U.S. Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks to members of the press at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 20, 2024 in Washington, D.C.  (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Congress finally approved a stopgap spending bill early Saturday that will keep the government open for a few more months, after a raucous 48 hours that served as a preview of what President-elect Donald Trump’s second term in office might look like.

The short-term spending package, the third version of a bill to be released this week, will give lawmakers until mid-March to negotiate agreement on the dozen full-year government funding measures and provide about $100 billion in natural disaster assistance. 

Although it technically was passed by the Senate after the midnight deadline for a shutdown, deputy White House press secretary Emilie Simons said on X that agencies would continue normal operations. 

The House passed the bill Friday evening following a 366-34 vote with one Democrat voting “present.” The Senate voted 85-11 shortly after midnight Saturday. President Joe Biden signed the bill Saturday morning. 

The legislation did not include any language either raising or suspending the debt limit, rejecting a demand by Trump that it be addressed. Congress and Trump will have to deal with that next year when they control the House, Senate and the White House.

The 118-page bill will extend programs in the five-year farm bill through September, giving the House and Senate more time to broker a deal, even though they are already more than a year late.

The package would not block members of Congress from their first cost-of-living salary adjustment since January 2009, boosting lawmakers’ pay next year from $174,000 to a maximum of $180,600.

It does not include a provision considered earlier this week that would have allowed the year-round sale of E15 blended gasoline nationwide in what would have been a win for corn growers and biofuels.

The White House announced during the House vote that Biden supports the legislation.

“While it does not include everything we sought, it includes disaster relief that the President requested for the communities recovering from the storm, eliminates the accelerated pathway to a tax cut for billionaires, and would ensure that the government can continue to operate at full capacity,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wrote. “President Biden supports moving this legislation forward and ensuring that the vital services the government provides for hardworking Americans – from issuing Social Security checks to processing benefits for veterans — can continue as well as to grant assistance for communities that were impacted by devastating hurricanes.”

Appropriators at odds

House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., urged support for the bill during floor debate, saying it would avoid a partial government shutdown, provide disaster aid and send economic assistance to farmers.

“Governing by continuing resolution is never ideal, but Congress has a responsibility to keep the government open and operating for the American people,” Cole said. “The alternative, a government shutdown, would be devastating to our national defense and for our constituents and would be a grave mistake.”

Connecticut Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro, ranking member on the Appropriations Committee, spoke against the bill and criticized GOP negotiators from walking away from the original, bipartisan version released Tuesday.

She rejected billionaire Elon Musk, a close Trump ally, seemingly calling the shots as if he were an elected lawmaker, though she ultimately voted for passage. 

“The United States Congress has been thrown into pandemonium,” DeLauro said. “It leads you to the question of who is in charge?”

Trump, Musk objections

Democrats and Republicans reached an agreement earlier this week to fund the government, provide disaster aid, extend the agriculture and nutrition programs in the farm bill, extend various health care programs and complete dozens of other items. But Trump intervened, preventing House GOP leaders from putting that bill on the floor for an up-or-down vote. 

Trump and Musk were unsupportive of some of the extraneous provisions in the original bill and Trump began pressing for lawmakers to address the debt limit now rather than during his second term.

House Republicans tried to pass their first GOP-only stopgap bill on Thursday night, but failed following a 174-235 vote, with 38 GOP lawmakers voting against the bill. That bill included a two-year debt limit suspension, but that was dropped from the version passed Friday. 

Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said Friday before the vote that the GOP was united on its plan forward.

“We have a unified Republican Conference. There is a unanimous agreement in the room that we need to move forward,” Johnson said following a 90-minute closed-door meeting. “I expect that we will be proceeding forward. We will not have a government shutdown. And we will meet our obligations for our farmers, for the disaster victims all over the country, and for marking sure the military and essential services and everyone who relies on the federal government for a paycheck is paid over the holidays.”

A total of 34 House Republicans voted against the bill. No House Democrats voted against passage.

No shutdown, for now

The House and Senate not agreeing on some sort of stopgap spending bill before the Friday midnight deadline would have led to a funding lapse that would likely have led to a partial government shutdown just as the holidays begin.

During a shutdown, essential government functions that cover the protection of life and property continue, though no federal workers would have received their paychecks until after the shutdown ends. That loss of income would have extended to U.S. troops as well.

“If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now, under the Biden Administration, not after January 20th, under “TRUMP,” the president-elect posted on social media Friday morning. “This is a Biden problem to solve, but if Republicans can help solve it, they will!”

In a separate post that went up just after 1 a.m. Eastern, Trump doubled down on his insistence that any short-term spending bill suspend the debt limit for another four years or eliminate the borrowing ceiling entirely.

“Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling,” Trump wrote. “Without this, we should never make a deal. Remember, the pressure is on whoever is President.”

If there’s one thing America loves, it’s a good tug-of-war between corporate power and government oversight, especially when it involves cutting-edge tech, fiery CEOs, and a whole lot of car crashes. Today, any accident involving an automated driving system must be reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), thanks to a Standing General Order issued in June 2021. This rule keeps automakers honest—well, sort of—but now, a newly surfaced document suggests that the Trump administration wants to kill it.

And surprise, surprise: the potential repeal would be a massive win for Elon Musk and Tesla, while also leaving regulators with fewer tools to keep autonomous driving tech in check.

More: See What Happens When Two Cars Hit A Chinese EV At 60KM/H In Triple Crash Test

Reuters reports that it has seen a document that “recommends repealing requirement that companies report automated vehicle crash data.” That’s notable for several reasons, not least of which is one of the requirement’s biggest opponents: Elon Musk. The high-profile CEO, who not only campaigned openly for Donald Trump before the election but also became his largest donor, spending at least $277 million to support him, now stands to benefit in a significant way.

A Rule Tesla Really Hates

Under the current rules, Tesla, like many other companies, must report crashes to the NHTSA under the General Order if they meet two specific criteria. First, the vehicle’s Level 2 autonomous driving system must have been in use within 30 seconds of the accident. Second, the crash must either involve a vulnerable road user (like a pedestrian or cyclist) or result in “a fatality, a vehicle tow-away, an airbag deployment, or any individual being transported to a hospital for medical treatment.”

Musk takes exception to this order for several reasons. To be fair, the NHTSA itself even outlines some of the potential issues with the order on its website. For instance, car companies can only report the accidents that they’re aware of—which isn’t always as straightforward as it sounds.

More: Tesla’s Sub-$30K Model Q And 2025 Product Plans

“For example, some entities may have access to detailed vehicle and crash data immediately after a crash, because the vehicles supply instantaneous telematics, while others may only learn of crashes from consumer complaints submitted days or weeks afterwards and which may include limited crash information,” says NHTSA.

Reuters points out that its analysis of the NHTSA crash data shows Tesla accounted for 40 out of 45 fatal crashes reported to the agency through Oct. 15. It’s plausible that Tesla not only reports more incidents but also that the statistics look tilted against the brand because so many of its cars have Level 2 driving technology and owners use it more.

More: Tesla Shares Soar By 69%, As Musk Becomes First Person To Top $400 Billion Net Worth

Moreover, Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor in the University of South Carolina who focuses on autonomous driving, said Tesla collects real-time crash data that other automakers don’t and, as a result, probably reports a “far greater proportion of their incidents” than its rivals.

Did Tesla Wait This Out? Probably.

To that end, Reuters says a source claims that Tesla executives have wanted to squash the crash reporting for years. The team evidently decided that the only solution was to wait until President Biden, whose administration was supportive of the program, was out of office.

In the meantime, stay tuned—because if this unfolds the way it seems, you’ll probably be hearing about it next time someone’s Tesla decides to “assist” them into a ditch.

After aligning himself with Donald Trump and pouring $277 million into his successful 2024 presidential campaign, according to Federal Election Commission filings, Elon Musk has seen his personal wealth skyrocket, while Tesla shares have reached an all-time high. This comes despite Trump’s long-standing opposition to electric vehicles. However, with Musk now in Trump’s ear—and seemingly at every event he hosts—investors are encouraged by the prospect of fewer regulations.

