Latest news with #electriccars
Wall Street Journal
10 hours ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Podcast: The American Company Taking on China's Rare-Earth Dominance
Tiny rare-earth magnets are used for building phones, electric cars, and submarines. Nearly all of them are mined in China, but one U.S. company is trying to change that. WSJ's Jon Emont spoke with MP Materials' chief executive about his goals for America's largest rare-earths miner, which has struck deals with the Pentagon, General Motors, and Apple. 🎧 Listen to The Journal podcast.
Daily Mail
13 hours ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Newsom attempts to slam breaks on Musk and suspend Tesla's operations in explosive showdown over controversial feature
California authorities are locked in a legal battle with Elon Musk 's Tesla in an effort to suspend the electric car company's operations in the state. Governor Gavin Newsom has been a vocal critic of Tesla's market dominance and clashed with the world's richest man intensely after he endorsed President Donald Trump in the 2024 race. Now, officials at the Department of Motor Vehicles have alleged in court Tesla deceived consumers with its autopilot and self driving features. Lawyers representing the DMV maintain Tesla engaged in false advertising when it promoted 'autopilot', 'self driving capability' and a system 'able to conduct short and long-distance trips with no action required by the person in the driver's seat.' The suit was first filed in July 2022 and amended in November 2023. The state is seeking to have Tesla's licenses to manufacture and sell cars suspended in California for at least 30 days. Lawyers would also like Tesla to pay an as-yet-undetermined sum as restitution. 'These labels and descriptions represent specifically that respondent (Tesla)'s vehicles will operate as autonomous vehicles, which they could not and cannot do,' Attorney General Rob Bonta wrote in a July 17 brief. Deputy Attorney General Christopher Beatty, who represented the state's DMV in court, said it would be 'a straightforward case.' He argued that Tesla had for years advertised high-tech features which falsely suggested the cars could drive and park themselves. But attorneys for Tesla insisted the company 'has always made clear' that the cars are not fully autonomous and required 'active driver supervision.' Tesla has said Autopilot lets vehicles steer, accelerate and brake in their lanes, and Full Self-Driving lets vehicles obey traffic signals and change lanes. But it has admitted that neither excuses drivers from paying attention to the road, and the technologies 'do not make the vehicle autonomous.' DMV investigations Commander Melanie Rosario provided testimony during the first day of proceedings, arguing: 'Autopilot to me means (the car) can drive itself or do things on its own.' But she said she had noticed contradictory statements from Tesla, touting self driving capabilities while simultaneously instructing drivers to keep their hands on or near the steering wheel. David Marcus, representing Tesla, told the court the complaint is the DMV's latest attempt to block a company 'on the verge of fulfilling the dream' of getting autonomous vehicles on the mass market for public consumption. 'Let me say this very clearly, Tesla has never misled consumers. Never,' Marcus said. Musk and Newsom have clashed over state policies for years, including Newsom's decision to shut Tesla's Fremont factory during the pandemic and California's approval of a bill on transgender kids. In 2021, Tesla moved its headquarters from California to Texas, and by late 2024, SpaceX and X had followed suit. At the height of Musk and President Trump's bromance, Newsom vowed to introduce a state tax rebate on purchasing electric cars if the Trump administration eliminates the federal tax cut - excluding Musk's Tesla from a piece of the pie. The new rebates could exclude Tesla and other automakers with a large market share in an effort to promote more competition, the governor's office said. But that is subject to negotiation with the state Legislature. Tesla holds 55 percent of California's EV market share, down from 64 percent a year ago. Hyundai and BMW are the next two biggest EV sellers in the state, at just 6.4 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively. Musk, whose company is the only one that actually manufactures EVs in the Golden State, clearly felt singled out and slammed Newsom's proposal at the time. 'Even though Tesla is the only company who manufactures their EVs in California! This is insane,' he wrote on X. Newsom earlier this year told Musk's nemesis Steve Bannon that California 'created' the billionaire through generous EV mandates. Bannon said 'you know him. You guys created him', prompting Newsom to agree, adding: 'In many respects, California did. Our regulatory process and our subsidies to create this market.' That wasn't the first time Newsom had taken credit for Musk's success. 'It's one of the reasons guys like Elon Musk and others have become so successful,' Newsom said in October. 'It's because we've set price signals, we've created markets, we've created opportunities for investments. We're the number one manufacturer for a reason. We continue to be the envy of the world.' Tesla in July launched a small group of self-driving taxis in Texas after a several delays, with Musk celebrating the 'robotaxi launch' and social-media influencers posting videos of their first rides. The event marked the first time Tesla cars without human drivers have carried paying riders, a business that Musk sees as crucial to the electric car maker's financial future. He called the moment the 'culmination of a decade of hard work' in a post on his social-media platform X and noted that 'the AI chip and software teams were built from scratch within Tesla.' But efforts to expand the service faced a roadblock when it was revealed Tesla is yet to apply for regulatory permits it needs to operate driverless taxis in California. Musk had hoped to its robotaxis to the San Francisco Bay Area within two months.
