Tesla’s first day of robotaxi service in Austin, Texas appeared to go off without a disastrous hitch. However, federal safety regulators are looking into situations where the vehicles may have broken local traffic laws. Meanwhile riders offered their largely positive reviews. Get details at Headlight.News.
California vowed to fight President Donald Trump’s effort to roll back the state’s tough emission and fuel economy standards, which would allow it to push automakers to go all-electric. The upcoming court battle could leave automakers in limbo as they try to plan for the future, reports Headlight.News.
It’s one of Hyundai’s best-selling model lines but that doesn’t mean the big Palisade SUV is immune from problems – or lawsuits. The Korean carmaker’s U.S. arm faces a class action claiming issues with the electronic brake controls on Palisade can make it difficult to stop the 3-row SUV. More from Headlight.News.
Barely a week after they bid adieu during a collegial meeting in the Oval Office, Pres. Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have launched what has rapidly escalated into an all-out war of words, amplified by their individual social media outlets. The feud has already left Tesla lurching, nervous shareholders fueling the automaker’s biggest one-day loss ever. But Musk appears positioned to do some damage of his own.
If you’re a Tesla shareholder you’re likely quite pleased to hear CEO Elon Musk promise to back away from his work in Washington to become “super-focused” on the automaker and his other companies. If you’re a buyer looking for an EV, however, that may not matter much, Tesla sales continuing to tumble in markets as diverse as Europe, China and the U.S. Headlight.News has more.
A German court has convicted four former Volkswagen managers of fraud in connection with the “Dieselgate” scandal that saw the automaker pay out more than $33 billion in fines and other costs for rigging diesel emissions data. Two of the VW employees face prison time. More from Headlight.News.
In a nod to Pres. Donald Trump, the U.S. Senate narrowly voted to block California’s ability to set unique emissions rules, a move critics say weakens the ability to address climate change. A court battle will likely determine whether the state will be blocked from mandating a switch to EVs by 2035.
With dozens of new models set to debut in the U.S. in the coming months, this should be a big year for Toyota. But the automaker’s plans have been put in a “wait and see mode,” as executives struggle to figure out how to respond to the new Trump import auto tariffs.The tariffs could bring more Toyota jobs to the U.S. – but they might also price some products out of reach, hammering sales. Headlight.News has more.
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives advanced a bill, if passed into law, would charge electric vehicle owners $250 annually to replenish the dwindling Highway Trust Fund, currently fed by gas and diesel taxes. Get details at Headlight.News.
Traffic fatalities have been declining in recent years in the U.S. And while cars laden with the newest safety technology play a role, it’s that nine out of 10 Americans using their seat belts nearly every time they get into a vehicle that is the real difference maker, experts claim. Get details at Headlight.News.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk attempted to use the EV maker’s earnings calls to quell concerns about his work with the Trump administration. He plans to leave his day-to-day role at the Department of Government Efficiency in a month to focus on Tesla. Get details about Musk’s plans and Tesla at Headlight.News.
Tesla faces a new lawsuit accusing the company of intentionally inflating the mileage shown on its vehicles’ odometers in order to avoid warranty claims. The new class action suit filed in California could expose the automaker to potentially massive fines, penalties and other costs under both state and federal law if it were found to be rigging odometer readings. Separately, CEO Elon Musk signaled that Tesla will have to replace as many as 4 million onboard computers not capable of operating the latest version of the company’s Full Self-Driving system.