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U.S. Strikes Explosive-Laden Car in Kabul

U.S. Strikes Explosive-Laden Vehicle in Kabul

WASHINGTON – A US military drone attack blew up a vehicle laden with explosives in Kabul on Sunday, Defense Department officials said hours after President Biden warned that another terrorist attack on the Afghan capital’s airport was “very likely” .

The strike, which took place two days before the deadline for Mr Biden’s withdrawal from the country, removed an imminent threat to Hamid Karzai International Airport from the Khorasan Islamic State group, a US Central Command spokesman said. The group claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on the airport on Thursday, in which 13 American soldiers and up to 170 civilians were killed.

The spokesman, Captain Bill Urban, said Central Command was aware of reports of civilian casualties following Sunday’s strike.

“We know that there was significant and powerful follow-up explosions as a result of the destruction of the vehicle, suggesting a large amount of explosive material inside that may have caused additional losses,” he said. “It is unclear what might have happened and we are investigating further.”

He added: “We would be deeply saddened by the possible loss of innocent people.”

Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said civilians were killed in the attack and a house was attacked. “We are investigating the reason for the air strike and the exact number of victims,” ​​he said.

The attack followed a reprisal Friday for the suicide bombing, which was among the deadliest in nearly two decades since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. Earlier on Sunday the US embassy in Kabul said there was a “specific, credible threat” to the airport site. State Department officials have issued several similar warnings in the past few days.

Five rockets were fired and launched by a counter-missile system at Hamid Karzai Airport Monday morning, a US official said, adding that there were no initial reports of casualties. The airfield remained open, said the officer.

Updated

Aug. 29, 2021, 7:31 p.m. ET

As American forces complete their withdrawal, the Pentagon has shifted its focus from screening and airlifting Afghan and American civilians to getting its personnel home. At the same time, US intelligence sources are refining destinations for possible drone attacks on suspected Islamic State fighters, particularly suicide bombers who want to attack the airport.

Sunday’s attack, carried out by an MQ-9 Reaper drone from a base in the United Arab Emirates, showed the extent to which US intelligence agencies have refined their target list, defense officials said. A Hellfire missile fired from the Reaper hit the vehicle about two miles from the airport, a military official said.

Based on the secondary explosions after the drone attack, the military estimated one to three people with explosive vests in the vehicle. There may be other explosives in the car that made it a vehicle-borne bomb in itself, two defense officials said.

Understanding the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan

Map 1 of 5

Who are the Taliban? The Taliban emerged in 1994 amid the unrest following the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989. They used brutal public punishments, including flogging, amputation and mass executions, to enforce their rules. Here is more about their genesis and track record as rulers.

Who are the Taliban leaders? These are the top leaders of the Taliban, men who for years have been on the run, in hiding, in prison and dodging American drones. Little is known about them or how they plan to govern, including whether they will be as tolerant as they say they are.

What is happening to the women of Afghanistan? When the Taliban was last in power, they banned women and girls from most jobs or from going to school. Afghan women have gained a lot since the Taliban was overthrown, but now they fear that they are losing ground. Taliban officials are trying to reassure women that things will be different, but there are indications that they have begun to reintroduce the old order in at least some areas.

In the past 24 hours, the US has evacuated approximately 2,000 people in military transport aircraft, including more than 100 American citizens. The military found that around 250 Americans were still in Kabul who had expressed a wish to leave the country.

Jake Sullivan, the national security advisor, said in a speech on Fox News Sunday that the number of American citizens in Kabul could be close to 300. “There are some people who have chosen not to go so far and that is their right,” “he said.

“You will not be stuck in Afghanistan,” added Sullivan after Tuesday. “We’ll make sure we have a mechanism to get them out of the country in case they decide to come home in the future.”

Military officials said they had no evidence that Mr Biden would ask the military to stay beyond Tuesday to get more Americans or vulnerable Afghans out of the country.

However, Sunday’s drone attack showed how dangerous the last two days of America’s 20 Years War would be, Defense officials admitted. The attack follows Friday’s attack on a vehicle in Nangarhar province near the Pakistani border that Pentagon press secretary John F. Kirby said killed two “senior” Islamic State fighters – one as ” Planner ”and one as a“ mediator ”.

