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☆ Tesla Pullback Puts Onus on Others to Build Electric Vehicle Chargers
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Jack Ewing | Ivan Penn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, blindsided competitors, suppliers and his own employees this week by reversing course on his aggressive push to build electric vehicle chargers in the United States, a major priority of the Biden administration. It put the onus on other charging companies, raising questions about whether they can build fast enough to address a shortage that appears to be discouraging some people from buying electric cars. As the owner of the largest charging network in the United States, Tesla has a powerful effect on people’s views of electric cars. “There is certainly a psychological component,” said Robert Zabors, a senior partner at Roland Berger, a consulting firm. “Availability and reliability are critical to overall E.V.

Persons: Elon Musk, Tesla, Biden, ”, Robert Zabors, Roland Berger Locations: United States

☆ Tesla Fires Many on Charger Team, Raising Doubts About Expansion
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Jack Ewing | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk has gutted the part of Tesla responsible for building electric vehicle charging stations, sowing uncertainty about the future of the largest and most reliable U.S. charging network. Tesla’s agreements with other makers of electric cars assured buyers that they would be able to find fast chargers on road trips, addressing one of the main reasons that many people are hesitant to buy such cars. It was also seen as a coup for Mr. Musk, validating Tesla’s technology and giving the company outsize influence over the auto industry. Almost all major manufacturers announced plans to switch the hardware and software in their cars to make them compatible with Tesla’s chargers. Ford has been mailing adapters to owners of its older electric vehicles so they can connect to Tesla’s chargers.

Persons: Elon, Tesla Organizations: General Motors, Ford Motor, Ford

☆ Caledonian Braves: How a tiny Scottish soccer club is chasing ‘Wrexham’-sized dreams
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

On any given evening, Ewing receives emails informing him that some fan in a far-flung location – say, Los Angeles – has just invested in his tiny Scottish soccer club, the Caledonian Braves. “A community club, most people would think, is a local community bound by a certain geography,” says Ewing. National Basketball Association/Courtesy Caledonian BravesAgainst this backdrop, fan ownership has emerged as somewhat of a utopian panacea for some fans. As time went by, the academy’s first team started playing in the Scottish soccer leagues and separated to form the Caledonian Braves in 2019. “You can be anyone really from anywhere and you can also own a football club for as little as £10 ($13).”

Persons: Ted Lasso ”, Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney’s, –, Chris Ewing, Ewing, Los Angeles –, ’ ” Ewing, ”, “, Mujtaba Elgoodah, Elgoodah, braving, ” Elgoodah, Alastair Ross, Nassir Criss, Elizabeth Ball, Kristen Hamilton, Hailie Mace, Isaiah Covington, ” Covington, ” Hamilton, that’s, ‘, ’, ” Criss, Mutjaba Elgoodah, Kiera Burns, ” Ball, Tom Brady, Matthew McConaughey Organizations: CNN — Soccer, Welsh soccer, Scottish soccer, Caledonian Braves, CNN Sport, Scottish, Scottish Premier League, NBA, US, Super League, Golden State Warriors, National, Players ’ Association, Braves, Twitter, Kansas City, Boston Celtics, NFL, National Basketball, English Premier League, St Mirren, Motherwell, Rangers, Celtic, –, Edusport Academy Locations: Wrexham, ”, Los Angeles, Scottish, Australia, Motherwell, Glasgow, – Wyoming, Kansas, Scotland, Heart of Midlothian, France

☆ Daimler Truck Workers in North Carolina Are Poised to Strike
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Jack Ewing | More About Jack Ewing | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Workers who make trucks and buses for Daimler Truck in North Carolina appeared poised to strike on Friday as contract talks remained deadlocked. A contract covering 7,000 Daimler employees represented by the United Automobile Workers will expire at the end of Friday. The German company has five factories in North Carolina, where it builds Freightliner and Western Star trucks, Thomas Built buses, and various components. scored a significant victory this month when workers at Volkswagen’s factory in Chattanooga, Tenn., voted to be represented by the union. Workers at a Mercedes-Benz factory in Alabama will vote on whether to unionize in mid-May.

