owner Stellantis, GM and Ford, after the first coordinated strike against Detroit’s Big Three automakers.

On Friday, UAW union members at General Motors’ Flint assembly plant in Michigan narrowly voted against the proposed contract with the U.S. automaker.

(This story has been refiled to add the dropped word ‘production’ in paragraph 1)

(Reporting by Gokul Pisharody in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)

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November 12, 2023
US automakers need to make up their minds already | TechCrunch

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Consumers in the U.S. have the memory of a goldfish.

When gas prices are up, they seek out more fuel-efficient transportation. But when they’re down, they rush to buy the biggest truck possible. Just take a look at Ford F-Series sales data from the last decade juxtaposed with average monthly gas prices.

Image Credits: Tim De Chant/TechCrunch+

See? Goldfish.

It turns out U.S. automakers resemble their customer base. A few years ago, they were bullish on electric vehicles. But now, after just a couple years of serious investment, they’re starting to get cold feet.

Ford and GM, in particular, have said that they’re just responding to their customers’ needs. And maybe they are! Some consumers remain wary because EV charging still sucks. Others have been scared off by high prices. (Arguably, these are both self-inflicted wounds: Legacy automakers have refused to consider charging a key part of the ownership experience, and Ford and GM have continually hiked EV prices in a way that’s out of step with the market.)

Such customer responsiveness can be an asset in normal times, allowing companies to adjust their product lines to ride the ups and downs of the market. Yet in times of transition, when the future is in flux, it can be a terrible way to run a business.

Legacy automakers have long said that their profitable model lines would be a strength as the market transitions to electric vehicles. All three companies have announced that they’d be investing billions in developing EVs and making the batteries that power them, and it would appear that the plan is working out just fine.

Over the last decade, automakers have flocked to crossovers, SUVs and pickup trucks, three segments that are the most profitable. U.S. automakers have gone further than most. Ford even went as far as to stop producing mass market cars, focusing instead on crossovers, SUVs and pickups with the occasional Mustang coupe thrown in for branding purposes.

How’s it been working out? Pretty well, actually. Ford reported $1.2 billion in profit for Q3, not bad given headwinds induced by the UAW strike. GM did better, raking in $3.1 billion in the same quarter. Stellantis doesn’t generally announce its quarterly earnings until November, but it had a gangbuster first half of the year, posting $12.1 billion in profit.

So why have Ford and GM decided to pump the brakes on their EV plans?

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Tim De Chant

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October 29, 2023
Auto Workers And Stellantis Reach Tentative Contract Deal That Follows Model Set By Ford

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DETROIT (AP) — Jeep maker Stellantis has reached a tentative contract agreement with the United Auto Workers union that follows a template set earlier this week by Ford, two people with knowledge of the negotiations said Saturday.

The deal, which still has to be ratified by members, leaves only General Motors without a contract with the union. The agreement could end a six-week strike by more than 14,000 workers at Stellantis assembly plants in Michigan and Ohio, and at parts warehouses across the nation.

Like workers at Ford, the strikers at Stellantis are expected to take down their picket lines and start returning to work in the coming days, before 43,000 union members vote.

The people, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the talks, said most of the main points of the deal at Ford will carry over to Stellantis.

The Ford pact includes 25% in general wage increases over the next 4 1/2 years for top assembly plant workers, with 11% coming once the deal is ratified. Workers also will get cost-of-living pay that would bring the raises to over 30%, with top assembly plant workers making more than $40 per hour. At Stellantis, top-scale workers now make around $31 per hour.

Like the Ford contract, the Stellantis deal would run through April 30, 2028.

The deal includes a new vehicle for a now-idled factory in Belvidere, Illinois, which the company had planned to close.

Bruce Baumhower, president of the local union at a large Stellantis Jeep factory in Toledo, Ohio, that has been on strike since September, said he expects workers will vote to approve the deal because of the pay raises above 30% and a large raise immediately.

“Eleven percent is right on the hood,” he said. “It’s a historic agreement as far as I’m concerned.”

Some union members have been complaining that Fain promised 40% raises to match what he said was given to company CEOs, but Baumhower said that was UAW President Shawn Fain’s opening bid.

