A Tesla Cybertruck was spotted joining President-elect Donald Trump’s motorcade in Texas while traveling to the SpaceX Starship launch.
The Secret Service wouldn’t answer Road & Track’s questions about who was driving the Cybertruck, but come on, we all know who it was. A better question is whether the Cybertruck will officially join once Trump takes office. I mean, he’s already got one, gifted by streamer Adin Ross. And it is bulletproof — sort of.
Sweden’s Northvolt filed for Chapter 11 this week after racking up $5.8 billion in debt and burning through $30 million in cash. The company had investments from Volkswagen and Goldman Sachs and orders from Audi, Porsche, and BMW.
It was working with Volvo on new batteries due in 2025 with higher energy density to be integrated as a structural element of the vehicle, It’s unclear whether Northvolt will make that deadline, although it plans to “operate as usual” during the restructuring.
[northvolt.com]
Vermont-based electric aviation company Beta Technologies announced the inaugural flight of the production version of its ALIA aircraft. The ALIA is a conventional takeoff and landing aircraft (CTOL), as opposed to a vertical takeoff and landing one (VTOL), meaning it lacks the tilt rotors that you see on other prototype aircraft. But the propulsion is still battery powered, putting Beta in the same category of many air taxi startups. The FAA signed off on the first flight, and now Beta is seeking certification for commercial operation.