Persons: Thomas Organizations: Daimler Truck, Daimler, United Automobile Workers, Freightliner, Western Star, Workers, Benz Locations: North Carolina, Southern, Volkswagen’s, Chattanooga , Tenn, Alabama

☆ Honda Commits to E.V.s With Big Investment in Canada
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Jack Ewing | More About Jack Ewing | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Honda Motor on Thursday said it would invest $11 billion to build batteries and electric cars in Ontario, a significant commitment from a company that has been slow to embrace the technology. Like Toyota and other Japanese carmakers, Honda has emphasized hybrid vehicles, in which gasoline engines are augmented by electric motors, rather than cars powered solely by batteries. The Honda Prologue, a sport-utility vehicle made in Mexico, is the company’s only fully electric vehicle on sale in the United States. “This is a very big day for the region, for the province and for the country,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at an announcement event in Alliston, where Honda manufactures the Civic sedan and CR-V S.U.V. The investment is the largest by an automaker in Canadian history, he said.

Persons: Justin Trudeau Organizations: Honda, Toyota Locations: Ontario, Mexico, United States, Alliston , Ontario, Toronto, Alliston

☆ Meet the typical new entrepreneur: A young woman living in the South who's doing it as a side hustle
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The newest entrepreneurs are both young and old and looking to grow their wealth through their businesses. The share of new Hispanic entrepreneurs rose from 8% in 2022 to 13% in 2023, Gusto found. Many new entrepreneurs are open to using AI tools and hiring remote workers, per the Gusto survey. The share of entrepreneurs who started a business while juggling another gig rose from 27% in 2022 to 44% in 2023. The Babson report found that most US entrepreneurs, 71%, were motivated by the prospect of boosting their wealth through their businesses.

Persons: They're, —, Ewing Marion, Luke Pardue, Babson, Entrepreneurship isn't Organizations: Service, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Babson College, Midwest Women, Pew Research Center, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Bureau, Kauffman Foundation, Entrepreneurs, Business Administration, Entrepreneurship Locations: Midwest, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Montana, Northeast, West

☆ Tesla Earnings Report Could Add to Concerns About Its Strategy
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Jack Ewing | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tesla is expected to report on Tuesday that it made less money in the first three months of the year because of its tepid car sales, reinforcing concern among investors that the company led by Elon Musk is losing ground in the market for electric vehicles. The job cuts were interpreted as a sign that Tesla was struggling to bring costs in line with sinking revenue. A year ago, in the first quarter of 2023, Tesla reported earning $2.5 billion and had one of the best profit margins in the industry. For a while that strategy seemed to help bolster the company’s sales but Tesla now appears to be struggling to attract buyers even with lower prices. Tesla investors are increasingly worried that its falling sales and profit are a symptom of larger problems, possibly pointing to the company’s inability to effectively respond to increased competition from established automakers and new carmakers from China.

Persons: Tesla, Elon Musk Locations: China

☆ Tesla Seeks to Revive Musk’s $47 Billion Pay Deal After Judge Says No
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Jack Ewing | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Facing criticism that it is overly beholden to Elon Musk, Tesla’s board of directors said on Wednesday that it would essentially give him everything he wanted, including the biggest pay package in corporate history. If setbacks in court and the car market have induced any soul searching among Tesla’s board, there was no sign of it in the latest announcement. If anything, the board doubled down on backing Mr. Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, risking riling up activist investors and more litigation. The board’s decision to ask shareholders to endorse a compensation plan for Mr. Musk that is worth about $47 billion came less than three months after a Delaware judge voided the same pay package. In addition, Mr. Musk has not presented much of a plan to restore the company’s momentum.

Persons: Elon Musk, Tesla, Musk Locations: Delaware

Tesla plans to lay off more than 10 percent of its work force in an effort to cut costs, Elon Musk, the automaker’s chief executive, told employees on Monday. The job cuts, amounting to about 14,000 people, come as the company faces increasing competition and declining sales. The email was earlier reported by Electrek, an online news site, and Handelsblatt, a German business newspaper. The move is the latest sign that Tesla may not be as unstoppable as it once seemed. The company’s sales are no longer growing at a rapid pace, and it has been slow to introduce new models.

Persons: Tesla, Elon Musk, Mr, Musk, ”, Electrek Organizations: Elon, The New York Times Locations: Asia, Europe

☆ Tell Us: Has Elon Musk’s Behavior Affected How You View Tesla?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Jack Ewing | More About Jack Ewing | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Withholding Starlink satellite internet service from Ukraine to prevent a drone attack on Russian forces. Elon Musk’s behavior and public statements have clearly offended many people, especially left-leaning consumers who are the most likely to buy an electric vehicle. As a business reporter who covers Tesla, the company that Mr. Musk is chief executive of, I’m exploring to what extent his public persona is damaging the company’s brand and hurting sales. Or, as Mr. Musk has insisted, do people choose the best car regardless of what the chief executive says and does? If you own a Tesla, are thinking of buying one or have thought about buying one but ultimately chose another brand, I’d like to hear from you.

