Materials like lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium have long been classified as hazardous by the European Union. Despite that, they’re still allowed in the automotive sector under exemptions that don’t apply to other consumer goods. Now, though, another material could face outright prohibition in European cars: carbon fiber.

According to a new report, the European Parliament, which is responsible for the union’s laws, recently concluded a draft revision of the End of Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive that regulates dismantling and recycling vehicles and is aiming to make them more environmentally friendly. In it, carbon fiber is, for the first time anywhere in the world, classified as a harmful material.

More: EU Could Ditch Tariffs On Chinese EVs For Minimum Prices

Carbon fiber is used extensively in the aircraft industry as well as many other applications, such as wind turbine blades, cars and, to a lesser degree, motorcycles due to it being stronger than steel and lighter than aluminum. While it’s pricier than both, as its construction is far more difficult and costly, in many instances its advantages outweigh that con.

Is A Huge Market Worth Billions About To Be Decimated?

The world market for carbon fiber, which was worth $5.48 billion in 2024, is expected to grow annually at an average rate of 11% to $17.08 billion by 2035, US research firm Roots Analysis estimates. Currently, cars account for 10% to 20% of all applications according to Nikkei Asia‘s report. That number is bound to increase exponentially as manufacturers strive to lower the weight of their electric vehicles.

The extra weight of EVs compared to ICE-powered vehicles is due to them having to haul a big battery pack, usually on the floor. Using carbon fiber is seen as an ideal solution, especially by premium manufacturers for whom price is far from the first priority, unlike handling and range, which are compromised by all that weight and definitely matter much more to them.

Caution: Carbon Can Be Harmful When Getting Disposed Of

So why does the EU consider the material to be hazardous? The reason that when carbon fiber, which is bound with resin, is discarded, filaments may become airborne, causing short circuits in machinery and, more importantly, pain in humans if they contact the skin and mucosal membranes.

More: 2025 Kicks Off With A 30% Surge In Global EV And PHEV Sales

As Nikkei Asia points out, the ones who stand to lose the most if this ban goes through are three Japanese companies, Toray Industries, Teijin and Mitsubishi Chemical, who combined hold 54% of the world’s carbon fiber market. For Toray Industries, after aircraft and wind power generation, cars are the third largest segment of its business. Moreover, 50% of that is in Europe, so it would be greatly affected if this proposal gets voted into law.

Apart from EVs, many brands use carbon fiber in their ICE or hybrid cars – McLaren even makes the whole chassis of its supercars out of it. The good news is that even if this ban is adopted in Europe (and that’s a big “if”, as it’s bound to be met with lots of resistance), it won’t come into effect until 2029.

Are We Getting Ahead Of Ourselves?

Four years may not be such a long time for manufacturers who must develop their upcoming cars to comply with regulations, but take a look at how our world has changed in less than four months, when Donald Trump took office as the 47th US President.

A single decision, the 25 percent tariff on imported cars which was implemented on April 2, sent economies all over the globe into a spin. Yet nothing’s set in stone yet, as many countries intend to negotiate with the Trump administration over this measure that harms their business. So, perhaps we shouldn’t worry too much about a possible ban on carbon fiber in Europe just yet – unless, of course, we were execs in one of the aforementioned Japanese companies. Or McLaren.

Electric dreams don’t always go according to plan, especially when you’re trying to replace roaring V8s with silent speed. The transition from combustion powertrains to all-electric ones was supposed to be a one-way trip for automakers, the future most agreed was inevitable. But Dodge’s recent experience suggests the road ahead is a lot bumpier than expected.

In fact, the Charger Daytona, which abandoned the ICE powertrains of the previous-gen muscle car, has been underperforming both in tests and, more crucially, in sales.

More: Dodge Sold More Old Challengers And Chargers Than New Daytona EVs In Q1

The situation appears to be so bad that Dodge, which introduced the Charger Daytona EV at the end of last year, is now offering buyers a $6,500 National Retail Consumer Cash rebate, according to Cars Direct, which cites a bulletin sent to dealerships. That’s in stark contrast to what usually happens when a brand new sports car is launched, as dealers are more than eager to slap huge markups on them provided, of course, there is sufficient demand.

