Tesla has stopped taking orders in China for new Model S and Model X EVs, which are manufactured exclusively in California and imported. With tariffs now at 125 percent on US imports, you can guess why.
It will still sell its Model 3 and updated Model Y, which are built in Shanghai and make up the overwhelming majority of its Chinese sales — Reuters reports it imported fewer than 2,000 S and X vehicles in 2024.
Elon Musk’s new single-motor RWD political-statement-on-wheels starts at $69,900, making it the cheapest Cybertruck yet, according to Teslarati. With a range of 350 miles, it also bests the dual-motor AWD model by 25 miles. Range can be extended to 362 miles when opting for the $750 soft tonneau cover but swastikas might be added for free. US deliveries begin in June.
Sean O’Kane reported earlier this week that Amazon chairman Jeff Bezos is backing a new EV startup called Slate Auto, and now a user on Reddit posted a spy shot of what might be the company’s first vehicle.
A source confirmed to TechCrunch that the pictured EV pickup is real and may be a concept to show potential investors.
KTLA reports that the walk-up window remained open on Monday night while the Waymo failed to exit a Chick-fil-A in Santa Monica, CA, as shown in this video posted by TMZ.
TechCrunch confirmed with Waymo that the car had dropped off a passenger in the parking lot, but couldn’t complete a multi-point turn in the tight space of the drive-thru lane with other cars nearby and stayed there until it was eventually recovered.
Tesla is certainly sweetening the pot by offering the cheaper Long Range All-Wheel Drive version, which starts at $50,630 including destination and order fees. But given all the chaos swirling around Elon Musk and his company, I can’t recommend this purchase in good conscience. Sure, the Model Y is a very popular car — it was once the best selling car in the world, EV or otherwise — but there are now plenty of EVs you can buy that are not associated with controversial billionaires who make fascist salutes and brag about feeding humanitarian aid programs “into the wood chipper.“ Just saying.
[insideevs.com]
Delta reported its quarterly earnings today, but the company wasn’t able to provide investors an estimate on its finances for the year. “Given the lack of economic clarity, it is premature at this time to provide an updated full-year outlook,” says Delta CEO Ed Bastian.
“With broad economic uncertainty around global trade, growth has largely stalled.” The comments come just as China responded to Trump’s tariffs with its own hike on US goods.
We may found out soon enough, as TechCrunch senior reporter (and Verge alumni) Sean O’Kane discovered that Bezos is secretly funding an EV startup called Slate Auto. The company is connected to another Bezos venture, Re: Build Manufacturing, and is reportedly working on a two-door, sub-$25,000 electric pickup as its first EV. Slate is also planning a lineup of accessories for owners to customize their vehicles. Sounds interesting, but I don’t envy Bezos trying to launch a new EV company amid market chaos and a global trade war. To be sure, the guy loves competing with Elon Musk!
The Amazon-owned autonomous vehicle company said it was bringing its retrofitted test vehicles to Los Angeles, equipped with safety drivers, as it gets closer to launching a public service. Zoox now operates test vehicles in the Bay Area, including San Francisco, Las Vegas, Seattle, Austin, and Miami. And it plans on launching publicly in Las Vegas and San Francisco later this year. LA is already has one robotaxi service operated by Alphabet’s Waymo — though its unclear when Zoox will make its vehicles available to the public there.
