Tag: auto

Elon Musk tweet may cost him job as Tesla CEO

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The standoff between US stock regulators and mercurial Tesla chief Elon Musk has taken a dramatic turn over a tweet that could cost the entrepreneur his job as CEO of the electric carmaker. Musk, 47, is a visionary and inventive boss but is also highly unpredictable, especially on social network Twitter, where he often communicates in defiance of rules imposed on executives of publicly-traded companies. The Securities and Exchange […]

Amazon invests in electric vehicle startup Rivian

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Electric vehicle startup Rivian on Friday announced a $700 million investment round led by Amazon, which recently pumped money into a young self-driving car technology firm. Details of Amazon’s stake in US-based Rivian were not disclosed, but the company said it will remain independent. The potential Tesla rival late last year unveiled an electric pickup truck and an electric sport utility vehicle at an auto show in Los Angeles. […]

Tesla announces 7 percent cut to workforce

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Elon Musk’s electric car manufacturer Tesla announced Friday it is cutting its workforce by about seven percent as it works to meet its timetable for producing the Model 3. Musk said in a blog post that Tesla is making the staff cut as it aims to reach more customers who can afford its vehicles. He said that currently Tesla’s most affordable offering is the mid-range (264 mile) Model 3 at […]

Tesla recalls more than 14,000 cars in China over airbags

SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — Electric-vehicle maker Tesla will recall 14,123 cars in China over airbags that contained a part made by now-defunct Japanese manufacturer Takata, the Chinese market regulator announced on Friday. The US giant has already announced the recall of some Model S vehicles as part of a global industry-wide rooting out of parts made by Takata, which went bust in 2017 after its airbags were blamed for a number of deaths. The affected vehicles […]

Ford, VW call off joint Detroit auto show appearance to announce alliance

by Luc OLINGA / Nova SAFO Agence France Presse DETRIOT, United States (AFP) — The Detroit auto show was abuzz over what Ford and Volkswagen would announce Tuesday, after the car giants called off a joint appearance during which they were widely expected to announce an alliance. The two car giants have been in discussions for more than six months over a partnership to develop self-driving and electric technologies. But a source close to the […]

Under pressure to change, Ford is reinventing itself

by Luc OLINGA Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Struggling with a sagging stock price and sluggish sales, US car giant Ford took steps to regain its footing this week with the announcement of a massive restructuring effort in Europe — even as it prepared for an imminent strategic partnership with German carmaker Volkswagen. The iconic American brand will roll out a major reorganization of its European operations to boost profitability, including thousands […]

Toyota pours $500 mn into driverless car tieup with Uber

    SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Toyota will pump about $500 million into Uber as part of a deal to work together on mass-producing self-driving vehicles, the Japanese car giant said on Tuesday. The deal, which reportedly values Uber at about $72 billion, aims at “advancing and bringing to market autonomous ride-sharing as a mobility service at scale,” Toyota said in a statement. Technology from both companies will be integrated into purpose-built Toyota vehicles […]

Tesla unveils Shanghai factory plans amid US-China trade row

by Dan Martin Agence France-Presse SHANGHAI, China (AFP)–Tesla unveiled plans on Tuesday to build a factory in Shanghai to dramatically increase its production capacity, with boss Elon Musk making his electric-car company’s biggest overseas move yet just as a US-China trade battle heats up. Musk said the plant, which has been in the works for a year, would eventually have an annual production capacity of 500,000 cars, and he hoped it would be “completed very soon.” […]

Ford bets its future on new Detroit hub

by Nova SAFO Agence France-Presse CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — Bill Ford Jr., the great-grandson of the American car-maker’s founder, stood in front of thousands Tuesday in Detroit, with an abandoned train station in the background, and entwined the company’s future with that of the dilapidated building behind him. “This station is a symbol,” Ford declared. “We’re making a big bet on our future.” The company — one of America’s “Big Three” automakers — bought […]

Tesla reorganizing to speed up production

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP)—Tesla chief Elon Musk told employees Monday the electric carmaker is being reorganized to speed up production of Model 3 vehicles — a key to profitability at the fast-growing firm. “To ensure that Tesla is well prepared for the future, we have been undertaking a thorough reorganization of our company,” the memo obtained by AFP said. “As part of the reorg, we are flattening the management structure to improve communication, combining […]

BMW sued in US over diesel emissions

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — German luxury carmaker BMW has been sued in the United States over “defeat devices” installed in tens of thousands of vehicles in order to cheat diesel emissions tests, lawyers for the plaintiffs said Tuesday. The case, filed in federal court in New Jersey, will become a class-action suit once it is certified by a judge. The suit singles out the BMW X5 and 335D model diesel cars sold between […]

Green cars in spotlight as India eyes electric revolution

by Abhaya Srivastava Agence France-Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Electric cars bask in the limelight at India’s flagship auto show, where an ambitious plan to phase out polluting clunkers has manufacturers racing to lure millions of new drivers to their green vehicles. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government wants all new cars on India’s roads to be electric by 2030 to combat smog that routinely eclipses dangerous levels in the nation of 1.25 billion. Some […]