However, fans haven’t warmed up to the EV at all, as they still miss the Hemi V8, leaving Dodge with a serious problem on its hands. That challenge is further complicated by reports that the ICE-powered Sixpack could be delayed, as Stellantis has idled the Windsor plant, where it’s set to be built, in response to Trump’s 25% import tariffs.

Even if the Sixpack is launched on time and gets well received by buyers, Dodge still has to sell the electric Daytona as well. Apparently, that’s easier said than done, and its dealers know it all too well as they’ve been offering much bigger discounts on their own way before the brand announced its $6.5k rebate.

More: Dodge Charger Still Thinks It’s 1970 And Racing Ford’s Fastest EV Just Proved It The Hard Way

This started in December 2024, but only last month, we found a 2025 Charger Daytona R/T on sale for $39,945. Since this car stickers at $62,685, that’s a discount of $22,740 – and it’s not the largest we’ve seen. In fact, another example that originally retailed for $61,590 was being offered for $36,932, which is $24,658 below MSRP.

Having sold more old, ICE-powered Chargers and Challengers than electric Charger Daytonas in Q1, Dodge has definitely heard the message buyers are sending loud and clear. Thus it falls to the Sixpack to save the day, which is a tall order indeed. The EV lacks anything but power, so that’s not an issue; the character of its ICE predecessor, however, sure is.

Sticker Shock Doesn’t Help

Beyond the lack of emotional connection, there’s the price tag. The Daytona’s pricing strategy follows the same playbook Dodge used with the Challenger, where upper trims stretched into premium territory. But with the new Charger, the starting price has jumped to $59,595 for the R/T and $73,985 for the Scat Pack. Some well-optioned examples are approaching, or even surpassing, the $100,000 mark in terms of MSRP.

More: New Age Charger Daytona Vs. Old-School Mustang V8 In U-Drag Showdown

At that point, the Daytona isn’t just competing with muscle cars, it’s going head-to-head with more refined and tested performance rides. The Ford Mustang GT starts at $46,560. A BMW 440i Coupe runs about $65K. Even the M4, a benchmark in the segment, starts at $80K. It’s hard to imagine what Stellantis was thinking pricing the Daytona this far north, especially with electric performance still a tough sell.

Can A Hemi Save The Day?

So what can Dodge do? The new platform wasn’t built for a V8, but Stellantis might not have a choice. Recent reports suggest the company is already exploring ways to cram a Hemi into the new Charger’s engine bay, possibly as soon as 2026. Whether that move comes in time to save the brand’s muscle legacy is another question entirely. Here’s hoping it’s not too late.

Here are three things you probably already know but, in light of what will follow, are worth repeating. First, Tesla is not your average car company. Second, the Cybertruck is as far removed from your average truck as can be. And third, Elon Musk is definitely not your average CEO, seems to have an opinion about everything, and makes sure that it’s heard. Loud and clear.

Tesla’s success story and how it managed to disrupt the automotive industry has been told so many times that we won’t bore you with it. The Cybertruck, though, is worth exploring because it’s a relatively new product and was touted as the truck to end all trucks, electric or not. So, did it?

More: Vandals Attack 5 Cybertrucks At Shopping Mall Triggering Police Hunt

When it comes to publicity, the answer is a resounding “yes”. Hardly a day goes by without a story (or five) involving Tesla’s angular pickup truck, whether it be how ugly divisive its looks are, how its frame snaps in a YouTuber’s test while an old Ram’s doesn’t, the time a terrorist chose one to detonate an explosive device outside a Trump Hotel, and so on and so forth.