Tesla Shares Surge Following Election

On Thursday, Tesla shares reached as high as $429 before dipping to $419.80 at the time of posting, marking a remarkable 69% rise since the election. This surge has added $556 billion to the company’s market cap, pushing Tesla’s stock price to levels not seen since late 2021—and far above its January 2023 low of $108.10. The uptick is being hailed as the “Trump bump,” with analysts pointing to Musk’s vocal support of Trump as a catalyst for the renewed interest in Tesla.

Read: Tesla’s Sub-$30K Model Q And 2025 Product Plans; Key Insights From The Deutsche Bank Report

As Craig Irwin, an analyst at Roth MKM, told CNBC: “Musk’s authentic support for Trump likely doubled Tesla’s pool of enthusiasts and lifted credibility for a demand inflection.”And it’s not just Roth MKM—Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley have also raised their price targets for Tesla in response to the stock’s impressive rally.

Musk’s Growing Influence in Government

In return for his significant backing of Trump’s re-election campaign, Elon Musk will co-lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency with fellow billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy. Musk is believed to be advising Trump on which agencies, budget items, and regulations should be trimmed down or eliminated altogether. This influence could pave the way for policy shifts that benefit Musk’s business interests.

Musk has also expressed interest in establishing a federal approval process for autonomous vehicles. As it stands, approvals happen at the state level, but if Musk can leverage Trump’s support to shift this to the federal level, his long-awaited robotaxi, the Cybercab, could see a major boost.

Additionally, Musk may push Trump to eliminate the current $7,500 federal EV tax credit—an action that could hurt Tesla’s competitors more than it impacts his own company, which is better positioned to absorb any short-term effects.

Musk’s Wealth Reaches Unprecedented Levels

With his newfound influence as Trump’s close ally, Musk’s personal fortune has skyrocketed—up by 77%, for those keeping track. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his wealth now stands at $447 billion, making him the first person in history to surpass the $400 billion net worth mark. In addition to the surge in Tesla’s stock price, SpaceX and other investors recently purchased $1.25 billion in shares from employees and insiders. This deal has boosted SpaceX’s valuation to $350 billion, adding an estimated $50 billion to Musk’s net worth.

Driving is an inherently dangerous task, but several modern tech features are supposed to increase safety. According to one family in California, one such tool, Tesla’s Autopilot, is actually to blame for the death of their loved one. He crashed into a parked fire truck around 4 a.m. on February 18, 2023, and didn’t survive. 

Carscoops covered the crash when it first happened. At the time, it was unclear whether or not the driver were using any semi-autonomous driving features. Now, we know that the driver, Genesis Giovanni Mendoza Martinez, 31, had engaged Autopilot when he crashed into the fire truck. 

More: Rogue Tesla Smashes Into Multiple Cars Before Plunging Off Parking Deck

According to the Independent, the complaint against Tesla on behalf of the Mendoza family says that Giovanni was using Autopilot for 12 minutes prior to the crash. Data reportedly shows that he “generally maintained contact with the steering wheel until the time of the crash.” Why he didn’t see the flashing emergency lights of the truck and slow down or move over is unclear. 

In any case, the complaint says that Autopilot itself is flawed and that Tesla “undertook a widespread campaign to conceal thousands of consumer reports about problems with [its] ‘Autopilot’ feature, including crashes, unintended braking, and unintended acceleration.” For Tesla’s part, it’s responded the way it has with so many cases like this. It argues that the crash and its results “were caused by misuse or improper maintenance of the subject product in a manner not reasonably foreseeable to Tesla.”

Slow down and move over when approaching emergency vehicles. Truck 1 was struck by a Tesla while blocking I-680 lanes from a previous accident. Driver pronounced dead on-scene; passenger was extricated & transported to hospital. Four firefighters also transported for evaluation. pic.twitter.com/YCGn8We1bK

— Con Fire PIO (@ContraCostaFire) February 18, 2023

There’s no question that this entire situation is sad. We all make mistakes and sometimes that includes misunderstanding what a product is or isn’t capable of. Tesla, no doubt, could make it more clear that Autopilot and FSD don’t actually provide genuine Level 5 autonomy – perhaps starting with their names, which may mislead consumers into thinking the cars can actually drive themselves without any human interference.

This seems to be the case here, according to the lawsuit: “Not only was he aware that the technology itself was called ‘Autopilot,’ he saw, heard, and/or read many of Tesla or Musk’s deceptive claims on Twitter, Tesla’s official blog, or in the news media,” the complaint states. “Giovanni believed those claims were true, and thus believed the ‘Autopilot’ feature with the ‘full self driving’ upgrade was safer than a human driver, and could be trusted to safely navigate public highways autonomously.”

At the same time, it seems that previous legal victories for the automaker make one thing clear: ultimately, the driver is responsible for always maintaining control of the vehicle. 

As we pointed out in our original coverage, countless such accidents happen every year involving all kinds of vehicles, not just Teslas. It’s why the NHTSA has created campaigns like “Slow Down, Move Over” to remind drivers what they should do when they encounter an emergency vehicle.

Image Credit: Contra Costa FD

Tesla’s billionaire CEO Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy have been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to head the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE for short. If it rings a bell, that’s because DOGE is a backronym referencing the Doge meme and Dogecoin cryptocurrency, both famously associated with Musk.

While it won’t function as an executive department, DOGE will be an advisory body expected to have significant influence on federal spending and operations. That’ll supposedly happen sometime after Trump takes office in January. When it does, it seems that Ramaswamy plans to investigate a big government loan to Rivian for a factory in Georgia. That’s only one of several programs now coming under scrutiny.

Rivian’s Georgia Factory Loan Under the Microscope

Rivian announced plans to build the factory back in 2021. Since then, it’s faced several roadblocks including opposition from some neighbors. In May of this year, it delayed plans for the plant after initially saying it would begin construction in 2024. Then, in October it said it was seeking a loan to start the work. In November, the Biden administration approved a $6.6 billion dollar loan to the automaker.

Notably, the loan comes from the Department of Energy, which provides financing to all sorts of private businesses. One of its mandates is to promote technological innovation and no doubt, this is the type of loan that could do that. Certainly, it also spurs on the creation of jobs and cleaner energy. That doesn’t mean that the deal doesn’t warrant scrutiny though.

More: Rivian And VW Are Teaming Up To Reinvent The New Electric Golf Mk9

“Biden is forking over $6.6B to EV-maker Rivian to build a Georgia plant they’ve already halted. One ‘justification’ is the 7,500 jobs it creates, but that implies a cost of $880k/job which is insane. This smells more like a political shot across the bow at @elonmusk & @Tesla,” Ramaswamy said in a post on X.

Biden is forking over $6.6B to EV-maker Rivian to build a Georgia plant they’ve already halted. One “justification” is the 7,500 jobs it creates, but that implies a cost of $880k/job which is insane. This smells more like a political shot across the bow at @elonmusk & @Tesla. https://t.co/YYLW3fk1jX

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) November 26, 2024

The politician went on to say, in a separate post, that “We are acutely aware of the reality that the outgoing Biden administration is pushing out $$ and proposing new regulations at a fast pace to get ahead of Jan 20. All midnight-hour expenditures & new regulations will get special scrutiny and should be rescinded where appropriate.”

Tesla’s Past Loan and Musk’s Potential Role

How much power and influence Musk will hold over any investigation of other EV brands is unknown at this time. It’s worth noting that Tesla also accepted a federal loan in 2010. The amount of that loan was $465 million and the brand paid it back almost ten years ahead of schedule. 

Typically, government loans for large production facilities like this can result in positive outcomes. As Fortune points out in its coverage, plants like this tend to bring other economic boosts to an area as tier I and II suppliers move in to fill the need of the automaker. If Rivian can post a profit in the fourth quarter, it could make this new loan look more lucrative to everyone involved. 

