Tesla’s on-again/off-again effort to develop an affordable EV may be on again, at least according to a report by Deutsche Bank. It issued a new report claiming the automaker will launch a new vehicle that could come in under $30,000 in the U.S. — at least with the help of federal tax credits, though those may go underway when the Trump administration returns to the White House next year. Get details at Headlight.News.
General Motors is shutting down its Cruise robocab program, shifting resources to the development of self-driving privately owned vehicles. The move comes a year after the subsidiary was blamed for a near-fatal accident near its San Francisco headquarters. It effectively hands what proponents see as a potentially huge market to competitors like Waymo and Tesla.
Four years after announcing plans to set up its own mobility division – and three years after confirming it would partner with Honda to develop a new EV – Sony will reveal a near production-ready version of an all-electric sedan at the Consumer Electronics Show next month. The all-wheel-drive model will put a premium on in-car entertainment technology and be marketed under the brand name Afeela.
In this week’s episode of the podcast, we talk about some of the important debuts that happened at the L.A. Auto Show, VW’s Cupra brand coming to the U.S., and we go for a spin in a new vehicle. We also make a rest stop and take a look at This Week in Automotive History.
Wondering what influence Tesla CEO Elon Musk may be having within the newly elected Trump administration? The incoming leaders of the U.S. Department of Transportation are readying to loosen the rules for self-driving vehicles, which would include Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology. Get details at Headlight.News.
GM’s autonomous vehicle unit Cruise is on the hook for a $500,000 fine for filing a false report to the Justice Department regarding an accident in October where a pedestrian was run over.
Cadillac’s charge into the emerging EV market takes a big step forward with the official debut of its fifth all-electric model, the 2026 Vistiq. The lavishly equipped 3-row SUV slots into a niche between Caddy’s first battery model, the Lyriq, and the flagship Escalade IQ. Here’s more.
After scoring a major win in the election this week, President-elect Donald Trump is widely expected to move quickly on a broad agenda when taking office next January. He has made it clear this will include a number of issues critical to the auto industry, including tariffs and EVs. That presents some significant opportunities for manufacturers, but also poses quite a few risks, said a senior Toyota executive who spoke to Headlight.News shortly after Trump’s victory was confirmed.
After a rough start, Tesla appeared to get back on track during the third quarter, beating both sales and earnings estimates. But, buried amidst all the financial data, CEO Elon Musk said there won’t be a $25,000 Tesla and the EV maker’s potentially rocket-powered Roadster is delayed – again. But he may be working on a flying Tesla.
Hoping to charge up sales of the Mustang Mach-E, Ford will cut the price by as much as $6,000 for the 2025 version of the all-electric crossover. That’s on top of a handful of other changes, including a revised shifter, a new Sport Appearance Package and upgraded BlueCruise technology.
An ebullient Elon Musk took to the stage Thursday night not just to show off the long-awaited Cybercab, Tesla’s CEO offered a peek at what his idea of what the future should be, and that kicks off sometime near the end of 2026 when the first Cybercabs go into production. Get details at Headlight.News.
It’s a put-up-or-shut-up-day for Elon Musk as Tesla prepares to reveal its long-promised Cybercab, but the company has plenty of other challenges facing it right now, starting with the departure of four top-level executives leading an exodus of talent as insiders balk at the CEO’s increasingly erratic behavior.