Elon Musk's next adventure, GM's Cruise comeback, BMW's EV success: Auto news roundup
Plus, Hyundai and Kia deepen India ties, Ford recalls 43,000 SUVs, and China EV sales slow
This past week — as many of them are — has been a rollercoaster for fans of Elon Musk. The Tesla CEO revealed this week he plans to visit India to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where he is expected to announce new investments in the country. That news comes even as Tesla settles a lawsuit filed by the family of a Apple engineer who died in 2018 while his Model X was using Autopilot. Musk’s deposition in a defamation lawsuit filed by the man he accused of being an undercover federal agent embedded in a neo-Nazi group also revealed some interesting — and frankly bizarre — new information.
Outside of the Tesla-sphere, BMW announced its major success in selling electric vehicles around the world and General Motors’ Cruise is back on the road — albeit with a human driver at the helm. South Korea’s Hyundai and Kia are joining Tesla in carving out deeper connections to India, and China’s Chery is planning to set up shop in Spain amid slow EV sales growth at home.
And Ford Motor Co. added a new recall of Bronco Sport and Escape SUVs to already long list of recalls it announced this year.
Go back: Visit last week’s roundup, which includes Tesla’s terrible week, Ford’s bet on hybrids, and Chinese EV companies’ innovations.
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BMW was one of the few companies selling electric vehicles to report a surge of growth in the first quarter of 2024, even as rivals like Tesla and Volkswagen struggled.
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Tesla has reached a settlement with the family of a driver who died in a 2018 crash involving the use of Tesla’s driver assistance program just days before a trial in California state court was set to kick into gear.
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Sales of electric passenger vehicles in China climbed 10.5% last month compared to the same time a year earlier, as automakers continue to slash prices and deepen discounts to entice consumers.
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Hyundai Motor and Kia signed a memorandum of understanding with Exide Energy Solutions to supply batteries for their electric vehicles in the latest attempt by carmakers to entrench themselves in India.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk is expected to travel to India in the coming weeks to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, fueling speculation that the electric vehicle maker will announce a new investment in the country.
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Chery Auto plans to start making cars in Spain, marking the Chinese automaker’s first foray into Europe.
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On March 27, Tesla CEO Elon Musk sat down for a two-hour deposition during proceedings for a defamation lawsuit filed against him in federal court in California. Despite multiple attempts from Musk’s lawyer — Quinn Emmanuel Urquhart & Sullivan partner Alex Spiro, who is facing possible sanctions over his actions during the deposition — to seal his testimony, it was made public Monday.
In his testimony, Musk revealed he roleplayed as his son on X, acknowledged his “self-inflicted wounds” and dismissed “many” lawsuits against him and his companies as attempts to get “a lot of money.”
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Ford is recalling nearly 43,000 small SUVs because gasoline can leak from the fuel injectors onto hot engine surfaces, increasing the risk of fires. But the recall remedy does not include repairing the fuel leaks.
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General Motors’ self-driving car company Cruise is getting back on the streets, this time with a driver behind the wheel.