The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration agreed to end its probe of General Motors’ Cruise subsidiary’s robotaxis after it agreed to recall 1,200 of the vehicles. Go to Headlight.News for a closer look and details.
Regulatory
Texas Sues GM for Selling Owner Data to Insurance Companies
General Motors is in the crosshairs of Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton, accused of “egregious business practices that violated Texans’ privacy and broke the law” by “misleading” owners into providing personal data then sold to auto insurers to help them set individual rates. The lawsuit could result in fines climbing into the hundreds of millions, even billions, of dollars.
UAW Charges Musk, Trump With Trying to Intimidate Workers
The United Auto Workers is challenging the explicitly anti-union, and anti-workers language used by former President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk during an interview on Musk’s social media service X on Monday.
Musk Uses Live Conversation With Trump to Pitch EVs to Candidate’s Skeptical Followers
It was billed as an “interview” with presidential candidate Donald Trump but billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk used the Monday night event on social media service X to promote the benefits of EVs – those from Tesla, in particular. It’s no easy sell, at least to the former president’s followers.
Auto Industry Remains Central to Presidential Race
As the 2024 Presidential campaign moves into higher gear, the U.S. auto industry is once again at the center of the nation’s political conversation. There are numerous places where candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump conflict. But they suddenly seem to agree on one key issue – sort of – EVs.
Mercedes Leading Industry Crack Down on Counterfeiters
Automakers face a slew of problems regularly: emissions compliance, workplace or office issues, quality shortcomings and more. However, the problem of counterfeit parts affects them all. Mercedes-Benz works with law enforcement globally to combat the problem, which can make vehicles less safe and certainly takes money out of the automaker’s coffers. Check out what Mercedes and the rest of the industry is dealing with at Headlight.News.
Quid Pro Quo? Musk Money in Hand, Trump is Now an EV Fan
Donald Trump has pulled a U-turn and now says he is now “totally” in favor of EVs. The Republican nominee for president said he had “no choice” but to rethink his position after previously bashing battery-electric vehicles now that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has become one of Trump’s biggest financial backers in an increasingly tough campaign.
Ford Patent Could Let Cars Tattle on Speeders
Ford applied for a patent for a new system that could allow a driver to monitor whether other vehicles are speeding, information that could then be reported to police – though the automaker says it sees the technology as a way to make it even easier for cops to crack down on speeders. Meanwhile, Ford and other automakers face new legislation that could require future vehicles to come with speed limiters.
Plug-in Hybrids Now Outselling EVs
As EV sales growth slows, automakers are looking for other ways to reduce emissions without turning off potential buyers. That’s led to a wave of new plug-in hybrids coming to market – and to a surge in demand for PHEVs which grew 50% globally during the first five months of the year. But will they continue to outpace all-electric models? That’s a matter of debate.
Feds Launch Probe of Jeep, Ram Models Over Engine Stalling Problems
Federal investigators have launched a probe of 150,000 Stellantis vehicles after receiving numerous reports that their mild hybrid engines can unexpectedly stall out. In some cases, owners find it difficult to then restart the vehicles. More from Headlight.News.
U.S. Regulators May Ban Chinese Software from New Vehicles
Your next new car is likely to be loaded with all sorts of digital technology – and the software to run it. And that means it may know “a lot about you.” And how that information is used has raised growing privacy concerns. That’s why the U.S. Commerce Dept. may impose restrictions on the use of software coming from China.
VinFast Hits the Brakes, Delays U.S. Plant Opening Until 2028
Vietnamese EV start-up VinFast announced a “prudent,” 3-year delay in the opening of its first U.S. assembly plant. It’s the latest in a series of setbacks for the automaker which suffered a wave of harsh reviews for its initial offering, the VF 8 crossover.