We are acutely aware of the reality that the outgoing Biden administration is pushing out $$ and proposing new regulations at a fast pace to get ahead of Jan 20. All midnight-hour expenditures & new regulations will get special scrutiny and should be rescinded where appropriate.

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) November 27, 2024

Dogecoin. In the week after the 2024 presidential election, the coin’s value jumped 250%. (Image: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Rockets aren’t the only thing Elon Musk is sending into the stratosphere.

After a three-year plummet, dogecoin is blasting off again, jumping 250% since the election of Donald Trump – part of a broader wave of optimism in the industry, due to Trump’s courting of crypto advocates during his campaign.

Trump’s informal appointment of Musk to what he calls the Department of Government Efficiency – D.O.G.E for short – also helped pump the dog-themed meme coin.

This isn’t the first time Musk, who styles himself as “the Dogefather,” has fueled interest in dogecoin.

In May 2021, its price shot up in anticipation of Musk’s guest appearance on “Saturday Night Live.” During one skit, Musk played a financial analyst in conversation with a Weekend Update host, who repeatedly asked him, “What is dogecoin?” After some obfuscation, Musk’s character finally admitted that it was a hustle. The price of the coin went into a freefall. Just over a year later, it had shed over 90% of its peak value.

The losses hit small investors hard. In 2022, one of them filed a class action lawsuit against Musk for market manipulation and insider trading, though the case was dismissed in August 2024.

Why has dogecoin – a meme coin that was never meant to be taken seriously as an investment – seen such extreme swings in value?

We’re all in this together

Dogecoin was launched in 2013 to spoof bitcoin and a slew of other cryptocurrencies that were claiming to disrupt the traditional world of finance. Two strangers from across the globe met online, copied the code of an existing coin, and branded it with the already popular Doge internet meme – a picture of a Shiba Inu dog surrounded by fragments of broken English: “wow much coin.”

Although their main goal was to make the coin pointless and undesirable, it became one of the most popular and enduring cryptocurrencies on the market.

Following dogecoin’s previous surge in 2021, I studied how its fervent network of influencers and everyday investors worked together to draw tremendous attention – and capital – to the joke currency.

Elon Musk’s 2021 appearance on ‘Saturday Night Live’ caused the price of dogecoin to tumble.

To understand the appeal of these absurd investments, you have to look at the time and energy that users invest into these networks and the rewards, both financial and social, they get in return.

Meme coins are collaborative enterprises. Members of these online communities have an economic incentive to become outspoken boosters: The more the value of dogecoin rises, the more their investments grow. But they also receive social validation from other meme coin investors when they pump up the coin.

In other words, behind every meme coin is a collective of strangers on a communal mission to make more money.

Dogecoin and its imitators have been described by their leadership as crypto movements, shared journeys and community-owned projects. Beyond branding the assets with culturally resonant images, whether it’s a Shiba Inu dog or Pepe the Frog, successful crypto ventures are characterized by complex webs of trust. Trust in the technology. Trust in its potential for future appreciation. And trust that those holding power in the networks won’t exploit the rest.

This loyalty is woven among a global network of users who collaborate around the clock to promote their coin and demonstrate their unwavering commitment to its success.

In times of price appreciation, the collective buzzes with elation.

During price dips, community members mutually reinforce their comrades’ – and their own – beliefs that this is just a bump in the road and that their collective efforts will eventually lead to a handsome payoff. Even in the coldest of crypto winters, this ritualistic behavior helps these speculative communities endure. Community serves as a substitute for financial loss.

The investment strategies in these communities – and the conviction in their payoff – involve repeating and reposting what others have said, like any traditional internet meme.

Trolling traditional valuation

The real value of meme coins cannot be understood in the same way as traditional assets, such as stocks and physical commodities. These types of assets have fundamentals, such as a company’s financial statements, or public demand for basic goods, from coffee to oil.

Conversely, the fundamentals of meme coins are reflected in their network activity, such as daily active users, and less concrete metrics, such as social sentiment and mindshare – how much public awareness a coin has generated compared with its rivals.

Of course, the valuations of traditional assets are also affected by these social factors. The difference is that meme coins offer little by way of productive activity. They add nothing to the economy. Occasionally, their leadership will build financial services around them, but these are generally added as afterthoughts, especially as a way to drum up more speculative excitement.

Meme coins troll the traditional conventions of valuation and mock the edicts and dogmas of mainstream investors.

And that’s exactly the point.

Participation in meme coin communities – or any crypto community, for that matter – entails embracing an alternative economic experience. They are speculative sandboxes for playing outside of the conventional rules of investment.

Who let the Doge out?

Musk is the quintessential meme coin influencer.

As the richest man in the world, he’s viewed by many as a paragon of savvy investing. His massive following extends far beyond dogecoin’s social network. And his promotional efforts are playful – so playful that the judge in his class-action case dismissed his dogecoin tweets as mere “puffery” and that “no reasonable investor could rely upon them.”

Dogecoin previously reached the peak of its memetic momentum when Musk appeared on “Saturday Night Live.” Now, instead of sitting at the Weekend Update news desk cracking jokes, he’s sitting in Trump’s office advising the president-elect. In other words, dogecoin’s memetic resonance has ascended from pop culture to politics, helping it capture a bigger slice of the public’s mindshare.

While dogecoin has specifically benefited from Musk’s proximity to Trump, the broader crypto market is leaping with optimism for a crypto-friendly administration. Speaking at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in July, the GOP candidate ensured he’d make the United States “the crypto capital of the planet.” After pouring $131 million into this election cycle, the crypto industry can now claim 274 pro-crypto members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 20 pro-crypto U.S. senators.

Between Musk buddying up with Trump and a shifting regulatory environment, the dog can once again run free.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House on Nov. 13, 2024 in Washington, D.C. Biden continued the tradition of inviting the newly elected president to meet at the White House after Trump won the presidential election on Nov. 5. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden welcomed President-elect Donald Trump to the White House Wednesday, a tradition between incoming and outgoing American leaders, though the courtesy was not extended to Biden after he won the 2020 election.

The pair met behind closed doors in the Oval Office for most of the meeting that lasted just under two hours. Biden’s Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and Trump’s incoming counterpart, Susie Wiles, joined the president and president-elect.

Biden had been seeking reelection against Trump until late July, when Biden dropped his bid. Vice President Kamala Harris lost the race to Trump after just over 100 days of campaigning as the Democratic nominee.

Harris did not attend the meeting, according to the White House.

In brief remarks before cameras, Biden congratulated his predecessor who will again take the oath of office in January as the nation’s 47th president.

“Well, Mr. President-elect, former president, Donald, congratulations,” Biden said, as Trump interjected with “Thank you very much, Joe.”

“And looking forward to having a, like I said, smooth transition, do everything we can to make sure you’re accommodated, what you need,” Biden continued. “And we’re gonna get a chance to talk about some of that today.”

Trump again thanked Biden and responded “And politics is tough. And it’s, many cases, not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today. And I appreciate it very much, a transition that’s so smooth, it’ll be as smooth as it can get. I very much appreciate that, Joe,” Trump said.

A ‘substantive’ conversation

First lady Jill Biden joined the president in greeting Trump and presented a handwritten letter of congratulations and offer for transition assistance addressed to incoming first lady Melania Trump, according to the White House.

The meeting got underway just after 11 a.m. Eastern, and the press was ushered out after the brief welcoming remarks and photo opportunity. Biden and Trump finished their private discussion at roughly 1 p.m. Eastern.

Neither addressed a large gathering of reporters and photographers outside afterward.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden and Trump had “a very good back and forth.”

“(Biden) wants you all to know that the president-elect was gracious, came with a detailed set of questions, it was, again, substantive” Jean-Pierre said at the daily press briefing.

Jean-Pierre declined to provide the meeting’s specifics but said “the length of the meeting tells you they had an in-depth conversation on an array of issues.”