Auto Express
a day ago
- Automotive
- Auto Express
More Chinese EV price cuts as MG responds to EV grant confusion
The Government's announcement that buyers of pure-electric cars priced under £37,000 could receive a grant worth up to £3,750 has been met with plenty of confusion. To help clear things up and entice buyers even more, MG has announced it will give all private buyers of the MG4 and MGS5 EV its own £1,500 'grant'. That's in addition to whatever comes from the official Electric Car Grant. Advertisement - Article continues below David Allison, Head of Product and Planning for MG Motor UK, told Auto Express that customers had been 'put off' by the grant thanks to a lack of clarity over which cars meet the eligibility criteria and if a car's price tag would be lowered to dip under the £37,000 grant ceiling in the near future. MG is yet to find out if its Chinese-built MG4 and MGS5 EV will be able to meet the sustainability criteria to qualify for the UK Government's grant - whether that's the maximum £3,750 or the second tier £1,500 figure. However, MG has said it is still in the 'process of securing any of the Government-backed support which has been made available'. As a reminder, the MG4 sits under the £37,000 grant cut-off for the Electric Car Grant, coming in at £26,995 in SE specification and topping out at £36,495 in Trophy Extended Range form. The MGS5 EV in SE trim is priced from £28,495 and goes up to £33,495 for the Trophy Long Range. Guy Pigounakis, Commercial Director for MG Motor UK said, 'MG has been a key contributor to the EV sector. Today's announcement underlines this commitment and in addition to this, we will also seek to work constructively with the Government to further increase the sale of EVs.' MG also said the Cyberster roadster (which starts from £54,995) would not be a part of its £1,500 discount scheme and neither would the incoming IM5 and IM6 models. Since 2019 MG has been the fifth most popular EV brand with car buyers in the UK. A total of 95,000 MG electric cars have found homes. MG is not the first brand to preemptively offer its own electric car 'grant' in the wake of the official Government announcement. Leapmotor and Ora are taking similar measures to circumvent any confusion buyers might be feeling around the cars that will or will not qualify for the scheme. Did you know you can sell your car through Auto Express ? We'll help you get a great price and find a great deal on a new car, too .
Auto Car
a day ago
- Automotive
- Auto Car
Alpine has postponed its US launch but still plans to launch a range of larger electric luxury cars
Alpine is still developing larger and more upmarket electric cars to crown its line-up, despite having put its plans to enter the US market on ice. The Renault-owned performance brand had planned a US launch for 2027 as part of its strategy to achieve 150,000 annual sales by 2030 but postponed the plans indefinitely after the Trump administration's imposition of a 25% import tariff on all European-built cars. Key to its success in the US were to be a range of larger models to break into the D- and E-segments. These are understood to have included a Porsche Cayenne rival to sit above the Macan-sized A390, plus a further two E-segment cars by 2030 - possibly another SUV and a saloon in the vein of the Lotus Emeya. Alpine's postponement of plans to launch in the US, the most important global market for these range-topping models, raised questions over their continued viability. But while the brand has not indicated that it is back on track for a Stateside rollout, it is still developing bigger cars as part of a push to bolster its premium positioning. Speaking to reporters at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the company's chief designer, Antony Villain, said Alpine's goal is "more and more to move up now, rather to go down", so it will not launch any models smaller or more affordable than the A290 hot hatchback. Instead, it will shift its focus to larger and more profitable models. Villain said: "We need something in the D- or E-segment, not especially for Europe, because Europe is still more a C-segment market. But if we want to expand more globally, we will need, probably, bigger cars. "The US was in our plan. Of course with the situation, we put it on hold but the US is still the biggest market for sports cars - but not only: there are some other countries where they look for bigger cars. We have to find our ways, but yes we are still working on that." Villain did not say which markets outside of the US and Europe the brand is now targeting with its new flagship models but said they will play an important role in Alpine's "emancipation" from its parent, Renault. "Five years ago, Alpine was like a 13-year-old kid – needing money from their parents, a bit joyful and not fully serious," he said. "Now it's like we are becoming 18: we will need to find a job, make our own money, develop our own network - a bit more serious. But not too much. "So it's emancipation, but still being in a group, because we have the chance to have a strong group behind us and that's something really strong. It's always playing between on which topics we need to be totally independent, and on which ones we really need to have the back office and the group behind us."
New York Times
a day ago
- Automotive
- New York Times
Chinese Car Giants Rush Into Brazil With Dreams of Dominating a Continent
A two-hour drive beyond the traffic jams of São Paulo, past the vast valleys of sugar cane, one of the first Chinese battery-powered-car factories in the Americas is getting ready to open. Its goal is to reinvent the way Brazil drives, and ultimately, the rest of Latin America, much as Chinese automakers have already done across much of Asia and want to do in Europe. Until recently, this factory was run by Mercedes-Benz, the German giant of 20th century automotive innovation that churned out cars powered by gasoline. Today, it's owned by Great Wall Motor, a company that decades ago made rugged pickup trucks for the Chinese countryside but is now one of China's leading exporters of stylish, affordable electric cars. The change in hands reflects a profound disruption for one of the world's most vital industries. If American and European gas-guzzling cars once dominated global tastes and trends, that era appears to be fast turning to China's favor. Today, not only does China make and export more cars of all types than any other country in the world, Chinese firms dominate the global manufacture of battery-powered vehicles of the future. They also control the supply chain for virtually everything that goes into those cars. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