The Hype Is Still On, But Sales Are Falling

But first, let’s take a small trip down memory lane to October 2023. A month before the Cybertruck’s launch, Musk boasted that Tesla had already received “over 1 million reservations” and demand for the unconventional truck was “off the charts”. Of course, you could make a reservation for a refundable $100 (later raised to $250) deposit, but that was a minor detail…

Naturally, no one, not even Musk himself, expected all those reservations to translate into actual orders. In fact, Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of industry insights for Cox Automotive, told Wired that “The automotive industry aims for a conversion rate of around 2 to 16 percent”. Since a couple of weeks ago Tesla revealed, as part of a recall campaign, that it has delivered 46,096 Cybertrucks from November 13, 2023, to February 27, 2025, it represents a conversion rate of less than 5 percent. That’s within the aforementioned range, but not exactly music to Musk’s, or Tesla fanboys’, ears.

While nobody would dare accuse the world’s richest man of making misleading statements (except, maybe, the “crooked” SEC), 46,000 sales do not indicate that demand is “off the charts”. Granted, initially it was the new shiny toy everyone who’s someone had to have, and in the first half of 2024 the Cybertruck was America’s sales leader in the six-figure-priced car club. However, compared to the sub-$100k one, which is most carmakers’ that aren’t called Ferrari, Bentley, Aston Martin or Lamborghini, bread and butter, it’s quite an exclusive club, wouldn’t you agree?

Model Y Production Is Prioritized Over That Of The Cybertruck

In early January, Business Insider reported that, according to its sources, declining sales led to Tesla moving some of its workers in the Austin plant from the Cybertruck to the Model Y production line. The company told its workers in a survey where it asked them about their reassignments that “As we continue to assess schedules to meet business needs, we’ll be making a change to Model Y and Cyber schedules and we want to ensure that your preferences are considered”.

More: Musk Could Soon Leave Trump’s Administration, But The Drama May Still Follow Tesla

Two workers said that this was an unusual move as such changes are only implemented for new vehicles. Then again, maybe the brand considers the Model Y Juniper an all-new model, so this was justified. After all, the Model Y is Tesla’s bread and butter product – and an extremely successful one, at least until last year when sales dropped sharply. But that was natural as everyone knew the updated Juniper was soon coming our way, so they probably decided to wait a few months rather than buy the “old” model.

Forget Tesla And Sales, Let’s Talk About Robots Instead

As we’ve come to expect, though, the really hot stuff usually comes not from the company or its products, but from its head honcho who’s not afraid to speak his mind – and then some – at any given opportunity. Never mind the Cybertruck’s performance or Tesla’s rapidly declining sales; at a staff meeting on March 20, Musk focused on a non-automotive product: Optimus.

“This year, we hopefully will be able to make about 5,000 Optimus robots,” he declared. “That’s the size of a Roman legion. Which is like a scary thought. Like a whole legion of robots. I’ll be like, ‘whoa.’” Then he upped that target by stating that Tesla will make “probably 50,000-ish [Optimus robots] next year” (so, 10 legions), and subsequently corrected himself, saying that his company would actually make “maybe 100 million robots a year”.

Veni, Vidi, Vici – And Then, What?

Now, I don’t care to do the math, I don’t know whether Musk’s promises will turn out to be true (though he does have a less that perfect track record on that) and, last time I checked, I don’t have an BA in History. I’m no gambler either, but I’m willing to bet not even Julius Caesar had that many legions at his disposal when he crossed the Rubicon to march towards Rome.

After emerging victorious in the ensuing civil war, he was declared dictator perpetuo – that’s “dictator for life” in Latin – in January, 44 BC. Little did the great general know how short-lived that title would turn out to be; he was assassinated two months later, in March.

Well, the only sure thing is life is death (and taxes…), so it all boils down on how you wanna be remembered. Julius Ceasar, apart from his conquests, is also famous about his one-liners – even the one uttered while he was being stabbed to death (“You as well, Brutus?”). I believe Elon Musk will also go down in history, though I can’t predict for what. Perhaps you care to speculate in the comments?

