ReportWire

Tag: Jim Farley

  • A.I.’s Data Center Rush Will Create Six-Figure Trade Jobs, Jensen Huang Predicts

    [ad_1]

    Jensen Huang speaks during the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 21, 2026. Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

    Much has been said about A.I.’s potential to replace jobs. But Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is more concerned about A.I. creating a labor shortage—at least in the short term. As tech companies race to build data centers across the U.S. and around the world, they will need tradespeople such as plumbers, electricians and construction workers to make it happen. “This is the largest infrastructure buildout in human history. That’s going to create a lot of jobs,” said Huang during an interview with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 21.

    New labor opportunities will be especially concentrated in the trades, where Huang claims pay has already nearly doubled. Those who help build semiconductor plants, computer factories and data centers will soon be making “six-figure salaries,” according to the executive.

    “Everyone should be able to make a great living,” said Huang. “You don’t need a Ph.D. in computer science to do so.”

    The median annual pay for electricians in 2024 was around $62,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It was roughly $46,000 for construction laborers and nearly $63,000 for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters. Growth for all three professions from 2024 to 2034 is expected to outpace the average occupational growth rate of 3 percent, with demand for electricians in particular surging. The field is projected to expand by 9 percent over the next decade, with about 81,000 openings projected annually on average.

    The U.S. is already seeing a “significant boom” in these areas, according to Huang—so much so that it has led to a “great shortage” in tradecraft roles. The A.I. boom is expected to worsen a worker deficit the industry was already facing. In December 2022, some 490,000 construction positions went unfilled, according to a McKinsey report, the highest level recorded this century.

    Huang isn’t the only CEO who believes A.I. will be a boon for trade jobs. Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir, described vocational skills as “very valuable, if not irreplaceable,” while speaking in Davos earlier this week. Ford CEO Jim Farley has made similar arguments on behalf of the blue-collar community, saying the country does not yet have a large enough workforce to support its data center ambitions. “I think the intent is there, but there’s nothing to backfill the ambition,” he told Axios in August.

    The opportunity for A.I.-driven manual labor jobs won’t be limited to the U.S., Huang added, but will extend around the world as data center construction accelerates. “There is not one country in the world I can imagine where you [don’t] need to have A.I. as part of your infrastructure.”

    A.I.’s Data Center Rush Will Create Six-Figure Trade Jobs, Jensen Huang Predicts

    [ad_2]

    Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly

    Source link

  • Ford says it’s investing $5 billion in EV production, with a new model to start at $30,000

    [ad_1]

    Ford is investing $5 billion to change the way it makes electric vehicles, a move the automaker says will allow it to manufacture models starting at $30,000 — far less than the current average price for an EV.

    The Dearborn, Michigan-based company on Monday said it will invest $2 billion to modernize its Louisville Assembly Plant and another $3 billion to build a new battery plant in Michigan, part of its push to produce more affordable EVs.

    The company unveiled its new “universal EV platform” at a Monday event, with Ford CEO Jim Farley calling it “the most radical change on how we design and how we build vehicles at Ford since the Model T,” which Ford introduced in 1908.

    According to Ford, the new assembly line will be structured more like an “assembly tree,” with three different lines that converge into one, rather than a single assembly belt. 

    The new assembly line will be formed more like an “assembly tree,” with three different lines that converge into one, rather than a single assembly belt, Ford said Monday.

    Ford Motor Company


    “This way of building a vehicle, we’re confident, is the first time anyone’s done this anywhere in the world,” said Doug Field, Ford’s EV chief of digital and design, at Monday’s event.

    The company said the design will lead to a quicker, smoother assembly process and improve ergonomics for employees through a less obstructive layout.

    “Ford’s announcement is very ambitious, because it includes both a new production process and a new vehicle,” said Patrick Anderson, founder of Michigan-based consulting firm Anderson Economic Group, in an email to CBS MoneyWatch. “If they can actually pull off a production line that has 40% fewer workstations and 20% fewer parts, it will be worthy of the ‘Model T moment’ claim.

    Ford’s first EV from the new system

    The first product of this new production system will be a four-door midsize truck, which will debut in 2027. Farley said on Monday that the new vehicle will accommodate five people and feature a “frunk” — a front storage compartment — as well as a pickup truck bed. 

    The vehicle will start at $30,000. By comparison, the average price for a new electric vehicle in July was about $56,000, according to Kelley Blue Book.