Anybody who knows anything about negotiations, you always start out much higher than you think is realistic to get,” he said

Talks were under way with General Motors on Saturday in an effort to reach a similar agreement. Over 14,000 workers at GM remain on strike at factories in Texas, Michigan and Missouri.

The union began targeted strikes against all three automakers on Sept. 15 after its contracts with the companies expired.

The union and Stellantis went into intense negotiations on Thursday, the day after the Ford deal was announced, and finalized the agreement on Saturday.

UAW workers began their targeted strikes with one assembly plant from each company. The strikes were expanded on Sept. 22, adding 38 GM and Stellantis parts warehouses. Assembly plants from Ford and GM were added the week after that, and then the union hit Ford hard, taking down the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, the company’s largest and most profitable factory.

At the peak, about 46,000 workers were on strike against all three companies, about one-third of the union’s 146,000 members at the Detroit three. Automakers laid off several thousand more as parts shortages cascaded through their manufacturing systems.

Under the Ford deal, workers with pensions also will see small increases when they retire, and those hired after 2007 with 401(k) plans will get large increases. For the first time, the union will have the right to go on strike over company plans to close factories. Temporary workers also will get large raises, and Ford agreed to shorten to three years the time it takes for new hires to reach the top of the pay scale.

Other union leaders who followed more aggressive bargaining strategies in recent months have also secured pay hikes and other benefits for their members. Last month, the union representing Hollywood writers called off a nearly five-month strike after scoring some wins in compensation, length of employment and other areas. This summer, the Teamsters also secured new pay hikes and benefits for unionized UPS workers after threatening a nationwide strike at the delivery company.

AP Business Writer Haleluya Hadero contributed to this report from Jersey City, New Jersey.

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October 28, 2023
Ford Delays $12B EV Plans; BP Invests in $100M in Tesla Chargers | Entrepreneur

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Ford announced on Thursday that it delaying a $12 billion investment in electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing facilities, including halting the construction of a second battery plant in Kentucky, per CNBC.

Ford said in a media briefing on Thursday that growth in electric vehicle sales is not materializing at the pace the company had initially anticipated, and noted that a significant portion of its North American customer base is unwilling to pay a premium for electric vehicles compared to alternatives.

“We’re not moving away from our second generation [EV] products,” CFO John Lawler said in the briefing, per CNBC. “We are, though, looking at the pace of capacity that we’re putting in place. We are going to push out some of that investment.”

Ford’s Blue Oval City project in Tennessee will still proceed as planned.

Ford’s EV business has been incurring losses, with approximately $1.3 billion lost in adjusted earnings during the last quarter in its electric vehicle business unit, marking nearly double the loss compared to the same period the previous year.

Meanwhile, one big company has optimism in the EV market.

BP, the oil and gas company, made a deal this week to acquire $100 million worth of electric vehicle chargers from Tesla, CNN reported.

Beginning in 2024, BP will install the 250 kilowatt fast chargers, typically referred to as “Superchargers” by Tesla. The specific quantity of charges remains undisclosed in the announcement.

BP intends to deploy the chargers at a range of BP-owned locations, while some of them will be placed at third-party sites, such as Hertz centers.

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Madeline Garfinkle

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October 27, 2023
Ford, Microsoft, Delta, Walgreens, Birkenstock, and More Stock Market Movers

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Stock futures posted modest gains Thursday ahead of a report likely to show that U.S. inflation fell in September as gasoline price growth slowed and used-car costs declined.

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October 12, 2023
The Auto Workers Strike Just Hit Ford Where It Hurts

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The United Auto Workers union announced Wednesday that its nearly 4-week strike against the “Big Three” automakers was expanding to Ford’s truck plant in Kentucky.

Roughly 8,700 union members work at the Louisville facility producing the company’s Super Duty trucks as well as the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs.

The walkout Wednesday marks the first time during the strike that the union has targeted the production of large pickups, a big moneymaker for Ford as well as General Motors and Stellantis, which owns the Dodge, Jeep and Ram brands.

“We have been crystal clear, and we have waited long enough, but Ford has not gotten the message,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement. “It’s time for a fair contract at Ford and the rest of the Big Three. If they can’t understand that after four weeks, the 8,700 workers shutting down this extremely profitable plant will help them understand it.”

Ford called the decision to strike the Kentucky plant “grossly irresponsible but unsurprising.” The company said it had made an “outstanding offer” to the union in an effort to end the strike.

