Wisconsin police will soon be allowed to conduct roadside saliva testing for marijuana and other illegal substances.
Supporters say the new law will help strengthen cases against suspected drugged drivers who may be flying under the radar. A Wisconsin attorney and impaired driving defense expert argues it’s “merely symbolic.”
The city's 57 deaths last year represented a decline of nearly 20 percent compared to 70 deaths in 2024, Mayor Cavalier Johnson said at a press conference this week at South Division High School. It's the largest single-year decline since the 2022 peak for traffic deaths at 77.
Slate Auto appoints former Amazon executive Peter Faricy as CEO.
Chris Barman stays on as President of Vehicles at the EV startup.
Leadership shift arrives before launch of its budget EV pickup.
Slate Auto is becoming an example of what a small startup can do with vast amounts of cash. It’s navigated several trials and tribulations and market shifts that other, less well-funded EV startups simply couldn’t survive. Now, it’s handling another as it appoints a new CEO just months before launching its first product, a heavily promoted $25,000-$30,000 electric truck.
The company announced that Peter Faricy, a former Amazon executive, has taken over as Chief Executive Officer, Newsweek reported. He replaces longtime Chrysler veteran Chris Barman, who will remain at the company as President of Vehicles with a focus on engineering, manufacturing, and product development. Keep in mind that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is an investor in Slate Auto.
The leadership shift comes as Slate prepares to switch from development mode to real-world sales. The startup says customers will soon be able to configure and order their vehicles, with reservations expected to convert into orders by the end of the year.
The Slate Auto pickup is stripped down and simplified to what some would call an extreme degree. For example, it doesn’t have an infotainment screen, it features crank windows, and customers are offered several options to add after initial purchase. The company said it has around 160,000 reservations and believes it can build 150,000 trucks annually at its Indiana manufacturing plant.
The CEO Shift
Slate is going to sell cars direct-to-consumer the same way Rivian, Tesla, and Lucid do. To that end, the shift to Faricy begins to make more sense. He previously worked at Ford before moving through roles at Borders and eventually Amazon, where he spent more than a decade helping build the company’s Marketplace platform into a global ecosystem for third-party sellers.
He later served as CEO of solar company SunPower from 2021 to 2024 and most recently worked with venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners.
According to Newsweek, Faricy will oversee the company’s commercial operations, digital strategy, finance, HR, legal, and IT divisions, while Barman focuses on building and delivering the vehicles. One thing is certain: an undertaking of this magnitude can only benefit from more hands on deck.
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