China's Automotive Expansion
Yangwang U8L Premium Edition
BYD bets big on luxury with the Yangwang U8L Premium Edition, a four-seat EREV priced around $215K that pairs four electric motors with a 2-liter engine for longer road trips. This big SUV is equipped with the BYD God’s Eye driver-assist system, which includes a roof-mounted LiDAR and 40 high-precision sensors. electrek.co
BYD's first Brazil-built plug-in hybrid goes on sale, running on gasoline, ethanol, or electricity. cnevpost.com
GWM adds a plug-in hybrid to Ora's lineup with the Ora 5 GT, marking Ora's first PHEV and expanding the brand's powertrain options. carnewschina.com
Chery has launched the 2027 Fulwin A9L, with updated intelligent driving capabilities and 4 new trims. carnewschina.com
Geely and Mercedes-Benz updated the Smart #1 with an 800V battery architecture, roof LiDAR, new styling, and Geely's 16-in-1 high-efficiency EV powertrain. carnewschina.com
GM renewed its joint venture with Chinese OEM SAIC for another 20 years. reuters.com
The US cannot “stay isolated” from Chinese EV competition, warns Lucid’s CEO. ft.com
Michael Dunne also points out that the US auto industry cannot afford to ignore China. cbtnews.com
Must Know Musk News
Terafab
Tesla and SpaceX plan to invest $16.8 billion in Terafab, their Texas-based 100-million-square-foot manufacturing facility, to close the gap between chip supply and AI compute demand. The project could redraw the US chip pipeline for robotics, rockets, satellites, and autonomous driving tech. techcrunch.com | reuters.com | theverge.com | tomshardware.com
One of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets, launched last year, struck near the Einstein Crater on the western edge of the Moon, after drifting for 18 months. NASA says the Earth is safe, but the crash underscores the growing challenge of avoiding space debris on future missions. bbc.com
SpaceX’s Starship is likely lost after drifting for 2 weeks at sea on its 13th test flight. space.com
SpaceX beat Wall Street expectations, reporting $7.81bn in revenue, versus analysts’ predictions of $6.93bn. At the same time, the company reported a loss of $541m, down from a $1bn loss in the same quarter last year. theguardian.com
SpaceX stock could face further pressure as the first batch of shares unlocks since the IPO. cnbc.com
Elon spends half his time talking about robots and AI on Tesla earnings calls. techcrunch.com
Elon says SpaceX will hit $1 trillion in revenue by 2030 and build factories on the Moon. fortune.com
EVgo will start deploying EVgo-made Tesla V4 Superchargers onto its network later this fall. arstechnica.com
Tesla Megapacks are now helping support the Texas grid at Ørsted’s new battery storage project. electrek.co
Tesla’s factory in Shanghai had its best June ever, according to the China Passenger Car Association. arstechnica.com
Tesla finally admits it had a power conversion system (PCS) defect in pre-2026 Cybertrucks and extended coverage for those (often recalled) trucks to eight years or 150,000 miles. electrek.co
The Manitoba government and its public auto insurer want their courts to toss Tesla’s attempt to challenge the electric-vehicle maker’s exclusion from the province’s EV rebate program. autonews.com
FAFO: When your full-self-driving (FSD) Tesla drives by itself and gets a speeding ticket, you have to pay for it. electrek.co
ICYMI: DOGE seems to have hallucinated government savings, like $1.7 billion from a contract it never canceled, and made huge errors in claims around savings it realized. fortune.com | latimes.com | washingtonpost.com
Rise Of The Machines
Mitsubishi Highlander Humanoid Robot
Mitsubishi joined the growing ranks of car companies building robots, with plans to manufacture up to 1,000 of its Highlander humanoid robots per month at one of the automaker’s engine plants in Kyoto. electrek.co
Unitree Robotics plans to raise about 6.1 billion yuan in an initial public offering (IPO) that would make it China’s first publicly traded humanoid robot company. bloomberg.com
Boston Dynamics’ Atlas humanoid robot can swap its own battery in under three minutes. techrepublic.com
A lab at MIT has engineered a $300 flapping robot that can fly and swim underwater. Its creator believes the lightweight robot could one day be used to monitor and ultimately help protect the ocean. cnn.com
Another former Uber executive is joining Travis Kalanick’s robotics and industrial AI start-up, Atoms, just weeks after it raised $1.7 billion. techcrunch.com