“In addition to affecting approximately 9,000 direct employees at the plant, this work stoppage will generate painful aftershocks ― including putting at risk approximately a dozen additional Ford operations and many more supplier operations,” the company said in a statement.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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October 11, 2023
Here’s How The Auto Workers Strike Will Play Out, According To The Union’s President

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The United Auto Workers (UAW) president laid out the union’s strategy for striking the “Big Three” automakers, telling members on Wednesday that they may carry out targeted walkouts to keep the companies off-balance.

The UAW’s contracts with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, which owns the Dodge and Jeep brands, all expire at midnight Friday morning. The union has said it would strike any company where they didn’t have a satisfactory deal in place by the deadline.

Never before has the union struck all three companies at once. As HuffPost reported earlier this week, it was possible the union would decide to strike select facilities to disrupt production rather than wage a more costly concurrent work stoppage across an entire company or all three.

Shawn Fain, the UAW president, said in an online town hall Wednesday that the union would take the targeted approach. He called it the “standup strike” strategy, an homage to the famous “sitdown” strike that began in Flint, Michigan, in late 1936.

“This is going to create confusion for the companies. It’s going to keep them guessing on what might happen next.”

– UAW President Shawn Fain

“This is going to create confusion for the companies,” Fain said. “It’s going to keep them guessing on what might happen next. And it will turbocharge the power of our negotiators.”

Fain said the union would inform local affiliates two hours before the strike deadline on Thursday whether they were expected to strike. Those not told to strike would be expected to hold back.

“This strike requires us to be very disciplined,” Fain said.

Although such a strategy would inflict less pain on the auto companies, it would also inflict less pain on workers. The union has a strike fund of $825 million, which would pay workers $500 per week, much less than they earn on the job. The fund could last an estimated 11 weeks if all 150,000 workers under the three contracts were on the picket lines at once.

With targeted strikes, many members could remain on the job while the union still managed to create production and distribution headaches.

The UAW’s contracts with Ford, GM and Stellantis all expire at midnight Thursday night.

The union is trying to reach new four-year agreements with the companies, but Fain said that despite progress, the two sides remain far apart on certain key issues.

The union has proposed 40% pay increases over the life of the contract to make up for inflation and previous concessions. Fain said Ford had come up to 20%, GM to 18% and Stellantis to 17.5%, but the union still considers those offers insufficient.

Fain also said the companies have moved on the “two-tier” system that pays newer workers less for performing the same work as veterans. It currently takes eight years to “progress” to the top pay rate. Fain said all companies have offered to cut that timeline in half to four years, but the union has said workers should reach the top rate in 90 days.

He said other differences remained on the issues of profit sharing, temporary employees and plant closures.

Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement Wednesday that his company had made “increasingly generous” offers to the union, and that he hoped the two sides could avoid “a disastrous outcome.”

“If there is a strike, it’s not because Ford didn’t make a great offer. We have and that’s what we can control,” Farley said.

Fain said the union would still consider the possibility of striking everywhere depending on how talks progressed, but he made it clear the union would start with more limited disruptions.

He said, “Your local will only strike if you are called upon to do so.”

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September 13, 2023
UAW strike countdown: Union president says targeted strike possible at all Big Three automakers

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United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain said Wednesday that autoworkers and the Big Three automakers are still far apart, although negotiations continue, and that the union may strike all of the Big Three at once.

“We’re keeping all of our options open. An all-out strike is still a possibility,” Fain said during a webcast with members.

The UAW and Ford Motor Co.
F,
+1.53%,
General Motors Co.
GM,
+0.57%
and Stellantis NV
STLA,
-0.42%
have made progress during their talks but were still far apart on the union’s key priorities, though negotiations will continue until the deadline of 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, Fain said.

“For the first time in our history, we may strike all of the Big Three at once,” Fain said, adding that he looked at this time as “our defining moment.”

He said if no deal is reached, there’s also the possibility of doing “standup strikes” at certain plants, designed to keep the companies guessing. These could escalate and spread elsewhere in order to give the union leverage in bargaining. He told UAW members that they should not strike unless their local is called to do so.

A targeted strike helps the UAW avoid distributing strike pay, set recently at $500 a week per member, to all 150,000 of its members. But it could have a broader effect.