Persons: Elon, Tesla, Musk Organizations: Biden Locations: Ukraine

☆ What Happened When a German Car Factory Went All Electric
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Jack Ewing | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

So when Volkswagen announced in 2018 that it would convert its Zwickau factory, the largest private employer in the area, to manufacture nothing but electric vehicles, it was a big deal. “A lot of people were skeptical,” said Michael Fuchs, who has worked at the factory for more than a quarter century. They wondered, “What’s going to happen?” he said. Volkswagen shut down assembly lines churning out its popular Golf hatchbacks and converted the factory, which has its own exit on the autobahn, to make six electric models. The remodeled plant can produce a car a minute, shipping them out by train.

Persons: Horch, ”, Michael Fuchs, “ What’s Organizations: Volkswagen Locations: Zwickau, Germany’s, Detroit

☆ Tesla Settles Lawsuit Over a Fatal Crash Involving Autopilot
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Jack Ewing | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tesla on Monday settled a lawsuit that blamed the automaker’s driver-assistance software for the death of a California man in 2018, averting a trial that would have focused attention on the company’s technology several months before it plans to unveil a self-driving taxi. The trial stemming from the death of Wei Lun Huang, an Apple software engineer who went by Walter, was scheduled to start Monday with jury selection. The case was one of the most prominent involving Tesla’s Autopilot software, attracting significant public attention and prompting an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. Terms of the settlement with Mr. Huang’s children and other members of his family were not disclosed, and Tesla filed court documents seeking to prevent them from being made public. Testimony in the trial would have put Tesla’s autonomous driving software under close scrutiny, further fueling a debate about whether the technology makes cars safer or exposes drivers and others to serious injury or death.

Persons: Tesla, Wei Lun Huang, Walter Organizations: Apple, National Transportation Safety Locations: California

☆ Mercedes-Benz Workers in Alabama Ask for Unionization Vote
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Jack Ewing | More About Jack Ewing | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Workers at a Mercedes-Benz factory in Alabama have petitioned federal officials to hold a vote on whether to join the United Automobile Workers, the union said on Friday, a step forward for its drive to organize workers at car factories in the South. is also trying to organize workers at a Volkswagen factory in Tennessee and a Hyundai factory in Alabama, establishing a bigger presence in states that have drawn much of the new investment in automobile manufacturing in recent decades. A vote at the Volkswagen plant is scheduled for April 17 to 19. The drive has taken on added importance as Southern states like South Carolina and Georgia attract billions of dollars in investment in electric vehicle and battery manufacturing. is trying to ensure that jobs created by electric vehicles do not pay less than jobs at traditional auto factories.

Organizations: Benz, United Automobile Workers, Ford Motor, General Motors, Detroit, Volkswagen, Hyundai Locations: Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia

☆ Tesla’s Sales Drop, a Sign That Its Grip on the E.V. Market Is Slipping
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Jack Ewing | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The company said it delivered 387,000 cars worldwide in the first quarter, down 8.5 percent from 423,000 vehicles in the same period last year. This was the first time Tesla’s quarterly sales have fallen on a year over year basis since the pandemic started in 2020. The sales figures were also significantly lower than the estimates of Wall Street analysts who had expected a modest increase. The reduced deliveries are the latest sign that Tesla’s dominance of the market for electric cars is slipping. And in the United States, sales of electric cars are not growing as fast as they were a year ago.

Persons: Tesla, Elon Musk Organizations: Elon, Wall Street, Volkswagen, BMW Locations: China, Europe, United States

☆ New Pollution Rules Aim to Lift Sales of Electric Trucks
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Coral Davenport | Jack Ewing | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration on Friday announced a regulation designed to turbocharge sales of electric or other zero-emission heavy vehicles, from school buses to cement mixers, as part of its multifront attack on global warming. Today, fewer than 2 percent of new heavy trucks sold in the United States fit that bill. The regulation would apply to more than 100 types of vehicles including tractor-trailers, ambulances, R.V.s, garbage trucks and moving vans. The rule does not mandate the sales of electric trucks or any other type of zero or low-emission truck. Options could include using technologies like hybrids or hydrogen fuel cells or sharply increasing the fuel efficiency of the conventional trucks.