Trump did not invite Biden to the White House following his 2020 presidential election win, nor did he attend his successor’s inauguration that occurred just 14 days after a mob of his supporters violently tried to stop Congress’ certification of Biden’s victory.

The president-elect’s transition team did not immediately respond to States Newsroom’s inquiries on why Trump did not invite Biden to the White House in 2020.

Musk, Ramaswamy to head new initiative

The president-elect continues to announce numerous Cabinet and staff positions, stacking his administration with staunch loyalists.

Late Tuesday, Trump announced he named billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy to what he describes as a new “Department of Government Efficiency,” or shortened to “DOGE,” also the name for a popular internet dog meme and cryptocurrency in the last decade.

Trump said the new entity would function outside of government.

“To drive this kind of drastic change, the Department of Government Efficiency will provide advice and guidance from outside of Government, and will partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before,” Trump said in a statement.

Musk was also present, sitting in the front row during Trump’s visit with House Republicans earlier Wednesday.

Also on Tuesday night, Trump announced Fox News host Pete Hegseth as his pick for secretary of Defense, a position that requires managing hundreds of billions in Pentagon spending.

Trump endorses Johnson

Trump joined House Republicans Wednesday morning before his meeting with Biden at the White House. At a hotel near the U.S. Capitol, Trump received a standing ovation from GOP lawmakers, according to congressional pool reports.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, introduced Trump, calling him a “singular figure in American history,” according to congressional pool reports. 

House Republicans are also planning to have their leadership elections late Wednesday, but it’s expected that Johnson will be selected to continue the role, although an official vote for the speaker’s gavel will take place in January.

At the meeting, Trump threw his support behind Johnson to continue in his role as House speaker, according to NBC News.

During the meeting, Trump touted GOP wins in keeping control of the lower chamber. Although Republicans are on track to hold their slim majority, The Associated Press, the news organization that States Newsroom relies upon for race calls based on decades of experience, has not called the House for Republicans though it might happen soon.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Republicans have 216 seats, just two short of the 218 seats needed for control. Democrats have 207 seats, with 12 races still to be called.

Trump also joked about wanting to run for another term in office — something that the U.S. Constitution prohibits, as presidents are limited to only serving two terms. 

“I suspect I won’t be running again unless you do something,” Trump told members, who laughed, according to pool reports.

Democrats ready to push back

Chair of the House Democratic Caucus Pete Aguilar said Wednesday that Democrats are ready to work with the incoming administration in a bipartisan manner, but are also prepared to push back on efforts to further restrict reproductive rights, such as a national abortion ban, and any changes to the Affordable Care Act.

“We’re clear-eyed about the challenge ahead of us,” Aguilar, Democrat of California, said.

He acknowledged the failure of Democrats to regain control of the House.

“I think it’s appropriate for the current caucus to reflect on what happened, to listen to listen to our constituents, to listen to American people, to listen to our members, to gather data, and then to chart a path forward,” he said.

Aguilar added that Democrats plan to look at voter data to understand the issues important to their voting bloc.

“I don’t want to have broad generalizations of any group or geographic or otherwise, without that data in front of me,” he said. “I think it’s very clear to us that for people with two jobs, the economy is, gas and groceries and rent. We’ll need to speak to those issues if we’re going to be the party that speaks to our community members and people working, everyday Americans, then we need to speak to those issues, and … that’s on us to communicate.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced that if President-elect Donald Trump moves forward with eliminating the federal EV tax credit, the state will revive its Clean Vehicle Rebate program to keep electric vehicles within reach for local buyers. Surprisingly, Tesla, the state’s dominant EV player, appears to be excluded from the rebates. As expected, this decision has already sparked backlash from Elon Musk.

The Clean Vehicle Program was phased out in 2023, but during its operation, it funded over 594,000 vehicles and saved more than 456 million gallons of fuel. It provided up to $7,500 for ZEV purchases and issued over 66,000 rebates to low-income consumers, totaling more than $354 million. Of the rebates provided, 71% were for BEVs, 26% for PHEVs, and 3% for FCEVs and zero-emission motorcycles.

More: Nearly 1 In 4 New Cars Sold In California Are EVs

“Consumers continue to prove the skeptics wrong – zero-emission vehicles are here to stay,” Newsom said. “We will intervene if the Trump Administration eliminates the federal tax credit, doubling down on our commitment to clean air and green jobs in California. We’re not turning back on a clean transportation future — we’re going to make it more affordable for people to drive vehicles that don’t pollute.”

While Newsom did not elaborate on the specifics of the revived rebate program, his office stated it would focus on fostering “innovation and competition” in the ZEV market. The program is expected to be funded by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, though details remain sparse as negotiations with the state legislature are ongoing.

Tesla Excluded?

One surprising element of the proposed program is Tesla’s exclusion. Speaking with Bloomberg, the governor’s office said that the rebates would include market-share limitations designed to “create market conditions for more of these carmakers to take root.” In other words, Tesla—California’s EV darling—wouldn’t qualify for the incentives, a move that has already drawn ire from Elon Musk.

Watch: California Gov. Gavin Newsom Finds BYD’s 1,197HP YangWang U8 ‘Absolutely Incredible’

Musk quickly took to his social media channel X to criticize the decision, calling it “insane” given that “Tesla is the only company who manufacturers their EVs in California.” The proposal’s final details remain fluid, but the exclusion of Tesla could symbolize a political jab at Musk, who has aligned himself closely with Trump in recent months.

Even though Tesla is the only company who manufactures their EVs in California!

This is insane. https://t.co/EhVeG2TYqT

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2024

Trump’s plans

California has long been the leading US state in ZEV sales. During the third quarter of 2024, 115,897 ZEVs were sold across the state, representing a 26.4% share of all new vehicles sold.

President-elect Donald Trump has yet to confirm whether he will eliminate the $7,500 federal EV tax credit, though his transition team reportedly favors scrapping the subsidy. In a move many see as strategic, Musk has publicly supported eliminating the credit, having argued previously that it will hurt Tesla’s competition more than Tesla itself.

When asked by Reuters in August about his plans for the EV tax credit, Trump said, “I’m not making any final decisions on it. I’m a big fan of electric cars, but I’m a fan of gasoline-propelled cars, and also hybrids and whatever else happens to come along.”

Lead image California Governor / Facebook

Lei Jun, founder, Chairman, and CEO of Xiaomi, took a page straight out of Elon Musk’s playbook—quite literally—then added his own twist. To commemorate the production milestone of 100,000 SU7 electric vehicles, Lei posted a photo of himself snoozing on the factory floor, a nod to Musk’s famed claims of doing the same during Tesla’s early years, though without explicitly naming his American counterpart.

The Xiaomi boss shared the photo on social media with the following caption: “Netizens urged me to go to the factory to tighten the screws. Actually, I go there often. I arrived early this morning. I came too early and took a nap in the workshop. Unexpectedly, when I woke up, 100,000 units had been completed!”

More: Ford’s CEO Is Daily Driving A Xiaomi SU7 EV And Loving It

He followed up by noting, “From the release of SU7 to today, it took us only 230 days to produce 100,000 units! As a newcomer in the automotive industry, this speed is already very remarkable. We will hold a ceremony for the 100,000th unit to come off the production line later.”

This cheeky gesture, of course, references Musk’s well-documented habit of treating Tesla’s factories like glorified crash pads during the Model 3 “production hell.” Musk has openly acknowledged using the California and Nevada facilities as his “primary residences” for three years, a period marked by severe production challenges.