    Field touted the new vehicle’s charging capabilities, referring to the truck as a “mobile power plant.”

    “Outlets in the back can give you high power and let you plug in anything from tools to a refrigerator, and it can provide backup power for your home,” he said.

    The midsize electric truck could be produced up to 40% faster than other vehicles at the Louisville Assembly Plant due to the new process, Ford said. 

    In another effort to lower costs, the auto company is also reducing the number of components that go into each car. Vehicles produced on the “universal EV platform” will have 20% fewer parts than a traditional vehicle, Ford said.

    The company will also use smaller cobalt and nickel-free batteries that will allow it to make “cost gains,” according to a video shared by Ford.

    Anderson said that Ford has its work cut out for them given that the new truck will need to be competitively priced and economical. According to the auto industry expert, the cost of charging EV trucks currently on the market is often much higher than the price at the pump for gas-powered versions. A report from the Anderson Economic Group shows pickup trucks drivers in New York, California and Michigan face “significantly higher costs” if they rely on an EV.

    A successfully lower-cost truck model, however, could spur a new chapter for the company in its manufacturing of EVs.

    “If Ford shows the industry it can build and sell a reliable compact EV truck for $30,000, it will sell a lot of them, and open the door to making sedans using the new production process,” Anderson said.

    Mary Cunningham

    Mary Cunningham is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. Before joining the business and finance vertical, she worked at “60 Minutes,” CBSNews.com and CBS News 24/7 as part of the CBS News Associate Program.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • After viral video shows ‘built for any planet’ Cybertruck struggling on hill, Forest Service makes Tesla cheeky offer

    After viral video shows ‘built for any planet’ Cybertruck struggling on hill, Forest Service makes Tesla cheeky offer

    [ad_1]

    Elon Musk touted the Tesla Cybertruck as the perfect vehicle for an apocalypse at a launch event in Texas a few weeks ago. And on its website, Tesla claims the futuristic electric vehicle is “built for any planet,” being “durable and rugged enough to go anywhere.”

    Many recalled such boasts when a video went viral this week showing a Cybertruck, with a single harvested Christmas tree, struggling to navigate a snowy off-road hill in California’s Stanislaus National Forest. In the video, a Ford pickup truck on a road wrenches the Tesla vehicle up the slope.

    The phrase “sport futility vehicle” spread on social media as the video went viral, with one X user posting, “Ok, seeing the Cybertruck called a ‘sport futility vehicle’ after having to be rescued by a Ford made my day.”

    Others argued the problem was more about an inexperienced driver and less about the Cybertruck itself, noting other trucks also get stuck on snowy hills. But there may have been an issue with that particular Cybertruck, too, which as one Tesla follower noted appeared to be a prototype with some equipment issues.

    Ford CEO Jim Farley, for his part, posted to X: “Just to be clear… this is a Super Duty and NOT advertising. Glad a Ford owner was there to help.”

    Yesterday, the National Forest Service released a press release cheekily offering to partner with Tesla on “an education campaign regarding off-road vehicle use on public lands.”

    It posted the press release on Facebook, where a user commented that they thought the video “was a spoof.”

    The Forest Service replied, “while we may have been a touch cheeky in our response, our offer to Tesla is real and this really happened out on Corral Hollows on the Calaveras side.”

    Stanislaus National Forest Supervisor Jason Kuiken said in the release, “We are always thrilled when new opportunities to explore our public lands become available, but feel there may be work to be done in educating users about our Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM).”

    He added, “You never have to worry about a software update at an incredibly awkward moment with one of our MVUM maps.”

    The Forest Service continued, “We feel confident that had the driver of the Cybertruck had a better understanding of the topographical feature indicated on our maps, practiced Leave No Trace principles, and generally been more prepared, this whole incident could have been not only avoided, but also provided much-needed education to many new off-road users.”

    The Cybertruck has generated significant excitement among Tesla fans.

    Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who already had a Model X, was among the first customers to pick up a Cybertruck in Austin, Texas, a few weeks ago. He said in a livestream that driving it felt “super futuristic.”

    Whether the vehicle attracts the kind of drivers who usually opt for the F-150 pickup truck or a similar no-nonsense workhorse remains to be seen, however.

    Fair or not, the Cybertruck was roasted by many on social media this week following the video going viral. One Facebook user quipped about the Cybertruck driver in the clip, “Bless his heart…he thinks he’s in a truck.”