The US and China have been at loggerheads for quite some time and their rivalry seems to be intensifying with each passing day. One could describe it as a 21st Century version of the US vs. USSR situation – a Cold War 2.0 if you like, with China replacing the country that used to be known as the Soviet Union when the latter collapsed almost overnight in the early 1990s. Well, one always needs an big, scary enemy to galvanize their citizens and keep their military and industrial complex busy, right?

One of the most hardly fought fronts in this undeclared war is that of the automotive industry. See, China used to be a lot like the Soviet Union, seen by Westerners as monolithic and stuck in the past, its people allowed no freedom whatsoever. Most of them didn’t even have cars, for crying out loud, and those that did were forced to make do with sub-par, by our standards, locally-made ones. Oh, how the tables have turned.

The US Has A “National Security” Problem

Nowadays, it’s the rest of the world that’s afraid at the thought of a Chinese invasion; only it won’t be by armored divisions, fighter squadrons and aircraft carriers, but something much more benign that’s already in vogue in the West: electric cars. Not cheap European or American knock-offs, either, but ones with cutting edge technology, modern design, lots of built-in features and even performance that can rival whatever their competitors throw at them. And all that at a much more affordable price, too.

No wonder the US is actively prohibiting them from being imported in the country on the grounds of protecting national security.

More: GM Launches Wuling Hong Guang Mini EV Macaron In China With Extra Features

It’s not something that started with Donald Trump, either, despite the 47th President being extremely vocal about putting an end to China’s advancements. The former occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in D.C., Joe Biden, was the one who increased the tariffs on Chinese cars from 25 to 100 percent in 2024, while he banned tech giant Huawei from the States by evoking (you guessed it) national security concerns.

Excluding Chinese-made cars from brands like Volvo, Polestar and Ford, no cars from the Peoples’ Republic are allowed to be sold in the US, whereas GM and Ford have been doing business in China for many years and even build market-specific models that cater to local buyers’ preferences.

One Man’s Quest to Get His Hands on GM’s Wuling Macaron

Which brings us to John Karlin, a guy who might or might not have had all of this in mind when he read an article in 2021 about GM China’s Wuling Hongguang Mini EV outselling the Tesla Model 3 in China. “I saw an article saying the most popular EV in the world is the Hongguang Mini EV, but you can’t have one. So that got me asking: Well, why is it the most popular vehicle? And why can’t I have one?,” he told Wired.

Eager to know what all the fuss was about, he went on and ordered a Wuling Macaron, a fancier version of the Mini EV, that he was determined to make his daily despite car imports from China being officially forbidden.

Undeterred, he bought one and started looking for a way to bring the EV on American soil legally. Buying it though was the easy part, and it cost him less than $8,000. Importing, registering and driving it on US roads proved to be the real challenge. By October Karlin, a registered nurse and quality process analyst, was driving from Oklahoma City to Freeport, Texas, to pick it up. Which, naturally, begs the question: how did he do it?

A Legal Loophole and an Ingenious Workaround

Karlin’s first roadblock was the 25-year law that allows cars of that vintage or older to be imported without going through the federal certification process. Problem: China wasn’t exactly making EVs that long ago. Grey, or parallel, imports, which thrive in other countries like the UK, where many Japanese icons have been imported over the years, was also not an option.

Congress made sure of that in 1988 when it outlawed them in order to protect US-made cars from the invasion of the Europeans and the Japanese that was happening at the time. Not that it eventually did domestic makers much good anyway.

Nevertheless, Karlin did have another recourse. As he told Wired, he discovered that certain states, including Oklahoma, have their own set of safety regulations for low- and medium-speed vehicles that aren’t allowed on highways. These are supposed to be street-legal golf carts or farm vehicles, but the diminutive Wuling Macaron fitted that description too.

More: The Cute Wuling HongGuang Mini Continues To Dominate China’s EV Sales Charts

The only thing he had to do in order to register it was to limit the EV’s top speed to 35 mph, proving that it wouldn’t go on a highway. While for many that would be a serious deterrent, Karlin mused that since he would only drive it to get to work or go grocery shopping, top speed wasn’t an issue anyway.