Good morning! Woke up to the news that 100,000 units of Xiaomi SU7 achieved!⚡️

From the launch to today, it took us only 230 days to hit this milestone. For a newcomer in the EV industry, that’s a speed we’re truly proud of. Can’t wait to celebrate the 100,000th in a bit! pic.twitter.com/92gmML2mdH

— Lei Jun (@leijun) November 13, 2024

Congratulations to our Xiaomi EV team! The 100,000th Xiaomi SU7 has officially rolled off the production line. For our first model, reaching this milestone in just 230 days is an incredible achievement! pic.twitter.com/rU6HtMQNSA

— Lei Jun (@leijun) November 13, 2024

Back to Xiaomi, the SU7 was introduced in December 2023, but production started in April 2024. With a profile that echoes the Porsche Taycan, a McLaren-esque nose, and Lincoln-inspired taillights, it’s clear the design team had more than a few influences in mind.

Despite boasting impressive specs and cutting-edge technology, the SU7 is priced to undercut the Tesla Model 3 in China, starting at ¥215,900 ($30,000). The top-tier model, the performance-focused Xiaomu SU7 Ultra, is priced at ¥814,900 ($112,500) and recently clocked a 6:46.874 lap time at the Nürburgring. Although the run didn’t qualify as an official record, as the car was a prototype rather than a final production model, it’s still an impressive feat. Not bad for a brand better known for smartphones than sports cars.

However, while the 100,000-unit milestone is a notable achievement, Xiaomi is still losing money on each EV it produces—no surprise, considering that’s the reality for most newcomers in the EV space. Analysts suggest the company will likely hit the break-even point once annual sales reach between 300,000 and 400,000 units. Ji Guo Wei, the director of Xiaomi’s EV factory, revealed that the company delivered a solid 20,000 SU7s in October alone.

“The reason I slept on the floor was not because I couldn't go across the road and be at a hotel.
It was because I wanted my circumstances to be worse than anyone else at the company. Whenever they felt pain, I wanted mine to be worse.”
– @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/wZcGvJqzk1

— Tonya de Vitti (@TonyadeVitti) February 26, 2024

The CEO of Xiaomi has announced a follow-up video titled “Xiaomi Intelligent Chassis Pre-research Technology”, highlighting the company’s advancements in electric vehicle (EV) technology. Since the launch of Xiaomi Motors, the company claims to have taken a foundational approach, investing ten times more than the industry standard to develop core technologies and produce quality vehicles.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra set a new record for a four-door EV at the Nürburgring. This is incorrect. While it is technically the fastest, the lap was achieved using a prototype model, not a production car.

Xiaomi

Officials from Mexico are eager to meet with Elon Musk about Tesla’s production plans for the country after Donald Trump won the US election last week. Musk, who has supported Trump since the assassination attempt on him in July, had originally announced Tesla would establish a Gigafactory in Mexico, but those plans are in jeopardy.

The planned factory was originally confirmed in March 2023 and came after months of meetings between Musk and local officials. The new site was to be located near Monterrey in the state of Nuevo León and handle the production of one of the automaker’s planned ‘next gen’ vehicles. However, in July, Musk said Tesla had paused plans for the factory after Trump began touting the idea of leaning heavily into massive tariffs on imported vehicles.

Read: The $25,000 Tesla You Can Drive Is Dead, And Autonomy Killed It

While recently speaking on a Mexican radio show, as reported by Reuters, the nation’s Economy Minister, Marcelo Ebrard, said he’s “going to set up a meeting with [Musk] soon so that he tells me exactly what he’s thinking and see what we can do so this project moves forward.”

Given Musk’s newfound fondness of Trump, and the President-elect’s promise during his campaign to slap vehicles imported from Mexico with tariffs of 200% or more, it seems unlikely that Tesla will be able to justify investing in a Mexican plant. Tesla never confirmed which markets it intended to sell its Mexican-built vehicles into, but the United States and Canada would have been the most logical choices.

However, since pressing pause on its Mexican plant, Tesla has changed its production plans for its next-generation, ‘unboxed’ manufacturing process that will underpin the recently unveiled electric Robotaxi, also known as the Cybercab. This vehicle will be manufactured in Texas alongside other existing Tesla products.

Even though Mexico seems unlikely to get a Tesla factory, newly-electric president Claudia Sheinbaum does want a cheap EV to be built in the country. Last month, Sheinbaum said the government would work with local Mexican companies and researchers to try and develop a compact and cheap EV for the market, Fortune reports.

Since customer deliveries of the Tesla Cybertruck started late last year, we’ve seen photos and videos of a number of examples involved in crashes. However, other than an incident from a few months ago when a Cybertruck crashed and caught fire, we haven’t seen one that’s been as badly damaged as this one. If you’ve ever wondered what a smashed Cybertruck looks like, well, this is it.

This Tesla was destroyed in Guadalajara, Mexico, over the weekend after reportedly crashing into a statue. No exact cause for the crash has been confirmed, although local media suggests that speeding was probably a factor. The extent of the damage speaks to this.

Read: Florida Man Smashes Porch Pirate’s Getaway Car With Rental Cybertruck

Photos shared to social media show the Cybertruck sitting on its roof in the middle of the road with extensive damage to the front and rear fascias, as well as both sides. It’s been so badly damaged that it’s almost unrecognizable and shockingly, three of the wheels and hubs have been torn from the truck, giving us some idea of the forces that must have been involved.

Even Tesla chief executive Elon Musk caught wind of the crash, and shared photos of the destroyed Tesla to X, proclaiming the “Cybertruck is tougher than a bag of nails.”

Cybertruck is tougher than a bag of nails https://t.co/vEHBjSpgE7

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 2, 2024

This Cybertruck is almost unrecognizable. It saved three people’s lives. pic.twitter.com/70jyNJQJ4s

— Nic Cruz Patane (@niccruzpatane) November 2, 2024

Local outlet Monclova reports that there were four people inside the Cybertruck at the time of the crash. One of them, an 18-year-old woman, was thrown from the Tesla and found lying on the pavement. She was taken to hospital in a critical condition. The three other occupants avoided serious injuries, but were also rushed to the hospital.

This isn’t the only recent Mexican crash involving the Cybertruck. A few days ago, a 23-year-old driving the futuristic-looking EV slammed into the wall of a property in San Miguel, Chapultepec. The force of the impact crumpled the front end of the Tesla. Fortunately, the driver did not suffer any significant injuries.

For those counting, that’s two major Mexican mishaps in as many weeks for Tesla’s toughest vehicle.

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Image Credit: LilHumansBigImpact@X

The Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, speaks at a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

NEW YORK  — Former President Donald Trump promised “America’s new golden age” of closed borders and world peace as he rallied a capacity crowd at Madison Square Garden in his home city in the final stretch of the 2024 presidential contest against Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump headlined the over six-hour rally that featured nearly 30 speakers, some of whom insulted Latinos and attacked Democratic nominee Harris over her race, and he vowed “to make America great again, and it’s going to happen fast.”

“It is called America first, and it is going to happen as no one has ever seen before,” Trump said, adding “We will not be overrun, we will not be conquered. We will be a free and proud nation once again. Everyone will prosper.”

But the event also generated intense criticism from Democrats for remarks made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who spoke during the afternoon hours ahead of Trump and called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now.”

The joke could prove politically problematic for Republicans, who have been courting the Latino vote, and particularly in the swing state of Pennsylvania, where hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans live.

The United States is home to 5.6 million Puerto Ricans, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of census data, and about 8% of them live in Pennsylvania.

Hinchcliffe, who hosts a podcast called “Kill Tony,” also said Latinos “love making babies” and made a lewd joke about them.

Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, whose state is also home to hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans, on X wrote, “It’s not funny and it’s not true. Puerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans!”

Democrats brought in U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is Puerto Rican, and the vice presidential nominee, Tim Walz, to blast the joke. “When you have some a-hole calling Puerto Rico floating garbage … that’s what they think about anyone who makes less money than them,” she said.

Harris on Sunday in Philadelphia laid out a new policy proposal focused on Puerto Rico.

The former president’s 80-minute speech mostly featured his standard campaign promises and stories, though he added a proposal to his list of tax breaks — a benefit for those caring for sick or aging relatives in their homes. Harris also introduced a policy for at-home care for seniors earlier in October.