    This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • US transition to electric vehicles faces delays

    US transition to electric vehicles faces delays

    [ad_1]

    The US transition to electric cars has hit a speed bump, with concerns about vehicle range and limited charging capacity adding to core affordability issues.

    Automakers in recent weeks have pushed back EV sales targets and delayed capital projects as they seek to reduce inventories of unsold EVs at dealerships.

    “The slowdown in EV sales is much more pronounced than it is for other categories of vehicles and that isn’t related to the economy,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData.

    “The EV has a problem attached to it,” he said. “It’s a much more difficult and complex purchase because of the range of the vehicles and the charging infrastructure.”

    American consumers are accustomed to often-lengthy road trips for holidays or to visit friends and relatives, owing to the country’s large size and limited public transit options.

    But so far, the network of EV charging stations remains dodgy, with many areas either lacking infrastructure or equipped with unreliable machines.

    – Range, pricing concerns –

    More than three-quarters of drivers consider EVs reliable, according to a survey by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the organizer of the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

    But there are also significant doubts among drivers surrounding the autos over inadequate charging infrastructure (36 percent), battery range (39 percent) and vehicle affordability (38 percent).

    The average EV sold in October for $51,762, some $13,000 below the year-ago level for the autos, but almost $4,000 above the average price of all autos.

    In Europe, the elevated price of gasoline adds an incentive that allows consumers there to overlook the lofty upfront cost of the vehicle.

    But that is less of a factor in the United States, where gas prices are only about half the level in France or Britain, according to Observatoire Cetelem 2024.

    Industry leaders such as Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk have also pointed to increased borrowing costs as a drag after a series of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes over the last year and a half.

    Tesla remains a dominant player in EVs, accounting for more than 55 percent of the 873,000 EV autos sold in the first 10 months of 2023, according to industry researcher Kelley Blue Book.

    Ford Chief Executive Jim Farley predicted “some bumpiness” in the evolving US market.

    “The dynamic changes in the market — pricing, adoption rates, regulations — are forcing us to further reduce the cost of our EVs,” Farley said last month.

    – Lowering costs –

    Ford’s rival and fellow Detroit giant General Motors recently pushed back until the end of 2025 a plan to convert its Orion, Michigan plant for EVs “to better manage capital investment while aligning with evolving EV demand,” the company said last month.

    “In addition, we have identified engineering improvements that we will implement to increase the profitability of our products,” GM said.

    Ford and Tesla too are looking to simplify their manufacturing processes to limit costs.

    “Reducing the cost of our vehicles is our top priority,” said Tesla Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja.

    For its futuristic Cybertruck, which is expected to commence deliveries before the end of 2023, Tesla is “doing everything possible to simplify that vehicle” to reach efficiency “that is unheard of in the auto industry,” Musk said.

    Ford has also vowed to tweak its vehicle design and manufacturing in order to reduce complexity.

    But the results are still unproven, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner.

    “What concerns us most is that automakers haven’t cracked the economics to make an easy, affordable EV,” Rosner said on CNBC.

    Washington has mobilized in favor of EVs during the presidency of Joe Biden, approving $7.5 billion in funds for EV chargers and extending tax credits up to $7.500 for consumer purchases of the autos.

    The Biden administration wants 50 percent of vehicles sales to be electric by 2030.

    “The politicians wanted it to happen overnight, but you can’t just set arbitrary targets, you’ve got to make sure the infrastructure’s there,” said Saunders of GlobalData.

    “The long-term trajectory is probably good for EVs,” but “it’s something that’s much slower-going,” he predicted.

    elm-jmb/md/caw

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Tesla-Ford charging station deal is the news Tesla owners have been dreading

    Tesla-Ford charging station deal is the news Tesla owners have been dreading

    [ad_1]

    Telsa and Ford today made an announcement that many Tesla owners have been dreading. In a Twitter Spaces talk, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his counterpart Jim Farley said that starting next spring all current and future Ford electric vehicles will get access to about 12,000 Tesla Supercharger stations in North America.

    The move helps Tesla qualify for a share of billions of federal dollars on offer to improve the experience of charging electric vehicles in America, and will make life easier for Ford EV owners. For Tesla customers, however, it could mean longer wait times at charging stations—even as many have already complained about congestion at them.

    “That’s the one thing that concerns me—whether it might add to congestion,” John Sergeant, a Tesla owner in Seattle, told the Wall Street Journal in February. He added that even without non-Teslas taking up coveted spaces, “they really need to put more superchargers in.”