With that out of the way, the Macaron was registered, with Karlin thought be the first individual who brought such a car in the US. All in, it cost him around $13,000, which is 50 percent more than the sub-8k original price, but still cheaper than any other EV in the market, and it did the job quite nicely.

A Sweet Victory, But For How Long?

Karlin enjoyed the tiny Chinese EV for 12 months. Even though the state of Oklahoma re-audited his paperwork (he passed with flying colors) and he was followed by the police (but never pulled over), he was compelled to say goodbye when an unnamed US company offered to buy it from him in order to conduct research.

In fact, the company’s CEO visited him personally in Oklahoma City and sat in the car. Karlin admitted to Wired that he could “see the wheels turning in his head as he’s realizing this and that, and looking at these different features and materials”.

Today, with Biden’s 100 percent tax being compounded by Trump imposing a 20 percent levy on Chinese cars at first, and recently a 25 percent tariff on all imports, the cost would be significantly higher than it was in 2021, so going to all that trouble to bring in the Wulling probably wouldn’t make sense. But, at the time, it was a win for an individual fighting a government preventing him from getting his wish, and he did it all by the book, not by resorting to shady practices. We bet he feels going to all that trouble was well-deserved.

The automotive industry is currently in a state of collective disorder. And while Donald Trump’s constantly evolving tariffs, which make the headlines daily as they have far-reaching consequences in whole countries and their economies, may play a huge role in that, it’s not the only one.

Electric vehicles, which were touted by almost everyone as dominating all major markets in the (very near) future, are definitely gaining ground with each passing year, just not at the rate most automakers were expecting. Excluding China and Norway, the rate of adoption by buyers is not as high as initially predicted, which has led many manufacturers to reverse their pledge to go all-electric and continue producing ICE-powered models in the interim.

More: GM Just Blinked After Trump’s Tariff War Escalated

Now, GM is about to temporarily lay off 200 out of its 4,500 workers at the all-electric Factory Zero plant in Detroit. As reported by US News, a company source explained that this move is not related to Trump’s tariffs but rather to the automaker adjusting its production to “align with market dynamics”.

For those among us who don’t speak corporate, this means that Factory Zero, which builds solely electric vehicles, specifically the Hummer EV SUV and pickup truck, the Chevrolet Silverado EV, the GMC Sierra EV, and the Cadillac Escalade IQ, needs to slow down for a while as demand for EVs is not as strong as GM anticipated.

Factory Zero used to be known as the Detroit-Hamtramck plant until 2020, when GM decided to turn it into a state of the art hub for manufacturing electric vehicles based on its Ultium platform. To that end, it poured in $2.2 billion which at the time, was, in the company’s own words, the “single largest investment in a plant in GM history”.

The plant’s grand opening took place on November 17, 2021, and then President Joe Biden was there to celebrate this milestone alongside General Motor‘s leadership and factory workers. “GM’s U.S. manufacturing expertise is key to achieving our all-electric future,” GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra said at the opening.“This is a monumental day for the entire GM team. We retooled Factory ZERO with the best, most advanced technology in the world to build the highest quality electric vehicles for our customers.”

Moreover, executive vice president of Global Manufacturing and Sustainability Gerald Johnson stated that “To meet our ambitious EV transition, GM’s North American EV vehicle assembly capacity will reach 20 percent by 2025, and then 50 percent by 2030”. Seems that this target turned out to be more ambitious than GM expected, but if it’s any consolation, the same is true for practically all major car manufacturers – except the Chinese.

Well, that took a minute, didn’t it? We’re talking about Tesla‘s response to the accusations that it sold a suspiciously huge number of cars in Canada right before the country’s EV rebate program was about to end. Critics and officials question if these were actual sales and whether the company was just gaming the system instead.

So what exactly happened in Canada? In early March, it came to light that four Tesla stores sold 8,653 cars in just three days and claimed C$43.1 million (US$30M) in rebates. This means that each store sold an average of 30 Teslas per hour, 24 hours a day, even when they were supposedly closed, for this three-day period. And if you believe that, I know someone who has a bridge to sell you.