Trump repeated his popular pledges to “get transgender insanity the hell out of our schools,” “stop the invasion” at the border and restore peace to Ukraine and the Middle East, which he claims would have never become war-torn had he been in office.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told the crowd his time campaigning around the country for Trump has revealed “something very powerful out there happening among the base.”

“I’m telling you, there’s an energy out there that we have not seen before,” Johnson said.

NYC stop a detour

Trump held the rally nine days before polls close on Nov. 5. Nearly 42 million Americans have already voted early, in person or by mail, in more than two dozen states, according to the University of Florida Election Lab’s early voting tracker.

Trump’s New York stop detoured from the seven battleground states in this election’s spotlight — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. His campaign also announced on Sunday two upcoming stops in New Mexico and Virginia during the contest’s final week.

Still, both candidates once again hit Pennsylvania over the weekend, with Trump delivering remarks Saturday at Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania, and Harris spending Sunday rallying a crowd in Philadelphia.

Harris spoke to the press in Philadelphia, a city she described as “a very important part of our path to victory.”

“I’m feeling very optimistic about the enthusiasm that is here and the commitment that folks of every background have to vote and to really invest in the future of our country,” Harris told reporters.

The vice president criticized Trump for using “dark and divisive language,” including his comments this week that America is the “garbage can of the world.”

“I think people are ready to turn the page,” she said.

Tucker Carlson goes after Harris

Numerous speakers attacked Harris’ record — a standard feature of political rallies — but some comments invoked her race. Trump’s childhood best friend, David Rem, clutched a crucifix and told the crowd Harris is the “antichrist.”

Conservative media personality Tucker Carlson described Harris as a “Samoan Malaysian low IQ former California prosecutor” as he was spinning a scenario in which the Democrats reflect on their candidate post-election.

“Donald Trump has made it possible for the rest of us to tell the truth about the world around us,” Carlson said earlier in his speech.

Harris’ mother was Indian, and her father is Jamaican. Trump has previously questioned her race during his interview with the National Association of Black Journalists.

Carlson, who was fired by Fox News in April 2023, accused Democrats of telling “lies,” and said in a mocking voice, “Jan. 6 was an insurrection, they were unarmed, but it was very insurrection-y.”

The violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 by thousands of Trump supporters came after months of the former president refusing to concede the 2020 presidential election, which President Joe Biden won.

Twenty-eight speakers preceded Trump, beginning at just after 2 p.m. and holding court until the former president took the stage at 7:13 p.m. Trump’s wife, Melania, in a rare campaign rally appearance, introduced him and spoke briefly.

The lineup included the founder of Death Row Records, TV personality Dr. Phil and pro wrestling’s Hulk Hogan and Dana White — some of whom spoke at July’s four-day Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, whose super PAC has flooded more than $75 million into the campaign, was among the cast of speakers.

Musk told the crowd to vote early and that he wants to see a “massive crushing victory.”

“Make the margin of victory so big that you know what can’t happen,” he said, referring to debunked claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

Focus on NYC

The day was heavy on the mystique of New York and Trump’s ties to it. New York City is not only where Trump grew up and followed his father’s path into real estate, but now also where he was convicted in May in a Manhattan court on 34 state felony counts for a hush money scheme involving a porn star.

A vendor hawking campaign gear to supporters waiting to enter Madison Square Garden Sunday morning advertised a hat that read “I’m voting for the convicted felon.”

Several speakers credited Trump with changing the New York City skyline. The 58-story Trump Tower stands on 5th Avenue in midtown Manhattan, among his other real estate holdings on the island.

“New York City made Donald Trump, but Donald Trump also made New York City,” said Lara Trump, Trump’s daughter-in-law and co-chair of the Republican National Committee.

Howard Lutnick, chair and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and co-chair of the Trump campaign’s “transition team,” told the story of losing just over 650 of his employees in the World Trade Center attack on Sept. 11, 2001 masterminded by known terrorist Osama bin Laden.

“We must elect Donald J. Trump president because we must crush jihad,” Lutnick said.

Lutnick bantered with Musk on stage, estimating the pair could possibly cut $2 trillion in federal spending under a second Trump administration. Trump has chosen the duo to lead a commission on government efficiency if elected.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who took a leading role in spreading Trump’s false claims that he won the 2020 election, received a standing ovation from the full arena.

He accused Biden and Harris of spreading “socialism, fascism and communism.”

Giuliani, a major player in Trump’s false claim that he won the 2020 election, appeared at the rally just days after a federal judge in New York ordered him to surrender his apartment and valuables to election workers in Georgia whom he was found guilty of defaming.

Giuliani, along with a handful of other speakers, also implied that Democrats are responsible for the two assassination attempts on Trump.

“I’m not gonna do conspiracy,” Giuliani said, “but it’s funny that they tried to do everything else, and now they’re trying to kill him.”

The accusation was a theme throughout the daylong event. Speaker after speaker implied or outright blamed Democrats for the two attempts on Trump’s life, never mentioning the perpetrators. The gunman in the first attempt was killed by law enforcement, and the second, who never fired at Trump, has been charged in Florida; neither has been found to have ties to Democrats.

Trump focused some of his comments on New York City, referencing his childhood and adding that he felt sympathy for the city’s indicted Mayor Eric Adams.

The rally ended, not with Trump’s signature closer “YMCA” by the Village People, but with a live rendition of “New York, New York” by Christopher Macchio.

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Believe it or not but it’s been more than seven years since the second-generation Tesla Roadster was unveiled, and despite several assurances from Elon Musk that it’s coming, it appears interested customers still have some time to wait before getting their hands on the new electric sportscar.

The new Roadster is supposed to serve as the halo of the Tesla range and went first announced, was announced with a $250,000 price tag. Many interested customers even placed $250,000 deposits on the car. But, rather than focusing on bringing the car to the market, Tesla has been side-tracked with other projects, such as the Semi, the Cybertruck, and now, the forthcoming Cybercab and Robovan.

Read: Tesla Roadster Delayed For 2025, Musk Promises 0-60 Blast-Off In Under 1 Second

While speaking during Tesla’s latest quarterly earnings report, Musk apologized to the “long-suffering deposit holders” of the Roadster but indicated it’s simply not as important as some of the brand’s other projects, hence why it continues to be delayed.

“I’d just like to thank our long-suffering deposit holders of the Tesla Roadster. The reason it hasn’t come out yet is because the Roadster is not just the icing on the cake, it’s the cherry on the icing on the cake,” he said. “Our larger mission is to accelerate the progress towards a sustainable energy future, try to do things that maximize the probability the future is good for humanity and for Earth. That necessarily means that the things like that are kind of like dessert.”

“We’d all love to work on the next-gen Tesla Roadster, it’s super fun, and we are working on it, but it has to come behind the things that have a more serious impact on the good of the world. So thank you to all our long-suffering Tesla Roadster deposit holders, and we are actually finally making progress on that. We’re close to finalizing the design on that, it’s really going to be something spectacular.”

Musk revealed earlier this year that Tesla plans to begin production of the Roadster in 2025. While he hasn’t said if this date has been pushed back once again, it’s certainly possible Tesla’s continued development of the mass-scale Cybercab could lead to more delays for the Roadster.

Lisa Posthumus Lyons, the Republican clerk for Kent County, Mich., has to remind voters that elections are run by people and mistakes can occur; it doesn’t mean there’s a conspiracy. In the final days of the election, local election officials are busy dispelling rumors and misinformation. (Matt Vasilogambros/Stateline)

In the final days of the presidential election, lies about noncitizens voting, the vulnerability of mail-in ballots and the security of voting machines are spreading widely over social media.

Fanned by former President Donald Trump and notable allies such as tech tycoon Elon Musk, election disinformation is warping voters’ faith in the integrity of the democratic process, polls show, and setting the stage once again for potential public unrest if the Republican nominee fails to win the presidency. At the same time, federal officials are investigating ongoing Russian interference through social media and shadow disinformation campaigns.