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World News

As electrical automobile gross sales surge, discussions flip to noise and security

As electric vehicle sales surge, discussions turn to noise and safety

Martin Pickard | Moment | Getty Images

Hyperloop, hydrogen-powered trains and air taxis. As the 21st century progresses, the way people get from A to B is on the cusp of a major change driven by design and innovation.

While the above technologies may still be a few years away from widespread adoption, that doesn’t mean the change isn’t already underway.

Around the world, national and local governments are trying to reduce emissions and improve air quality in cities, with many betting on a growing sector: battery electric vehicles.

There is undoubtedly a dynamic behind the industry. According to a recent report by the International Energy Agency, around 3 million new electric cars were registered last year, a record and an increase of 41% compared to 2019.

Looking ahead, the IEA says the number of electric cars, buses, vans and heavy trucks on the roads – its forecast doesn’t include two- and three-wheel electric vehicles – is projected to reach 145 million by 2030.

If governments step up efforts to meet international energy and climate goals, the global fleet could grow even further, reaching 230 million by the end of the decade.

A changing world

As the number of electric vehicles on the world’s roads increases, society must adapt.

Extensive charging networks, for example, need to be rolled out to meet increased demand and to dispel persistent concerns about “range anxiety” – the idea that electric vehicles cannot make long journeys without losing power and getting stranded.

Another area in which we will notice changes concerns noise: electric vehicles are not only emission-free, but also significantly quieter than their diesel and gasoline cousins.

Read more about electric vehicles from CNBC Pro

This means less noise pollution in urban areas – a clear thing – but it also poses a potential challenge for other road users, especially those with vision problems.

“It can be very difficult for blind or visually impaired people to judge traffic,” Zoe Courtney-Bodgener, Policy and Campaigner for the UK’s Royal National Institute of Blind People, told CNBC in a telephone interview.

Courtney-Bodgener explained that more and more “quiet” modes of transport are being used, using the example of bicycles and larger electric and hybrid vehicles.

“If you can’t always see these vehicles reliably or with your eyesight, the sound is even more important,” she said.

“And if the noise is not there or is not loud enough to reliably detect these vehicles, there is of course a risk, because … you cannot reliably know when a vehicle is approaching you.”

The law of the land

It should be noted that laws and technology have been put in place around the world to address this problem.

For example, in the European Union and the United Kingdom, all new electric and hybrid vehicles must use an audible vehicle warning system, or AVAS for short, from July 1st. This will build on and expand on the previous regulations that came into force in 2019.

According to the rules, the AVAS should step in and make noises when the speed of a vehicle is less than 20 kilometers per hour (about 12 miles per hour) and when it is reversing.

According to a 2019 UK government statement, the sound can “be temporarily turned off by the driver if necessary”.

According to the EU regulation, the noise generated by the AVAS should “be a continuous tone that informs pedestrians and other road users of a vehicle that is in operation”.

“The noise should easily reflect vehicle behavior,” it adds, “and should sound similar to a vehicle of the same category equipped with an internal combustion engine.”

RNIB’s Courtney-Bodgener told CNBC that while her organization was “happy” that the AVAS policy had been translated into UK law, it had not “done everything we asked of it”.

She went on to explain how the speed at which the AVAS turns on might need to be increased to 20 or 30 miles per hour.

“We are not convinced that if … a vehicle is traveling at a speed of 21 miles per hour, for example, it would generate enough noise on its own to be reliably recognized by noise.”

Another area of ​​concern concerns older vehicles. “There are already many, many electric and hybrid vehicles that were produced before this legislation came into effect that did not have the sound technology,” she said.

There are currently no plans to retrofit these, she added. “This is worrying because there are already thousands of vehicles on the UK’s roads that do not have AVAS technology.”

From the industry’s point of view, it appears to be satisfied with the existing regulations. In a statement emailed to CNBC, AVERE, The European Association for Electromobility, told CNBC that it supported the “current legislative status quo”.

“The limit of 20 km / h is sufficient, as other noises – especially rolling resistance – take over at this level and are sufficient for pedestrians and cyclists to hear approaching electric and hybrid vehicles,” added the Brussels organization.