    Not that Musk hasn’t indicated the day would come. He signaled a few years ago that his carmaker would eventually open its network to others. Then in February, the White announced a “set of actions aimed at creating a convenient, reliable and Made-in-America electric vehicle (EV) charging network so that the great American road trip can be electrified,” as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $7.5 billion investment in EV charging.

    The White House said that Tesla would for the first time “open a portion of its U.S. Supercharger and Destination Charger network to non-Tesla EVs, making at least 7,500 chargers available for all EVs by the end of 2024.” 

    Tesla customers waiting for Fords to charge

    Musk today reiterated that he didn’t want Tesla charging stations to be a “walled garden,” adding, “It is our intent to do everything possible to support Ford and have Ford be on an equal footing at Tesla Superchargers.” 

    This will no doubt lead to Tesla owners having to wait, at times, for Ford customers to charge their vehicles before them—something they’re not accustomed to.

    Ford’s current vehicles will need an adaptor at Tesla stations, but its second-generation ones in 2025 will use Tesla’s North American charging standard connector. 

    Last November, Tesla said it would share its EV connector design with other carmakers, writing on its blog: “We invite charging network operators and vehicle manufacturers to put the Tesla charging connector and charge port, now called the North American Charging Standard (NACS), on their equipment and vehicles.”

    Ford’s Farley, talking to Musk today, spoke highly of Tesla’s charging stations: “This is a really big deal for our customers…we love the locations, we love the reliability…It’s pretty amazing what you and your team have done for the customers.” 

    Tesla customers now using those stations, understandably, have less to be excited about.

    [ad_2]

    Steve Mollman

    Source link

  • Ford pauses production on its F-150 Lightning truck over

    Ford pauses production on its F-150 Lightning truck over

    [ad_1]

    Ford Motor will pause production on its F-150 Lightning until at least February 24 because the electric pickup truck has a battery problem. 

    The Michigan automaker spotted a potential battery issue this week during a pre-delivery quality inspection and started investigating the cause. Ford said it’s not aware of battery issues impacting vehicles already out on the road. 

    “We believe we have identified the root cause of this issue,” Ford spokeswoman Emma Bergg told CBS MoneyWatch on Wednesday. “By the end of next week, we expect to conclude our investigation and apply what we learn to the truck’s battery production process.”

    Applying that process “could take a few weeks,” Bergg said. 

    “We will continue holding already-produced vehicles while we work through engineering and process updates,” she said. 

    Ford began selling its F-150 Lightning last year. The production pause threatens Ford’s plan to deliver 600,000 Lightning trucks in 2023. 

    Since their release last May, Ford has sold 15,617 of the electric trucks, according to the most recent company data available. The company sold 2,436 of them in October, the most ever sold in one month.

    Soaring demand for EVs

    Ford is betting big on the F-150 Lightning, investing millions of dollars on a new facility for a vehicle that’s already been named the 2023 MotorTrend Truck of the Year.

    When company officials first announced the truck in 2021, demand quickly soared as the pre-order list surpassed 100,000 within three weeks. Workers are building the vehicle in a new plant in Dearborn, Michigan.

    Ford’s pause comes as interest and demand for electric vehicles continue to rise in the U.S. A survey from motor club AAA found that about a quarter of Americans say they want to get an electric vehicle as their next car purchase. Research from Recurrent, a car industry analysis company, found that interest in buying an electric vehicle has soared 70% since last January.


    General Motors president discusses new fully electric Corvette and future of electric vehicles

    09:07

    Ford raised the price of the F-150 Lightning in October as it sought to offset rising manufacturing costs. Other automakers also hiked the cost of their EV lines — including Rivian, GM and Tesla — amid surging metal prices and higher costs for components like lithium, which is used to make batteries. 

    Ford earlier this month reported $1.3 billion in profit for the fourth quarter of 2022, down roughly 89% from the same period last year. CEO Jim Farley said in an earnings call this month that he’s frustrated with the 2022 performance “because the year could have been so much more for us at Ford.”

    Ford’s stock price fell nearly 1% on Wednesday to about $12.80 a share, its second day of declines.

    Khristopher J. Brooks

    Khristopher J. Brooks is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering business, consumer and financial stories that range from economic inequality and housing issues to bankruptcies and the business of sports.

    [ad_2]

    Source link