Tesla Claims It Was All Legal, Officials Should Know Better

However, according to Electrek, in a letter dated March 28, Tesla’s director of sales and service for Canada, Fereshteh Zeineddin, says that those filings were normal and that Transport Canada, the government department responsible for the incentive program, should know better.

More: Tesla Accused Of Gaming Canada’s EV Rebate Program After 4 Stores Sold 2 Cars Per Minute Wiping Out $43M In Grants

He explains that many of these rebates were for cars that were already sold but dealers hadn’t simply filed for them yet. Thus, according to the EV maker, it wasn’t really a shady practice on Tesla’s part – just a case of its staff getting their priorities straight as the electric vehicle subsidy program was about to end. The company says that backlogged files were allowed anyway, so it did nothing wrong. Furthermore, these weren’t money that would end in Tesla’s pockets; rather, as per the program, dealers would offer the incentive to buyers and then get reimbursed by the government.

Frozen Rebates Must Be Paid, Or Else…

Tesla also took issue with Canada’s Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland ordering the rebates to be frozen “in order to fully examine each claim individually and determine whether all are eligible and valid,” as she told the Toronto Star. It adds that, due to this investigation, its employees are viewed negatively by the public and have been subjected to verbal abuse and harassment, and if Transport Canada doesn’t resume payments, it may pursue legal action.

Until the investigation is over, we have no way of knowing whether Tesla is telling the truth or not so, until then, it is presumed innocent until proven guilty. It is worth noting, however, that according to the National Post, Tesla deliveries in Canada plunged some 70 percent between December 2024 and January 2025, which makes this sudden surge peculiar. And if we had to guess, the huge drop in sales and the harassment incidents might be the result of Elon Musk getting increasingly political, not just in the US but wherever he sees fit, and not caused by Transport Canada’s investigation.

Bonus Irony: Musk’s Take on Canada

Speaking of Musk and Canada, here’s a bit of irony. Despite holding a Canadian passport and having lived there from 1989 to 1992, Musk recently posted on X that “Canada is not a real country.” He was responding, apparently in jest, to his political buddy Donald Trump’s suggestion that Canada should be annexed as the 51st U.S. state. Maybe he’s just trolling. Or maybe he’s trying to test how much diplomatic damage he can do from his phone.

Whatever the case, the Canadian government doesn’t seem amused—and it’s making very clear that Tesla’s C$43.1 million rebate claim isn’t going to slide through unchecked.

We bet you’ve never heard of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Chances are, though, that you’ve either heard or read about Foxconn, the Taiwanese tech giant that builds iPhones for Apple – and the former is its official name.

Another thing you’re probably aware of, if you’ve been paying any attention to car-related news, is that tech companies are not content with making smartphones and laptops anymore and are actively engaging in the automotive business now that EVs have taken off. Which, in a way, makes perfect sense as traditional automakers are trying to outdo each other by offering lots of advanced tech in their new vehicles.

Foxconn Ready To Build A Range Of EVs

Since customers are more interested in things like advanced infotainment systems and electrification sort of levels the playing field between newcomers and established players in the car game, the likes of Xiaomi, Huawei, and even Sony decided to take advantage of that.

Foxconn recently made headlines as one of the parties interested in Nissan, which is in serious trouble. The Japanese company though would rather get in bed with fellow manufacturer Honda, but the proposed merger eventually fell through.

Enter Jun Seki, a Foxconn top executive who also happens to be Nissan’s former COO after then CEO Carlos Ghosn was ousted from the company and prosecuted by Japanese authorities. Seki said that Foxconn already has what it takes to build a range of EVs. They will initially be manufactured in Taiwan and shipped around the world, but the company can also produce them locally to cater to each market’s demands.

US-Market EVs Will Be Built Locally

“It is right to make them in the market where they are sold”, Seki said according to Autonews. “But it is inefficient without a certain number of units, so we are making them in Taiwan now as a transitional measure.”