Canadian robotics companies are warning they’re being swept up in a US crackdown on foreign-made robots, as new restrictions threaten to shut them out of the US market. globalnews.ca
Energy
The Donald’s administration imposed a series of price floors and a 15% tariff on products made from polysilicon, the raw material used in semiconductors and solar panels, which is primarily produced in China. reuters.com
The Donald’s administration will pay the German energy firm RWE $1.22 billion to abandon plans to build wind farms off the coasts of New York, California, and Louisiana. nytimes.com
The Donald says, “We may have to” send oil prices “up again”. apnews.com
Brent crude oil climbed more than $1 a barrel over ongoing uncertainty about the negotiations in progress that determine control of, and reopening of, the Strait of Hormuz. reuters.com
The United Arab Emirates condemned what it said was an Iranian attack on a carrier linked to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz, accusing Tehran of "acts of piracy". reuters.com
Buyers in the Middle East are looking to secure liquefied natural gas from Canada as a hedge against geopolitical turmoil. reuters.com
The Canadian government plans to designate a proposed oil pipeline to the West Coast a “national interest” project. globalnews.ca
A US federal judge ordered the Pentagon to lift its freeze on reviewing onshore wind projects and to end some of the delays that have brought wind power development to a standstill. nytimes.com
New Brunswick plans to add 16 new fast chargers to its eCharge network, a $5 million investment. The province says the Energy Department will work with NB Power to install new fast chargers in underserved areas where the private sector may not see a business case at this time. globalnews.ca
But Wait There's More
AMG GT 4-door coupe
Mercedes-AMG’s new EV coupe lineup is already expanding. The automaker only announced the new 4-door electric sedan last spring, and it’s already adding a new variant. theverge.com
Ford resumed sales of the Lincoln Nautilus hybrid, presumably leveraging the Ottawa-Beijing deal that established a Canadian import quota for electrified vehicles assembled in China. autonews.com
Stellantis Canada CEO Trevor Longley doubts the North American auto industry will return to zero tariffs under a renegotiated USMCA. autonews.com
GM is making EV charging easier. electrek.co
Honda’s two Japanese assembly plants will remain shut through mid-August as it struggles to secure parts from a damaged supplier, even as rivals Toyota, Nissan, and Mitsubishi came back online this week following the country’s deadly July 28 earthquake. autonews.com
Acura teased us with its “next-gen” design that will debut on the RDX Hybrid. theverge.com
The Kia PV5 now accounts for over one-third of Europe’s small electric van market. electrek.co
Kia’s larger PV7 van is set to launch soon. electrek.co
VW plans to overhaul its US strategy with new management and a revised product offering, including a new pick-up truck. arstechnica.com | reuters.com
VW’s controlling families are demanding quicker action on investment and cost discipline. cnbc.com
Subaru is spending nearly $10,000 per vehicle to sell its new EVs. electrek.co
Subaru of America plans to launch its own captive finance arm in 2030. autonews.com
BMW started flashing Spider-Man ads across its customers’ in-car displays for a Marvel movie tie-in. And drivers of those ultimate driving machines weren’t really into it. theverge.com
According to an Automotive OEM Intelligence Report from J.D. Power, more premium vehicle owners traded their vehicles for mainstream models in the first half of 2026. autoblog.com
Telo is raising the tow rating on its Mini-sized electric truck to 8,000 lbs, up from the 6,600 lbs it previously advertised. electrek.co
Lucid is delaying its Cosmos crossover to 2027 after incurring a $1 billion Q2 loss. autonews.com
Waymo opens up robotaxi service in Dallas to everyone. techcrunch.com
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the relationship with Waymo remains “strong,” despite signs that the two companies may be drifting apart. theverge.com
Uber and Wayve (not Waymo) secure robotaxi licenses in London. theverge.com
Uber stock sinks 5% after weak guidance despite revenue growth. cnbc.com
Zoox will start charging for rides in Las Vegas. theverge.com
Moove raises $250M to become the backbone of the robotaxi industry. techcrunch.com
How headlights got brighter, whiter, and more blinding after dark. arstechnica.com
You read the whole darn thing! You're awesome.