Persons: Biden Organizations: Environmental Protection Agency Locations: United States

When Elon Musk unveiled the first Chinese-made Teslas in Shanghai in 2020, he went off script and started dancing. Mr. Musk had reason to celebrate. Mr. Musk would build one in Shanghai that would become a flagship, accounting for over half of Tesla’s global deliveries and the bulk of its profits. Mr. Musk initially seemed to have the upper hand in the relationship, securing concessions from China that were rarely offered to foreign businesspeople. Tesla’s China pivot has also tethered Mr. Musk to Beijing in a way that is drawing scrutiny from U.S. policymakers.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Tesla Locations: Shanghai, China, Beijing

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 42 points, becoming the fourth player in franchise history with 40 or more in consecutive games, and the New York Knicks beat the Sacramento Kings 98-91 on Saturday night. He's the first Knicks player to reach that total in back-to-back games since Carmelo Anthony on Feb. 19 and 21, 2014. Isaiah Hartenstein was a force on the defensive end, blocking five shots and grabbing 14 rebounds, along with seven points. De’Aaron Fox added 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, but was held to 5-for-19 shooting. The Knicks led 53-48 at the half and extended the advantage to nine early in the third quarter on a pair of layups by Brunson.

Persons: — Jalen Brunson, Brunson, Carmelo Anthony, Hall, Hall of Famers Bernard King, Patrick Ewing, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart, Isaiah Hartenstein, Domantas Sabonis, De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk Organizations: New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, Thursday's, Portland, Knicks, Hall of Famers, Sacramento, NEXT, Golden State, Memphis, NBA Locations: SACRAMENTO, Calif, New York, York, Golden

☆ Tesla Settles Discrimination Suit With Former Factory Worker
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Jack Ewing | More About Jack Ewing | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tesla and a former employee have agreed to settle a closely watched lawsuit that cast a harsh light on the carmaker’s treatment of Black workers. Lawyers for Tesla and for Owen Diaz, who worked at the company’s factory in Fremont, Calif., did not disclose the terms of the settlement in a legal filing on Friday. Organ, a lawyer for Mr. Diaz, said in an email, adding that he could not comment further. A supervisor drew a racist caricature near his work station, according to testimony in the case. Tesla did little to discipline the supervisors or address pervasive racism at the factory, the jury found.

Persons: Tesla, Owen Diaz, “, ” Lawrence, Diaz Organizations: Tesla Locations: Fremont , Calif, San Francisco, Tesla’s

☆ BMW Is a Surprise Winner in Electric Vehicles
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Jack Ewing | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The German automaker’s electric vehicles are made on the same assembly line as gasoline cars and look similar from the outside. The company sold 376,000 electric vehicles last year, including some under its Mini brand, a 75 percent increase from the previous year. Electric vehicles accounted for 15 percent of BMW sales in 2023, up from 9 percent the previous year. The company’s growth comes as sales of electric vehicles have risen at a slower pace overall around the world. What is even more surprising is that BMW, unlike General Motors or Ford Motor, made a profit on the electric vehicles it sold.

Organizations: BMW, Tesla, General Motors, Ford Locations: Munich

☆ Volkswagen Leans on Electric Vehicles and Nostalgia to Grow in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Jack Ewing | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Probably only Americans of a certain age remember when the Volkswagen Beetle was the best-selling imported car in the United States and the hippest ride to a Grateful Dead concert was a Volkswagen Microbus. Volkswagen is trying to tap some of that nostalgia in its latest push to regain the status and sales it enjoyed in the United States during the Beetle’s and Microbus’s heydays in the 1960s. But this time it hopes its top models will be electric. The German carmaker is second only to Toyota globally but is a niche player in the United States. Part of its plan to revive its fortunes here is to lean on a new electric model that resembles the Microbus, the ID.Buzz, and to revive the Scout brand with a line of electric pickups and sport utility vehicles.

Organizations: Volkswagen, Toyota Locations: United States, Columbia

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Victor Wembanyama’s first NBA All-Star experience will be hectic, just like everything else has seemed so far in his rookie season with the San Antonio Spurs. He’s going to the Tech Summit, the league’s thinktank that kicks off the All-Star festivities on Friday morning. “Honestly, my mind has been so focused on our season that I haven’t thought about it too much,” Wembanyama said. He may play more down the stretch of the season, if the Spurs determine that’s best. “Of course, being selected as an All-Star would have been a great achievement especially in my rookie year,” Wembanyama said.