This is a wise strategy, especially when it comes to the US, which is the world’s second biggest market after China. With Trump’s new tariffs shaking up the industry and making imported cars pricier than ever, forcing a number of established brands to suspend their shipments as they scramble to formulate a new strategy, a newcomer with no customer base has no choice but to manufacture its vehicles locally if it wants to be competitive.

Foxconn already builds the Model C midsize crossover that’s sold its home market since December 2023 as the Luxgen N7. Its global expansion, though, will start with the Model B minivan that’ll be launched in Taiwan in the second half of the year and will be sold in Australia with the badges of a Japanese brand that’s believed to be Mitsubishi. However, in the fourth quarter it plans to import the Model C in the US for customers to try out, and in 2027 it will introduce the stylish Model D minivan.

Teaming Up With The Japanese Would Be Ideal

After the negotiations between Honda and Nissan ended, Foxconn reportedly proposed an alliance between itself, Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi, touting its expertise in cutting-edge technology as a key advantage for the automakers’ future models.

Seki admitted that Foxconn is working with Mitsubishi, but wouldn’t elaborate on the matter. He did, however, state that Japanese brands make for great partners due to their focus on quality. “Japanese carmakers are careful planners, and we understand that but are also very fast,” Seki said. “We can do things faster while understanding Japanese prudence.”

Moreover, Seki made it clear that Foxconn won’t launch the EVs it will build under its own name. Rather, following the example of its electronics division, it will manufacture them for other brands, just like the iPhone, thus it won’t be seen as a competitor but a valuable partner.

For years, the idea of an affordable, mass-market electric vehicle has hovered just out of reach—a promised revolution that never quite arrived. That could finally be changing, and not from where you might expect. Henry Ford is credited with making automobiles available to the masses at the beginning of the 20th century. Now, if the latest reports are accurate, Jeff Bezos wants to do the same with electric vehicles.

More: Amazon Could Have Saved Self-Driving Startup Argo AI, But It Backed Out

The $25,000 EV has long been touted as the model that would finally convince buyers to go electric and ditch ICE-powered cars once and for all. Despite all the promises made by various brands, no such thing has materialized yet in the US. However, that may soon change.

Slate Auto: A New Player With Familiar Backing

According to a recent report by TechCrunch, Bezos is investing in Troy, Michigan-based EV startup Slate Auto, which plans to build a two-seat electric truck that will have a $25,000 starting price. The company was founded in 2022 out of the Amazon founder’s investment in another company called Re:Build Manufacturing, and is relatively unknown, especially compared to other high-profile start-ups.

Nevertheless, it has reportedly being hiring a number of employees in Detroit, among them from legacy automakers like GM, Ford, and Stellantis, as well as not-so-successful startups such as Fisker and Canoo. According to its LinkedIn page, as of April 8 it has between 201-500 employees and 334 associated members.

A Throwback-Inspired Future Vehicle

Details about the planned pickup truck understandably remain under wraps, although TechCrunch claims insiders told them it is inspired by affordable icons of the automotive industry like the Ford Model T and the VW Beetle.

More: Elon Musk Calls Jeff Bezos A Copycat After Amazon’s Zoox Acquisition

Elon Musk might have gotten there much earlier, but Bezos also became involved in the electric vehicle space, and Amazon is backing Rivian big time. In fact, it has so far invested more than $1.3 billion into the EV maker, which has signed a deal to supply the retail giant with delivery vans.

It’s not just Amazon that Slate Auto relies on, though, as it reportedly secured at least $111 million in a Series A funding round in 2023. More recently, it told its employees at the end of 2024 that it has also secured Series B investments, although this hasn’t been officially filed with the SEC yet.

Production Plans on the Horizon

Slate Auto intends to commence production of its EV by late 2026. The new model will manufactured at a plant outside Indianapolis, Indiana, although it’s not clear whether it’s an all-new factory or if the brand has purchased an existing facility.