The “firehose” of disinformation is working as intended, said Pamela Smith, president and CEO of Verified Voting, a nonpartisan group that advocates for responsible use of technology in elections.

“This issue is designed to sow general distrust,” she said. “Your best trusted source is not your friend’s cousin’s uncle that you saw on Twitter. It’s your local election official. Don’t repeat it. Check it instead.”

With early voting ongoing, local officials such as Travis Doss in Augusta, Georgia, say they are fighting a losing battle against fast-moving social media rumors.

Doss, the executive director of the Richmond County Board of Elections, said many voters in his county do not believe absentee ballots are counted properly. Many think election officials are choosing which ballots to count based on the neighborhood from where they’re sent, or that voting machines are easily hacked.

In recent weeks, Doss himself heard a rumor that a local preacher told his entire congregation to register to vote again because the preacher had heard — falsely — that everyone had been removed from the voter registration rolls.

“Somebody hears something and then they tell people, and it’s the worst game of telephone tag there ever is,” Doss said. “It’s so hard to correct all the misinformation because there’s so many things out there that we don’t even know about.”

As early voting began in mid-October in Georgia, Doss had to remind some voters that poll workers would observe the polling place and election equipment all day, ensuring no one tampered with the process. He noted that the tabulation machines are not connected to the internet, nor are they being hacked. He also had to emphasize that the ballot drop boxes were sealed and secure.

The amount of disinformation spreading throughout the country is immense.

College students in Wisconsin have been targeted with text messages meant to intimidate them into not voting, even when they’re eligible. The Michigan State Police had to correct rumors that people were unlawfully tampering with voting machines in one precinct, when it was actually two clerk’s office employees testing the ballot tabulating devices. Scammers posing as election officials have been calling Michigan voters claiming they must provide their credit card and Social Security numbers to vote early.

“In order to protect our democracy, we must address the mis- and disinformation that is spreading like wildfire,” said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP.

Ongoing lies

Musk, the owner of the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), has gorged on a smorgasbord of common election conspiracy theories. At a recent Trump rally in Pennsylvania, he falsely insinuated that voting machines designed by Dominion Voting Systems could steal this election from Trump. Dominion successfully sued Fox News and others for promoting that lie after the 2020 election.

Last month, Musk posted that Democrats are expediting citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally so the party could get a permanent electoral advantage. Journalists have thoroughly debunked his claim. Trying to stir up anti-immigrant sentiment to motivate voters to the polls, Trump and his allies have for months repeated the lie that noncitizens are voting in droves.

Musk shared a bogus claim about widespread voter fraud in a Wisconsin county in the 2020 election. The targeted jurisdiction, Henrico County, posted a thread on X correcting Musk’s assertions with data. Musk also amplified a claim that Michigan’s voter rolls were packed with inactive voters and ripe for fraud. Top state officials had to rebut those false claims too.

“The most dangerous and effective thing is that retweet button,” said Jay Young, senior director of voting and democracy at Common Cause, a national voting rights group that has a social media monitoring program tracking online disinformation.

Beyond Musk’s posts, disinformation has thrived on X.

The American Sunlight Project, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that fights misleading information and is run by the former head of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security disinformation team, released a report this month on the scope of the problem. The report found that nearly 1,200 likely automated accounts on X are spreading Russian propaganda and pro-Trump disinformation about the presidential election.

American spy agencies believe the Kremlin is actively pushing election disinformation this year.

And nearly half the Republican candidates running for top state offices or Congress have questioned the integrity of this year’s election, primarily through social media, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. Many of the candidates’ posts include falsehoods.

Sustained lies about election integrity have consequences: State and local election officials have been bombarded by threats and harassment this year, and confidence in elections has plummeted.

According to an October NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, more than 3 in 4 Americans remain confident or very confident that state and local agencies will carry out a fair and accurate election.

Still, 58% of Americans say they are concerned or very concerned that voter fraud will occur this year. Among Republicans polled, 86% are concerned about fraud, while 55% of independents and 33% of Democrats have a similar fear.

How officials respond

Over the past four years of going to town hall meetings and other community events throughout Oconto County, Wisconsin, on the western shore of Green Bay, County Clerk Kim Pytleski has repeatedly heard from voters who say that because their preferred candidate did not win in 2020, there must be something wrong with the electoral process.

Presented with conspiracy theories, Pytleski, a Republican, doesn’t just tell voters they’re wrong; she asks where the voter got that information, and then she walks them through the specific concern with step-by-step details about the voting process.

One concern that often comes up: the volume of absentee ballot applications voters receive in the mail. Many residents think the applications are actual ballots that can be marked and returned.

Voters will claim if there were that many ballots being sent, there must be election fraud, she said. Pytleski has had to explain that those were applications, and they were coming from political parties and other groups. Voters can only receive one ballot from her office, she will tell them.

“And when we’ve explained that, for the most part, people are like, ‘OK, that makes sense. I get that,’” she said during an interview in August.

Touching her right hand to her heart and raising her hand to the sky, Pytleski said she’s a dedicated member of the Republican Party, like most of the county’s voters. But it has been challenging for her to go to those meetings and feel voters’ suspicion. She’s even been called a liar to her face.

“I’m walking into a room that feels not so super-friendly, and I have to remind them that this is the girl that rode the bus route with your children, this is the girl who grew up in that house down the road,” she said. “My name means something to me, so I would never do anything to jeopardize that or the actual process.”

Misinformation can arise after local election offices err in some way, whether it was a misprint on a ballot, an electrical power outage at a polling place or something else.

Lisa Posthumus Lyons, the Republican clerk for Kent County, Michigan, regularly reminds voters that elections are run by humans and humans make mistakes, but that there are checks and balances in place to ensure elections remain secure and transparent, she said.

On her desk, a decorative sign reminds her to “Serve the Lord with Gladness.” She said she hopes voters will share her optimism and faith in the system.

“Their rights are going to be protected, their votes are going to be counted, the election is going to be accurate and fair, and we’re going to have a good day,” she said. “Anything that arises, we’ll be ready for it. It’s as simple as that.”

Beyond listening to local election officials, voters can rely on election protection hotlines run by experts and pro-democracy advocates, said Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a national legal advocacy group.

The committee is one of many voting rights groups in a coalition that is leading the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline this election season. The groups run similar hotlines for people who speak Spanish, Arabic and around 10 Asian languages.

With all the hotlines, Hewitt said, voters can call with questions or concerns about their access or about election procedures.

“This is something that we attend to not just when there’s a problem, but it’s something that we try to get ahead of,” he said. “We’re there to help guide them every step of the way.”

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Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org. Follow Stateline on Facebook and X.

Tesla is going to sell 20 to 30 percent more cars next year, or at least that is what CEO Elon Musk is predicting. The automaker is already the most profitable EV manufacturer in the business. Now, the road to further success appears paved with more affordable models and autonomy, always according to Musk.

During Tesla’s Q3 shareholder meeting, Musk mentioned his prediction of a 20 to 30 percent bump in sales completely of his own volition and not as an answer to a shareholder question.

Read: Cybercab Has No Charging Port, But Tesla Promises 90% Wireless Efficiency

Known for his oftentimes overly optimistic timelines, Musk said “To take a bit of risk here I do want to give a rough estimate which is that I think 20 to 30 percent vehicle growth next year.” After meandering for a few moments he repeated the guidance. “With our lower-cost vehicles, with the advent of autonomy, something like 20 to 30 percent growth next year is my best guess.” Share prices for Tesla jumped some 12 percent after the call. 

The only car company anywhere close to Tesla in terms of global BEV market share is BYD. If Tesla can buoy sales by as much as Musk predicts, it’ll make it all the more difficult for mainstream brands to catch up. Notably, Tesla won’t be doing that with a $25,000 car. He killed that idea at the same shareholder meeting saying that it would be “pointless.“

Instead, expect to see Tesla offer bigger discounts on its Model 3 and Model Y lineup next year. In addition, the Cybertruck could become more affordable too, if Tesla follows through on its promise to build cheaper versions of the electric truck.