“In fact, the requirement of additional noise above 20 km / h would deprive European citizens of one of the main advantages of electrification: lower noise levels at city speeds.”

Noise pollution can indeed be a serious problem. According to the European Environment Agency, over 100 million people in Europe are “exposed to harmful environmental noise”. The agency classifies road traffic noise as “a particular public health problem in many urban areas”.

Regarding the need for modernization of older cars, AVERE said: “Only a very small proportion of the electric vehicles on European roads would be subject to retrofitting obligations, as many existing vehicles were already equipped with AVAS in anticipation of the new ones and that the rules were introduced in good time to meet the expected mass consumption of To support electric vehicles in the years to come. “

Should it emerge that “additional requirements” are needed, AVERE is ready to work with policy makers.

The future

The discussions and debates on this topic are likely to go on for a long time and it is clear that a balance will have to be found in the future.

Whether you think current legislation goes far enough or not, the fact is that these types of systems will become an increasingly important feature of urban travel in the years to come.

Robert Fisher is Head of EV Technologies at the research and consulting company SBD Automotive.

He emailed CNBC that tests the company carried out had “shown AVAS to be quite effective,” but added that if a pedestrian is unfamiliar with the noise, “may not automatically do so with presence of an approaching “Connect Vehicle.”

“Currently, AVAS is mainly hampered by inconsistent legislation and a lack of innovation,” he said, and dared to look positively into the future.

“With the move away from the internal combustion engine, this technology has the potential to become an integral part of a car’s character, a point of brand differentiation and the ability to save lives.”

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Business

Jefferies on the carbon challenges in electrical automobile manufacturing

Jefferies on the carbon challenges in electric vehicle manufacturing

Electric vehicle manufacturing currently faces an “embedded carbon” challenge, says Jefferies’ Simon Powell.

“To gain the environmental dividend that governments are looking for, users are going to have to keep them longer, drive them further than they may have done with a conventional internal combustion energy vehicle,” Powell, head of global thematic research at the firm, told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Wednesday.

He explained that a “huge amount” of carbon is emitted when materials such as steel, aluminum and glass are created and put together to manufacture vehicles. He said the problem is compounded for electric vehicles, which currently tend to be heavier on average than their gasoline-powered counterparts.

“When they leave the factory, these (electric vehicles) are at a disadvantage,” he said. “They contain more steel. The brakes are bigger. The battery packs are certainly heavier.”

The relatively higher weight of electric vehicles today is a result of manufacturers’ focus on the range for these cars, Powell said. Unlike cars which run on internal combustion engines that have been around for decades, the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles is considerably less developed globally.

Importance of ‘green steel’

Powell predicted, however, the “embedded carbon” in electric vehicles is expected to eventually come down to levels that compare with conventional vehicles.

“The way this whole thing gets solved is greener steel,” he said. “The use of hydrogen in the manufacturing process for steel, as well, is something to look at.”

“I don’t think many people are talking about the greening of the steel industry,” the analyst said, admitting that it will be “very challenging” to decarbonize the sector globally.

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The metal today is largely produced from coking coal, while the making of lower carbon steel tends to be both more resource intensive and costlier.

“I think it’s going to take a long time. We’re talking about large investments with … long paybacks, long time horizons,” Powell said.

Meanwhile, investors should also monitor the development of battery technology as more energy-dense cells will aid in bringing down the weight and potentially the embedded carbon of electric vehicles, Powell said.

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Business

Electrical Automobile Begin-Up Cuts Outlook as Funding Runs Low: Dwell Updates

Lordstown’s biggest selling point to investors was that it had thousands of pre-orders for its truck, the Endurance.

Here’s what you need to know:

Credit…Megan Jelinger/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Shares of Lordstown Motors, a start-up aiming to make electric pickup trucks, dropped 13 percent in premarket trading on Tuesday after the company said that it would “at best” make just 50 percent of the vehicles it had previously hoped to this year, unless it is able to raise additional capital.

“What we are saying is that if we don’t get any funding, we might only make half of what we thought,” Lordstown’s chief executive, Steve Burns, said Monday during a conference call.

