The Secretary Of Cost-Cutting

The Secretary Of Cost-Cutting

I catch a lot of flack from people in the auto industry about how much I talk about Elon in this newsletter. There is a willful blindness to all things Musk among the auto folk. But it is going to be very hard to ignore him now.

Let’s be clear that it wasn’t Mary Barra jumping around on stage behind Trump. And Jim Farley hasn’t been appointed as the Secretary of Cost-Cutting. usatoday.com

There are many conflicts and contradictions between Trump and Musk, even if they are both huge fans of having multiple children from different wives. usatoday.com, people.com

Elon is the richest man in the world. And somehow, although Trump is pro-oil and Musk is pro-solar, they intend to work together to reshape the United States and influence the rest of the world.

Since the election, Tesla has joined the trillion-dollar market cap club again. techcrunch.com

And Elon is already taking phone calls with heads of state alongside Trump, if only in a cursory way. nbcnews.com

Elon’s motives are clear and weird. He’s convinced that his ambitions to get to Mars would have been limited by a Harris government, and that would prevent the formation of Starfleet. Musk wants Starfleet to be real. This isn’t a joke. youtube.com

During his campaign, Trump had to admit some concessions to Elon, saying, “I’m for electric cars; I have to be because Elon endorsed me very strongly.” theguardian.com

Trump may reverse the Inflation Reduction Act and terminate EV incentives. fortune.com, theverge.com

Which will have ripple effects across planned battery production in Canada and the US. cbc.ca

Musk claims that he’s opposed to incentives and subsidies. However, his companies have gotten billions of dollars worth. businessinsider.com

Now that we know that most pre-orders for the Cybertruck have been filled (or cancelled), Elon needs to convince truck drivers (MAGA supporters?) to buy his truck. torquenews.com

And that might explain this weird Cybertruck review by Tucker Carlson.

How this all plays out is impossible to predict. However, if the USMCA is opened up for renegotiation… if the Inflation Reduction Act is killed… and if tariffs are raised against Canada, that is bad news for GM and Ford (who manufacture in the great white North). Both companies are outside the sphere of these conversations between Trump and Musk. Detroit likely can’t afford the cost implications of these legislative and trade-related changes. bloomberg.com, autonews.com

China’s Automotive Expansion

Chinese OEMs target Latin America for further expansion. wsj.com (paid subscription required)

BYD increased production by 200,000 units from August to October and hired 200,000 new employees. reuters.com

NIO plans to produce a hybrid vehicle for markets outside of China. reuters.com

Geely started taking pre-orders for their Galaxy Starship 7 SUV. carnewschina.com

Rise Of The Machines

Xpeng introduces the new “Iron” humanoid robot during their AI press event. xpeng.com,interestingengineering.com, youtube.com

An autonomous robot boat is mapping the Great Lakes. cottagelife.com

Energy

The world’s largest producer of transformers says that its industry is “overwhelmed” and unable to meet exploding demand. ft.com (paid subscription required)

BP shuts down 18 planned hydrogen projects. techcrunch.com

The Saskatchewan Research Council and Westinghouse built a compact nuclear reactor. thebrighterside.news

But Wait, There’s More

Audi (and SAIC) launched a new brand in China called “AUDI.” As rumoured, there is no circle logo. theverge.com, cnevpost.com

Audi plans to cut 4,500 jobs. electrek.co

BMW reports a 61% drop in its third-quarter profit. reuters.com

Hyundai revamps IONIQ 5 with more range, better pricing, and an NACS port. electrek.co

Toyota aims to make at least 2.5 million vehicles a year in China. reuters.com

Toyota parties like it's 1999, and it gets pissy with CARB. cnbc.com

Toyota sees a 20% YoY drop in operating profit. cnbc.com

Suzuki builds an EV for Toyota. electrek.co

Nissan shares dropped 6% after the Japanese automaker said it would cut 9,000 jobs and 20% of its manufacturing capacity. reuters.com

Ford makes significant improvements to BlueCruise. autoblog.com

Stellantis adds to its rising count of layoffs, announces 400 workers at a Detroit parts facility and 1,100 workers at an Ohio Jeep plant would all lose their jobs. reuters.com, cnbc.com

Range Rover plans to manufacture a new, smaller EV SUV. electrek.co

VW has an airbag problem. reuters.com

Bentley pushed back their target to exclusively manufacture EVs. cnbc.com

Rivian R2’s batteries will be made in the US. theverge.com

JD Power says used EVs will flood the vehicle market in 2026. arstechnica.com

APMA’s Project Arrow gets another $11 million in support for Federal and Provincial governments in Canada. autonews.com

Archer Aviation plans to bring its EVOL aircraft to Japan. theverge.com

Joby Aviation is already testing in Japan. electrek.co

ICYMI

A collection of four Waymos get confused and have a stand-off in the middle of a narrow street. roadandtrack.com

I publish my “Kick Out The Jams” section separately now.

Find my podcast on Spotify, Apple, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

You read to the bottom. Amazing!