Persons: — Victor Wembanyama’s, He’s, He’ll, ” Wembanyama, “ It’s, Shaquille O’Neal, Wembanyama, he’d, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Kareem Abdul, Jabbar, Alonzo Mourning, Patrick Ewing, Bob McAdoo, Elvin Hayes, Bob Lanier, Wemby, Erik Spoelstra, Bam, “, Gregg Popovich —, what’ll, ” Popovich, ”, Tim Duncan, Duncan, minding, Chet Holmgren, deservedly, ” O’Neal, won’t, — Organizations: INDIANAPOLIS, San Antonio Spurs, Tech, NBA, Star, of Fame, San, Spurs, Western Conference Locations: Miami, San Antonio, rebuilder, France, Oklahoma

☆ Tesla’s Chair Under Scrutiny for Oversight of Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Natasha Frost | Jack Ewing | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk, the chief executive and public face of Tesla, is constantly making news and broadcasting his opinions on his social media site, X. To some analysts and investors, Ms. Denholm is the “adult in the room” who has helped Mr. Musk turn Tesla into the world’s most valuable automaker. But to her critics, she has failed at her most important job: serving as a check on Mr. Musk. Late last month, a Delaware judge sharply criticized Ms. Denholm’s leadership while striking down Mr. Musk’s 2018 compensation package, which is worth more than $50 billion. Ms. Denholm took a “lackadaisical approach to her oversight obligations” at Tesla, said Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery.

Persons: Elon Musk, —, Robyn M, Denholm, Musk, Musk’s, Kathaleen St, J . McCormick Locations: Australia, Delaware

6 Wisconsin 75-69 on Sunday for its seventh consecutive victory. It extended its Big Ten lead to 1½ games as Wisconsin (16-6, 8-3) lost its second straight. This marked the NCAA-leading 74th straight game in which Edey scored in double figures. Purdue extended the lead to 10 with 14:35 left when Edey dunked on a lob from Fletcher Loyer. Wisconsin: This marked the fifth time in school history that Wisconsin hosted a game in which both teams were ranked in the top 10.

Persons: — Lance Jones, Zach Edey, Braden Smith, Edey, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Rick Mount’s, Tyler Wahl, AJ Storr, Smith, Jones, Fletcher Loyer, Wahl, Mason Gillis, Chucky Hepburn, Hepburn, Connor Essegian, Loyer, ___ Organizations: Purdue, Boilermakers, NCAA, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Badgers, UConn didn't, Nebraska, NEXT Purdue, Indiana, Michigan, AP Locations: MADISON, Wis, Wisconsin, . Wisconsin

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Minutes after beating Baltimore 17-10 on Sunday to clinch a spot in the Super Bowl, Travis Kelce had a message to send. The early money is heavily on Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City to repeat as Super Bowl champions when the Chiefs face the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 11. But the Super Bowl is one event where the casuals make up a much larger share of the money. LAS VEGAS' SUPER DEBUTPullen moved to Las Vegas in 1990 shortly after UNLV's basketball team won the national championship and the city was all about the Rebels. The Super Bowl being in Vegas wasn't on anyone's radar at that time.

Persons: Travis Kelce, ” Kelce, Bettors, Patrick Mahomes, sportsbooks, FanDuel Sportsbook, Sportsbook, Lamar Jackson, Taylor Swift, ”, Adam Pullen, “ Jackson, John Ewing, Ewing, they’re, Pullen, “ It's, ” Pullen, sportsbook, ___ Organizations: LAS VEGAS, Baltimore, Super, Chiefs, Kansas City, Super Bowl, San Francisco 49ers, Niners, Buffalo, 49ers, Detroit, Green, Caesars, KC, Rebels, UNLV, Michigan Locations: Kansas, Francisco, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Vegas

They can speculate all they want, but they won't be able to bet on it legally in the United States. BetMGM public relations manager John Ewing said he was waiting for word from Canadian authorities there if such bets will be OK. Las Vegas, the longtime epicenter of sports betting in the U.S., has some of the strictest rules regarding the kinds of wagers made. Since she's performing in Japan the weekend of the Super Bowl, fans began wondering whether she'll make it to Las Vegas to watch Kelce and Kansas City face the San Francisco 49ers. "We don’t want any subjectivity in a prop (bet),” Ewing said.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, John Ewing, Kelce, Ewing, ” Ewing, “, Adam Pullen’s, “ We’ve, ” Pullen Organizations: LAS VEGAS, Super, Kansas City Chiefs, Gatorade, Chiefs, AFC, Baltimore, Bowl, Kansas City, San Francisco 49ers, Caesars Locations: United States, Costa Rica, Canadian, Ontario, U.S, Las Vegas, Japan, Kansas, Vegas .

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