Mr. Burns said the company was still on track to begin making trucks by September.

Lordstown has had discussions with some strategic investors who could pump money into the company, he said, and it has looked into borrowing money by using its plant or other assets as collateral.

He also said the company was looking into borrowing from a federal government program meant to support the development of electric vehicles, but it was unclear if it had any funds left.

Lordstown would be able to make as many as 2,200 trucks by the end of the year if it gets funding, Mr. Burns said. Without additional capital, it would probably make fewer than 1,000.

Mr. Burns has been hoping Lordstown would be the first to produce an electric pickup truck aimed at commercial fleets such as large construction and mining companies, but it will soon face some formidable competition. Ford Motor last week unveiled an electric version of its F-150 pickup that is supposed to go on sale next spring.

Lordstown gained attention because it bought an auto plant in Lordstown, Ohio, that General Motors had closed. It was also once hailed by former President Donald J. Trump for saving manufacturing jobs.

It became a publicly traded company last year by merging with a special purpose acquisition vehicle, a company set up with cash from investors and a stock listing. Several other electric vehicle and related businesses have gone public through similar mergers in recent months, taking advantage of investors’ desire to find the next Tesla.

Lordstown, which is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, said it lost $125 million in the first quarter of 2021, but ended the period with $587 million in cash.

Commuters inside a Berlin subway station earlier this month. A survey found rising confidence in the German economy.Credit…Emile Ducke for The New York Times

  • Stocks continued an upswing on Tuesday, pushed higher by strength in Asian markets and growing confidence in a European economic recovery. And Bitcoin steadied.

  • The S&P 500 index was set to open 0.4 percent higher when markets begin trading in the United States. It gained 1 percent on Monday.

  • The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.4 percent, the fourth-straight day of increases. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong closed 1.8 percent higher and the CSI 300 in China rose 3.2 percent, the biggest one-day increase since July. Overseas investors bought a record amount of Chinese shares on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported, amid a crackdown on rising commodity prices by Chinese officials.

  • Oil prices fell. Futures on West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, dropped 0.7 percent to $65.61 a barrel.

  • After a turbulent weekend, the price of a Bitcoin was above $37,000 on Tuesday morning. The cryptocurrency had dropped as low as about $31,000. Ray Dalio, the founder of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, said Bitcoin’s “greatest risk is its success.” Speaking at a CoinDesk conference in a video released on Monday, Mr. Dalio said that as Bitcoin becomes a “bigger deal and more of a threat,” it could become an existential risk to other financial markets and governments unable to control it. He added he’d rather own Bitcoin than government bonds.

  • Lordstown Motors, the start-up aiming to make electric pickup trucks, dropped more than 12 percent in premarket trading after it said on Monday that it would “at best” make half of the vehicles it had hoped to this year, unless it is able to raise additional capital.

  • An improving outlook for the German economy is taking hold. A survey of German business managers on their expectations for the economy over the next six months showed increasing optimism in May, with the ifo Institute’s index rising to 102.9 points, the highest since 2011. Separately, the national statistics office confirmed that gross domestic product fell 1.8 percent in the first quarter, a period during which Germany was in different degrees of lockdown, compared with the previous quarter.

Credit…Shira Inbar

After years of hype, billions of dollars of investments and promises that people would be commuting to work in self-driving cars by now, the pursuit of autonomous cars is undergoing a reset.

Expectations are that tech and auto giants could still toil for years on their projects. Each will spend an additional $6 billion to $10 billion before the technology becomes commonplace — sometime around the end of the decade, according to estimates from Pitchbook, a research firm that tracks financial activity. But even that prediction might be overly optimistic, The New York Times’s Cade Metz reports.

So what went wrong? Some researchers would say nothing — that’s how science works. You can’t entirely predict what will happen in an experiment. The self-driving car project just happened to be one of the most hyped technology experiments of this century, occurring on streets all over the country and run by some of its most prominent companies.

Companies like Uber and Lyft, worried about blowing through their cash in pursuit of autonomous technology, have tapped out. Only the most deep pocketed outfits like Waymo, which is a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet; auto industry giants; and a handful of start-ups are managing to stay in the game

Late last month, Lyft sold its autonomous vehicle unit to a Toyota subsidiary called Woven Planet in a deal valued at $550 million. Uber offloaded its autonomous vehicle unit to another competitor in December. And three prominent self-driving start-ups have sold themselves to companies with much bigger budgets over the past year.

