Cars

The merger deal that was set to create the third-largest global automaker is now in jeopardy, with dealings between the two companies complicated by their “growing differences” according to Reuters.

That stands for “extended range electric vehicle,” basically plug-in hybrids with a small internal combustion engine to recharge the EV battery for more range. Ram and VW-backed Scout were the first to announce EREV plans, and now the Blue Oval is working on its own, according to Bloomberg. Ford is getting its clock cleaned by Tesla and GM on EV sales, so the automaker is turning to new powertrains to tide customers over while they wait for its Silicon Valley-based skunkworks team to crack the code on cheap EVs.

The Swedish automaker is already working with Aurora on its autonomous big rigs, and now its adding Waabi to its list of partners. Raquel Urtasun, the former chief scientist at Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group, founded Waabi in 2021 to be a more “AI-centric approach” to autonomous vehicles.

Canadians can now take advantage of the recently extended Ford Power Promise promotion, which includes a free home charger plus standard installation, 24/7 live EV support, and access to the BlueOval charging network. You must buy or lease a new Ford F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E, or an E-Transit vehicle between February 1st and March 31st to take advantage. In Quebec, the charger plus installation costs $2,450 plus tax.

Here’s the unelected government official speaking about his part-time hobby, Tesla:

It’s the company’s first earnings report since Donald Trump’s inauguration and Elon Musk’s elevation as cost-cutter in chief for the new administration. So even though we’re probably all sick of Musk and his various antics, it’s probably worth tuning into the webcast at 5:30PM ET to hear Musk respond to questions about AI, China, robotaxis, and the likely elimination of federal EV incentives. And I’m sure we’ll hear a lot of concerns about how the world’s richest man chooses to split his time.

Sean Duffy, fresh off his confirmation as Donald Trump’s secretary of transportation, signed a memorandum to “start the process of resetting Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, which will ultimately lower the price of a car for American consumers and eliminate the electric vehicle mandate,” his office said in a statement. There is no EV mandate, of course, and rolling back federal fuel economy rules will ultimately increase oil consumption and release more carbon dioxide into the environment during a global climate crisis. But at least we’ll get cheap cars! (We won’t.)

If you can find them, that is. While there aren’t a lot of new V4 posts out there yet, they’re supposed to support up to 500kW of fast charging once Tesla upgrades the on-site cabinets. For now, locations with the newly-designed stalls will support 325kW charging for Cybertrucks. Electrek notes that Elon Musk once suggested V3 would be capable of more than 350kW.

Chinese regulators are issuing a notice about a Tesla software update for 1.2 million vehicles to fix a problem with CPUs that can short out and prevent safety equipment like the rear-view cameras from working.

While Elon Musk is making suspiciously fascist hand gestures at Trump rallies, the value of his company’s brand is dropping. Tesla sunk 26 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to an annual ranking of top brands by London-based Brand Finance. And it wouldn’t be the first time that Tesla’s aging lineup and the political antics of its chief executive have resulted in a loss of brand reputation.

Kathy Harris, clean vehicle director at NRDC, swats down one of Trump’s falsehoods about Biden’s EV incentives:

As reported by TechCrunch, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expanding the investigation into the driver-assistance software, which was announced last April.