Andrew J. Hawkins

Transportation editor

Andrew J. HawkinsNov 29, 2023

UAW is going to take another stab at organizing Tesla workers.

Fresh off its win against the Big Three, the United Auto Workers announced an official push to begin unionizing all the non-union automakers in the US — including Tesla. It will be a tough battle: unionizing efforts at Tesla have failed in the past because of the company’s willingness to retaliate against union friendly employees. Tesla has been accused of illegal union busting by federal regulators, and Elon Musk openly flouts the rules. But UAW President Shawn Fein is a brawler, and will use the union’s newly ratified contract as leverage. This could be a much more even match-up than in the past.

Highlighting Elon Musk’s net worth seems like a pretty obvious tactic.

Image: UAW

Andrew J. HawkinsNov 29, 2023

MKBHD’s in the Cybertruck driver seat (and may have leaked some range details).

YouTuber Marques Brownlee just tweeted a photo of his POV from the driver seat of the Tesla Cybertruck — but what I’m interested in is that range estimate. The dash display reads 265 miles, so assuming that’s a full charge (or at least 80 percent), this could be Tesla’s dual-motor version of the truck. That lines up with what we’ve seen from other prototype Cybertrucks that have been floating around since this summer.

We’ll have to wait until Thursday for final word on the range, price, and pretty much everything else that’s still unknown about this thing. (Wiper! Wiper! Wiper!)

Andrew J. HawkinsNov 29, 2023

The Cybertruck’s ‘Beast Mode’ looks trippy as hell.

X user Tesla App Updates unearthed some new visuals (via Electrek) from Tesla’s mobile app that confirms a few things about the Cybertruck, including a Basecamp accessory for campers, and something called “Beast Mode.” My best guess is that it will be akin to Tesla’s other sport modes, like Ludicrous and Plaid, but for the Cybertruck. Whatever it is, it looks trippy. Time to get my third eye ready for this announcement on Thursday.

Elon Musk confirmed Beast Mode in a recent interview with Joe Rogan. (The one where he shot an arrow at the Cybertruck and it exploded. The arrow, not the truck.)

GM wants you to know that it’s also unhappy with the slow pace of its EV business

Andrew J. HawkinsNov 29, 2023

The Cybertruck made a mark but missed its moment

The long-delayed electric truck has finally arrived — sort of. Ten trucks are slated for delivery, but Tesla’s problems extend far beyond this first batch.

Andrew J. HawkinsNov 29, 2023

London’s famed black cabs will be listed on Uber’s app in big win for the ridehail company

Andrew J. HawkinsNov 29, 2023

Andrew J. HawkinsNov 28, 2023

Cruise on the chopping block.

General Motors’ willingness to lose a ton of money on self-driving cars is coming to an end, with the automaker planning to announce that it will slash spending on Cruise in a call on Wednesday. A pedestrian was seriously injured last month when a Cruise vehicle drug her 20 feet after a hit-and-run crash.

As I wrote last week, GM remained bullish on autonomous driving up until recently, even after its competitors reined in their own spending and scaled back their ambitions. Too bad it took a serious injury for GM to come to the same realization.

GM to cut spending on Cruise after accident - FT

[Reuters]

Andrew J. HawkinsNov 27, 2023

You can now lease a Rivian R1T if you live in these fourteen states.

Residents of New York, Florida, California, and Texas, among others, can now lease a Rivian R1T under the company brand new leasing program. The final price needs to be at least $95,800, monthly fees start at $899 for certain configurations, and $6,794 is due at signing. And there’s a lot more to consider if you go this financing route.

This could be a good option for someone who spec’d out a version of the R1T that exceeds the $80,000 price cap for the federal EV tax credit. Turns out leasing is a great way to get around all the restrictions!