President Biden is under pressure to redirect assistance for state, local and tribal governments to instead pay for parts of a potential bipartisan agreement on upgrading the United States’ infrastructure.Credit…Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times

President Biden and congressional Democrats went to the mat this winter to secure $350 billion in assistance for state and local governments in their $1.9 trillion stimulus package. The aid was meant to help them rehire laid off government workers, invest in infrastructure projects and repair balance sheets damaged by the pandemic.

But it increasingly looks like many states — especially ones run by Democrats, with relatively high taxes on high earners — don’t need the money. California officials expect a $15 billion surplus this fiscal year. Virginia has seen nearly $2 billion in unanticipated revenues. In Oregon, economists recently upgraded the state’s revenue forecasts, moving the state from projected deficits to surplus.

The tax revenues are coming from a rebounding economy and soaring stock market, and raising pressure on Mr. Biden to repurpose hundreds of billions of dollars of federal spending approved earlier this year, The New York Times’s Jim Tankersley and Alan Rappeport report.

Republicans in Congress have urged Mr. Biden to redirect assistance for state, local and tribal governments to instead pay for roads, bridges and other portions of a potential bipartisan agreement on upgrading America’s infrastructure. Some economists and budget experts support that push. White House officials haven’t said whether they would be willing to redirect that spending, mindful that some states, like tourism-dependent Hawaii, still face large budget shortfalls.

“Popular products run out and prices are still higher than we’d like to see them,” said Jeff Brown, executive director of New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission.Credit…Mohamed Sadek for The New York Times

The advent of legalized adult-use marijuana in New York and New Jersey is an entrepreneur’s dream, with some estimating that the potential market in the densely populated region will soar to more than $6 billion within five years.

But the rush to get plants into soil in factory-style production facilities underscores another fundamental reality in the New York metropolitan region: There are already shortages of legal marijuana, The New York Times’s Tracey Tully reports.

Within New Jersey’s decade-old medical marijuana market, the supply of dried cannabis flower, the most potent part of a female plant, has rarely met the demand, according to industry lobbyists and state officials. At the start of the pandemic, as demand exploded, it grew even more scarce, patients and business owners said.

The supply gap has narrowed as the statewide inventory of flower and products made from a plant’s extracted oils more than doubled between March of last year and this spring. Still, patients and owners say dispensaries often sell out of popular strains.

Because marijuana is illegal under federal law and cannot be transported across state lines, marijuana products sold in each state must also be grown and manufactured there.

Federal banking law also makes it nearly impossible for cannabis-related businesses to obtain conventional financing, creating a high hurdle for small start-ups and a built-in advantage for multistate and international companies with deep pockets.

Oregon, which issued thousands of cultivation licenses after legalizing marijuana six years ago, has an overabundance of cannabis. But many of the other 16 states where nonmedical marijuana is now legal have faced supply constraints similar to those in New York and New Jersey as production slowly scaled up to meet demand.

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Business

Biden praises South Korean battery maker deal as win for U.S. electrical car push

Biden praises South Korean battery maker deal as win for U.S. electric vehicle push

President Joe Biden delivering an American employment plan address in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on April 7, 2021.

Demetrius Freeman | The Washington Post | Getty Images

President Joe Biden on Sunday declared the deal between two Korean battery manufacturers a victory for US efforts to build a strong electric vehicle supply chain to create clean energy jobs and mitigate climate change.

The settlement of a trade secret dispute between LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation Co. enables two Georgia plants to advance their plans to manufacture lithium-ion batteries for Ford and Volkswagen.

The companies agreed to cease litigation in the US and South Korea and not pursue any further lawsuits for a decade. SK Innovation is also paying LG Energy Solution $ 1.8 billion in cash and royalties.

The deal came ahead of the Biden government deadline on Sunday evening to reverse a decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission unless the battery makers reached an agreement.