“It is possible for strikes at critical parts plants to have much wider implications,” Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, said in an interview with MarketWatch on Wednesday.

He noted that the 1998 strike against GM, a work stoppage by 9,200 workers at two of that company’s plants in Flint, Mich., resulted in shutdowns that affected more than 150,000 workers.

See: These Ford, GM plants are the most likely strike targets

Jody Calemine, a senior fellow and director of labor and employment policy at the Century Foundation, a progressive think tank, said Wednesday that the union is employing an interesting strategy.

“It will turn the screws slowly and probe for weaknesses, and try to get as much movement out of companies as possible while keeping the options to escalate,” he said.

Calemine said Fain has done a “masterful job” of painting the fight as a “real showdown” between working families and the companies. But he added that “the principal danger for the union would be losing the narrative. Other places would continue to work, or get laid off or locked out.”

That’s reflected in some of the online comments by UAW members who watched Fain’s update. One worker said on Facebook: “Strike us all or none at all.”

The UAW president quoted scripture, repeated his calls for unity and said the “strike plan is driven by faith that together we can and will move mountains.”

Fain said the companies have revised some of their offers: On wages, Ford has put forward a 20% increase over the life of the four-year contract, up from its previous offer of 9%, while GM’s latest offer is 18% and Stellantis’s offer is 17.5%. That’s compared to a wage increase of 40% — or 46% when compounded annually — that the union sought originally and later revised to 36%.

“Their proposals don’t reflect the massive profits that we’ve generated for these companies,” Fain said.

The union has pointed out that while the Big Three’s profit has risen 65% over the past four years, and the pay of each of the companies’ chief executives have risen 40%, the UAW top wage rate has risen 6% over that time.

See: Why United Auto Workers are fighting to end a two-tier system for wages and benefits

A GM spokesperson said Wednesday that the company continues to bargain in good faith and sent a statement that reads in part: “We are making progress in key areas that we believe are most important to our represented team members. This includes historic guaranteed annual wage increases, investments in our U.S. manufacturing plants to provide opportunities for all, and shortening the time for in-progression employees to reach maximum wages.”

Ford and Stellantis did not immediately return a request for comment.

The most recent U.S. autoworkers’ strike was at GM in 2019, which lasted for nearly six weeks and involved about 50,000 workers.

See: Would a United Auto Workers strike provide an opportunity for Tesla — and push up used-car prices?

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September 13, 2023
Ford CEO Slams Tesla’s ‘Silicon Valley’ Cybertruck | Entrepreneur

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Ford CEO Jim Farley has a message for Elon Musk’s Tesla: Your fancy new Cybertruck doesn’t keep me up at night.

Appearing on CNBC’s Mad Money from the Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan,” Farley told Jim Kramer that Musk’s upcoming Cybertruck wouldn’t steal customers from the company’s F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck.

“If he wants to design a Cybertruck for Silicon Valley people, fine,” Farley said. “It’s like a cool high-end product parked in front of a hotel. But I don’t make trucks like that. I make trucks for real people who do real work.”

The release of the Cybertruck — Tesla’s first electric truck — has been fraught with delays since Musk first announced it in 2019. But in an earnings call last April, Musk assured investors that the EV would be ready by the end of the year.

Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

Telsa is eager to get into the EV truck market. Pickup trucks were America’s top-selling vehicles in 2022, with Ford’s F-Series leading the way. However, Tesla dominates the EV market.

It’s still unclear how similar the Cybertruck and F-150 Lightning will be. According to Business Insider, the Cybertruck is estimated to sell for around $50,000, while the F-150 Lightning has a $60,000 sticker price. Some have compared the Cybertruck to GMC’s Hummer more than a Ford pickup truck.

Related: 3 Old School Automakers Making Big EV Strides

Ford to use Tesla charging stations

Despite Farley’s tough words about Tesla, the two companies recently agreed to a partnership on charging stations. Ford drivers will be able to use over 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across the U.S. and Canada sometime in 2024.

Asked if that was a conflict of interest, Farley responded, “I have no problem being opportunistic when it comes to advantaging my customers.”

He added that Musk was amicable during the negotiations. “More because of Henry Ford than Jim Farley.”

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Jonathan Small

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June 21, 2023