If all goes according to plan (and frankly, when has that been the case with Tesla?), then 2026 should see significant growth on top of whatever happens in 2025. That’s when Musk sees the Cybercab reaching full volume production. “We’re aiming for two million units a year… maybe 4 million ultimately,” Musk prosed. While the Cybercab certainly doesn’t appear to be a high-margin play, the volume alone could be significant. 

Former President Barack Obama and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at a rally in Madison on the first day of early voting. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)

Former President Barack Obama, on the first day of early voting in Wisconsin, encouraged people in one of Wisconsin’s major liberal strongholds for Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Dane County is one of two major liberal hubs in Wisconsin, a critical state that could swing the presidential election. The importance of the area this year has been highlighted by recent visits from Harris herself last month, and from former President Donald Trump, who visited Dane County earlier this month following Wisconsin Republicans’ advice to work to eat into Democratic margins in the state’s fastest growing county.

“If you haven’t voted yet, I won’t be offended if you just walk out right now,” Obama said to an energetic crowd at Alliant Energy Center. “Go vote.” 

Gov. Tony Evers, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan and vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz also spoke at the rally.

Throughout his speech, which lasted about 40 minutes, Obama made the case that electing Harris and Walz would help improve the lives of Americans, while also criticizing former President Donald Trump. 

“We know this election is going to be tight, it’s going to be tight because a lot of Americans are still struggling,” Obama said. Harris, he said, “knows what it’s like to scrap and to work hard — to see her mom worry about the bills, so does Tim. So if you elect them, they will be focused on your problems.” 

“Kamala Harris and Tim Walz don’t have concepts of a plan,” Obama said, referencing Trump’s comment during the September debate about his vague ideas for replacing the Affordable Care Act. “They have an actual plan to make your life better.”

Obama said the plan would include cracking down on corporations for price gouging, making it more affordable to build or buy a home, limiting out of pocket health care costs and cutting taxes for middle-class Americans.

Obama highlighted the Trump administration’s decision to not follow the pandemic playbook that his own administration left during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“If somebody tells you it does not make a difference whether you elect someone who’s competent, somebody who cares about you, somebody who listens to experts and listens to ordinary people and knows what their lives are like and what they’re going to do, it makes a difference,” Obama said. 

The election is about more than policy, he added, saying that it’s also about “values.” To Trump and his “cronies” freedom  means getting away with whatever they want, he said. “We believe true freedom means we get to make decisions about our own life.” 

“Do not boo! Vote,” Obama told the crowd. “They can’t hear you boo. They can hear you vote.” 

Walz had a similar theme in criticizing Trump ahead of Obama. 

“There’s something, not just nuts, but cruel about a billionaire using people’s livelihood as a political prop,” Walz said about Trump’s recent shift working at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania. “His agenda lets corporations not pay people for overtime and diminishes those very people that he was cosplaying as… That restaurant wasn’t even open. It was a stunt… That five minutes he stood next to the deep fryer I’ll guarantee you that’s the hardest that guy’s ever worked.” 

Walz also took some jabs at Elon Musk, a tech billionaire and owner of social media platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) who has been campaigning for Trump.

“I’m gonna talk about his running mate — his running mate, Elon Musk,” Walz said. “Elon’s on that stage jumping around, skipping like a dipsh*t.”

Walz accused Musk, who recently offered people $1 million to sign a PAC petition, of trying to buy the election. 

Walz ended his speech by saying that they are still the “underdogs” in the campaign. 

“We know we’re going to leave it all in the field, Wisconsin. We got same-day voter registration and it’s open today,” Walz said. “We need you door knocking. We need to call.” 

The rally’s message resonated with Carey Medina, a 28-year-old from Madison. 

“[Walz] just really seems like a relatable guy and like some of those speakers were saying it — what you see is what you get…,” Medina said. “That’s amazing. We need that. We need leaders for the country that are working for the people, not for themselves.”  

Medina said that she was planning on trying to go to vote early after the rally, and she learned some information that could help her make the case to undecided voters. One piece of information she said she learned is that elections in Wisconsin are decided by a few votes per voting ward — a point made by Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes Conway who also addressed the crowd. Both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections were decided by a little over 20,000 votes in Wisconsin, or about three votes per precinct.

Medina said the issues at stake in the election made her want to go canvas this year — this would be her first time. She said one of her top priorities is reproductive rights as well as the separation of church and state.

Reproductive health issues were a focal point at the rally for speakers and attendees alike. 

Cindy McCallaster, who moved to Madison earlier this year to be close to her family, said reproductive rights are important to her because of her six grandchildren. Hope Bank of Madison, who attended the rally with McCallaster, said she benefited from Roe v. Wade because she was able to decide not to have children.

Bradley Whitford, the former West Wing actor and Madison native, gave an impassioned speech that highlighted the issue. He spoke about how his dad used to serve as the president of Planned Parenthood in Dane County. 

“He was just a dad. Loved his wife and his daughters, and thought they deserved agency over their own bodies and access to the health care they need,” Whitford said. “But now the guy who brags about sexual assault is also bragging about the fact that he overturned Roe v. Wade and stripped those fundamental rights away.”

Whitford named some of the women who have faced devastating consequences under abortion bans. One of the women, Amber Nicole Thurman, died after she took abortion pills, encountered a rare complication and was denied emergency medical care due to Georgia’s abortion ban. 

Obama pointed out Trump’s conflicting statements on abortion access, saying he has “tied himself into a pretzel.” 

“When [Trump] ran for the first time, he said he’d support punishing women who got abortions. Then a few weeks ago, he says, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be your protector,’” Obama said. 

With two weeks to go, rally goers expressed anxiety about the presidential election. Bank of Madison said she is “a little bit terrified, hopeful, but terrified for sure.” 

“It seems unthinkable that [Trump] could be elected again, but we were also confident in 2016. There’s a sense of horror and dread,” Bank said.

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When unveiling the Tesla Cybercab late last week, Elon Musk promised that it would be produced in “very high” numbers. Bold words, but there are still plenty of pesky regulatory hurdles for Tesla to clear before this fully autonomous vehicle even sniffs a production line—let alone starts rolling out in serious volume.

Like Tesla’s other models, the Cybercab relies on the company’s vision-only autonomous driving tech, but with a twist: no steering wheel, no pedals, no controls whatsoever. While this makes sense for a vehicle that can drive itself 100% of the time without any human intervention, actually getting approval to roll out such a vehicle onto public roads isn’t easy.

Read: Tesla Cybercab Is A $30,000 Robotaxi Without A Steering Wheel Or Pedals

For any automaker looking to launch a vehicle without standard driving controls must be granted permission from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to do so. GM attempted to get an exemption to roll out a robotaxi without normal controls back in 2022 but, after two years, abandoned the request after it went unanswered.

If Tesla does manage to get the NHTSA’s approval to introduce the Cybercab, current regulations would only permit it to deploy 2,500 vehicles per year without a steering wheel and pedals, Bloomberg reports. That would not be enough to achieve Musk’s aim of operating a huge fleet of robotaxis across the United States. According to University of South Carolina law professor and autonomous vehicle expert, Bryant Walker, “exemptions aren’t a viable route for a mass manufacturer,” unless “Congress increases this limit.”

Musk insists Tesla will start building the Cybercab before 2027, though they haven’t even filed for the necessary NHTSA exemption yet. Maybe they’re holding off for dramatic effect, or maybe it’s just business as usual at Tesla, where deadlines seem more like suggestions.

On top of all this, Tesla has state-level regulations to contend with. Tesla doesn’t have a driverless testing or deployment permit in California and is likely years away from obtaining one. It will also need to provide the state with comprehensive testing data. It might be a bit easier to get the Cybercab on the road in states like Texas, but even there, Tesla faces the uphill battle of proving that this tech is ready for prime time.