Lead image Amazon

Tesla is in a very difficult position right now. Since the beginning of the year, its stock price has nosedived by no less than 40 percent, defying analysts’ predictions after Donald Trump’s election win that it would skyrocket. How exactly did that happen?

Well, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Elon Musk‘s role at the new Department Of Government Efficiency, where he pushed for many civil servants to be fired over cost-cutting purposes, and his inflammatory rhetoric on several issues have backfired spectacularly, hurting not just Tesla’s image both in the US and abroad, but also its sales and, consequently, its stock price.

More: Calls For Investigation After Trump’s Commerce Secretary Urges Fox Viewers To Buy Tesla Stock

And let’s not forget Trump’s sweeping 25% auto tariffs, along with the broader reciprocal tariffs affecting roughly 90 countries, which helped send the stock market into a tailspin and didn’t do Tesla any favors either.

A New Political Identity With a Price

Not that long ago, the outspoken CEO identified as a Democrat, even though he had not dipped his toes into politics. That all changed seemingly overnight after he witnessed Trump’s reaction during an assassination attempt – or at least that’s what he said. Now a fully-fledged Republican, or rather staunch MAGA and Donald Trump supporter, he poured $277 million into the latter’s campaign. This seemed to be the best investment Elon has ever made; his net worth exceeded $400 billion after Trump’s election win in November, and he made history as the first individual ever to surpass that figure.

While analysts expected his close relationship with Trump to prove beneficial to his companies and revised their projections for 2025, since January, Tesla’s stock has actually plummeted by 40 percent. That’s because Musk may have become the MAGA crowd’s new darling, but this came at the cost of alienating and even frustrating a lot of people who criticized him for his stance.

Of course, Musk does have a lot of supporters, too, and many of them are currently in high places. One such person is the Trump administration’s Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, who, as reported by the Daily Beast, openly defended both Elon and Tesla. He called Musk “probably the best person to bet on I’ve ever met” on March 19 during an interview with Fox News’ Jesse Watters – but he didn’t stop there.

“I think if you want to learn something on this show tonight, it’s buy Tesla,” Lutnick said. “It’s unbelievable that this guy’s stock is this cheap.” He then urged viewers to invest in Musk’s company as its stock “will never be this cheap again”.

More: Musk Could Soon Leave Trump’s Administration, But The Drama May Still Follow Tesla

Apparently, a Cabinet member endorsing a private company’s stock and urging the public to put its money on it may or may not be ethically questionable, depending on where you stand in the whole debate, but no matter anyone’s opinion, it did nothing to stop Tesla’s fall.

On Monday, the stock was trading at $214.80, down from $235.86 when Howard Lutnick urged Americans to go all-in on Musk’s car company. At the time of publishing, it had slightly bounced back to $218. Still, that’s a steep drop from $404 on January 1, and even further from this year’s high of $428 on January 15.

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While Trump’s Cabinet may try to pump up their President’s new BFF, a lot of high-profile personalities are among his fiercest critics. Acclaimed and hugely successful author Stephen King didn’t mince his words on Musk’s own platform, X, and stated publicly what people were joking about in private:

“You can’t call Elon Musk the President-elect, because he wasn’t elected”, he wrote. “In fact, having been born in Pretoria, he is ineligible to become president. Nonetheless, he is running the show. You know that, but it bears repeating.”

It’s not just King bashing Musk on X, either; many owners have started trading their Teslas for something else in record numbers, either because they’re fed up with Elon’s politics or being targeted by others who spray or vandalize (and occasionally even torch) the EVs just because the company that builds them happens to be owned by Musk.

Moreover, many public figures have vowed to sell their Teslas due to his behavior. According to Business Insider, that list includes actors Bette Midler and Jason Bateman, singer Sheryl Crow, Angel investor Joanne Wilson, podcaster Zach Sang, and Senator Mark Kelly, among others, who have only bad things to say not about the cars, but the man who owns and runs their maker.

Image Credit: CNBC