- VW’s Electrify America taps Flintstones, Jetsons for EV campaign – Reuters: Volkswagen AG unit Electrify America said on Monday it is launching a national advertising campaign using cultural U.S. cartoon icons the Flintstones and Jetsons in a bid to broaden consumer awareness of electric vehicles.
- Musk says Saudi would fund Tesla take-private deal – FT: Elon Musk has defended his declaration that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private, saying Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund had indicated it would support a deal in talks with the entrepreneur. Speculation had been rife about the source of …
- Elon Musk: Saudi Fund Asked About Taking Tesla Private – WSJ: Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk said he has been in talks with a Saudi Arabian sovereign-wealth fund about taking the electric-car maker private and believes two-thirds of current shareholders would remain with the company, lessening the capital…
- Musk says Saudi fund expressed support for taking Tesla private – Reuters: Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund has expressed support for funding a deal that could take the electric car maker private.
- Former Audi CEO Stadler’s request to be freed from custody rejected – Reuters: Former Audi Chief Executive Rupert Stadler’s request to be freed from custody has been rejected, the Munich court of appeal said on Monday.
- Musk’s Surprise Tweet Complicates Tesla’s Debt Picture – WSJ: Tesla’s only unsecured bond, a $1.8 billion note issued last August with a 5.3% coupon, traded Friday afternoon at 90.688 cents on the dollar for a …
- Seat cuts diesel engines from Toledo range – Autocar: The compact saloon is based on the previous-generation Ibiza, so its days are numbered The Seat Toledo is now a petrol-only car, following Seat’s decision to ditch diesel versions of the model. The 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre diesel units, with 89bhp and…
- Revised Honda HR-V chases rivals with styling and engine upgrades – Autocar: New 1.6-litre diesel and 1.5-litre turbo petrol variants will be available from spring 2019 Honda has revealed the facelifted HR-V, which gets styling and technology upgrades as competition in the small SUV segment hots up. A thorough facelift alters…
- What We Still Don’t Know About Musk’s Plan for Tesla – Bloomberg: I cover Tesla Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. out of San Francisco and my head is still spinning. Elon Musk is either in the midst of pulling off the go-private deal of the century, or he’s making the best of a weak hand in a game of high…
- Morning Brief: Tesla, Musk sued by investors – Yahoo: Musk tweet draws Tesla investor lawsuits: Elon Musk and Tesla Inc. (TSLA) were sued by investors for manipulating share prices after the chief executive officer’s bombshell tweet that he was thinking about taking the company private and that he’d…
- 2019 BMW X7: testing video shows off-road ability – Autocar: BMW’s largest SUV will focus on US and Chinese markets but will be sold in the UK from February 2019; there will be a hybrid version BMW’s reveal process for the production X7 continues, with the brand demonstrating the car’s off-road ability in a new…
- Trump tariffs risk putting brake on US electric cars, warns group – FT: StoreDot has developed an innovative variant of the lithium-ion battery technology used in products from mobile phones to electric cars. It says its …
- Uber Drivers Take Riders the Long Way—at Uber’s Expense – WSJ: Many Uber drivers are taking unnecessarily long routes to drive up fares. But unlike with traditional taxis, it is the ride-hailing companies that are responsible for covering the bigger bill.
- How a Billion-Dollar Autonomous Vehicle Startup Lost Its Way – Bloomberg: Quanergy Systems Inc. found itself in the center of a sudden frenzy over self-driving cars in 2014. It makes lidar, which bounces lasers off objects to …
- Saudi Puts Its Money on Tech as It Prepares for Life After Oil – Bloomberg: Saudi Arabia has accumulated a stake in electric car maker Tesla Inc. for about $2 billion through its Public Investment Fund and aims to be part of any …
- Tesla, Theranos, Yahoo!: SEC’s San Francisco Office Keeps Busy – Bloomberg: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s San Francisco office is no stranger to high-profile tech cases — with the firestorm swirling around …
- Two Chinese EV sharing platforms in $730 million push to fuel growth: sources – Reuters: Two electric vehicle-sharing platforms backed by powerful Chinese carmakers plan to seek external funding totaling almost $730 million to fuel their growth, people with direct knowledge of the plans said.
- Aston Martin’s ‘son of Valkyrie’ hypercar set for Le Mans – Autocar: ‘Son of Valkyrie” will be launched around 2020 Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing could race a new mid-engined hypercar for outright victory at Le Mans from 2020 Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing are poised to team up to race a new mid-engined hypercar -…
- Vietnam’s Vinfast in deal with Siemens for technology to make electric buses – Reuters: VinFast Trading and Production LLC has signed two … which will also exclusively distribute GM’s Chevrolet cars in Vietnam.
- JLR, Volvo stick to path for utilities, electrification – Automotive News: Meanwhile, another Ford castoff, Volvo, is surging thanks to its growing … Eyes also will be on Lynk & CO, Volvo’s Geely-owned sibling company, …
- PSA’s mobility plan key for NA return – Automotive News: Presenting Opel with the ethos of Free2Move will prove attractive, considering the rate at which an automobile depreciates, not to mention that the …
- A magic number: 10 million ponies – Automotive News: Ford marked production of the 10 millionth Mustang last week, a mega-threshold only about 25 nameplates have ever crossed. The company invited …
- Alfa plays the alpha against Jaguar – Automotive News: May was the first month the Italian brand outsold Jaguar in the U.S. … Schorr, Jaguar Land Rover North America vice president, communications.
- Horizon watch: Randolph County, NC – Automotive News: For a hot second last winter, a 1,900-acre tract of undeveloped land outside Greensboro, N.C., was close to becoming a $1.6 billion Toyota-Mazda …
- Jaguar Land Rover plans three new models, versatile platform – Automotive News: The Jaguar XJ sedan, F-Type sports car and I-Pace EV are on unique … can be offered as mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid or full electric vehicles, it said.
- Mercedes weighs Porsche Cayman fighter – Automotive News: Mercedes-AMG may offer a competitor to Porsche’s 718 Cayman and 718 Boxster, the British magazine Autocar reports. The current Cayman and …
- Ford announces baby Bronco will be Focus-based – Autocar:
- Tesla’s slow disclosure raises governance, social media concerns – Reuters: Tesla Inc’s handling of Chief Executive Elon Musk’s proposal to take the carmaker private and its failure to promptly file a formal disclosure has raised governance concerns and sparked questions about how companies use social media.
- Flying cars could be on the horizon – Detroitnews: known as the Transition – will be capable of …. Its passenger cabin can fit onto either an autonomous driving electric car, or a …
- Opinion: Self-Driving Car Bill needs amending for safety – Detroitnews: Seventy-four perdent of Michigan voters said Congress should apply the brakes to driverless car technology until the technology is proven safe, …