The deal is a huge win for the Biden administration, which recently unveiled a comprehensive infrastructure plan that includes $ 174 billion in spending to boost the electric vehicle market and move away from gas-powered cars.

“We need a strong, diversified and resilient supply chain for electric vehicle batteries in the US so that we can meet the growing global demand for these vehicles and components – create well-paying jobs here at home and lay the foundations for the jobs of tomorrow.” “Said Biden in a statement.

The president’s proposal calls for the installation of at least 500,000 charging stations across the country by 2030, incentives for Americans to buy electric vehicles, and money to convert factories and improve domestic material supplies.

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Failure to resolve the dispute may have cost thousands of jobs in Georgia and threatened the country’s EV market, which accounts for around 2% of new car sales.

The ITC ruled in February that SK Innovation had stolen trade secrets related to EV batteries and ordered the US to stop the company from importing supplies to build batteries.

SK Innovation threatened to close its $ 2.6 billion Georgia facility, which is under construction and could employ 2,600 people unless the ITC decision is overridden. If no agreement was reached, the Biden administration may have had to override the ITC to allow SK Innovation to build the facility.

“Today’s agreement is a positive step in that direction that will bring welcome relief to workers in Georgia and new opportunities for workers across the country,” said Biden.

Jong Hyun Kim, CEO of LG Energy Solution and Jun Kim, CEO of SK Innovation, said in a joint statement that the companies “would compete amicably for the future of the US and South Korean electric vehicle battery industries.” “”

“We are determined to work together to support the Biden government’s climate change agenda and develop a resilient US supply chain,” they said.

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World News

Tesla TSLA Q1 2021 car manufacturing and supply numbers

Tesla TSLA Q1 2021 vehicle production and delivery numbers

Tesla has just reported its vehicle production and delivery numbers in the first quarter for 2021. A total of 184,800 vehicles were delivered and 180,338 cars were produced.

Analysts had expected Tesla to deliver around 168,000 vehicles as of April 1, according to FactSet estimates. The estimates were between 145,000 and 188,000 deliveries.

Deliveries in the first quarter surpassed Tesla’s previous record of 180,570 deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2020.

All of the electric vehicles he produced were Model 3 sedans and Model Y crossover SUVs during the quarter, and none of the more expensive Model S sedans and Model X SUVs were made.

2,020 vehicles of the models S and X were delivered from stock, which, however, only corresponds to 1% of the total deliveries. In a statement, Tesla wrote that the company is “now in the early stages of ramp-up” for updated versions of the S and X with “new equipment installed and tested in the first quarter.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, said in his last report on January 27th: “We were able to promote the Plaid Model S and X – Model S will be delivered in February and Model X a little later.” He added, “The Model S plaid, we’re in production right now.”

The S Plaid model is a luxury sedan that the company promises to go from 0 to 60 mph in less than 2 seconds and seat up to seven people with third-row seating. What is important to Tesla’s automotive margins is that the S and X models have a higher average retail price than the S and Y models. The Model S plaid costs between $ 79,990 and $ 149,990, according to Tesla’s website.

However, Tesla’s operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 were ultimately affected by a fire at its Fremont, California facility. Temporary closings, which Musk attributed to shortages of parts, a major chip shortage in the industry, problems with port capacity and the ongoing pandemic.

Tesla’s most recent shipments were more than 100% higher than the same period last year when the company first began shipping and mass producing the Model Y. However, Tesla Q1 shipments were up a little more than 2% vehicles from the quarter through 2020 when Tesla shipped 180,570 vehicles.

Deliveries are closest to Tesla’s reported sales.

During the company’s latest earnings call in 2021, Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkhorn said, “Especially for the first quarter, our volumes will have the benefit of an early Model Y ramp in Shanghai. However, S and X production will be discontinued due to the transition to new revised products. “

At an annual general meeting in 2020, CEO Elon Musk announced to shareholders that he expects deliveries to hit an implied range between 477,750 and 514,500 cars for the year. Tesla hit the mid-range of that window, shipping 499,550 cars for the year, the best sales volume ever.

Musk and Kirkhorn declined to provide specific guidance on deliveries in 2021 during that call, but said they would provide more clarity in the second quarter. Kirkhorn said on the conference call, “We continue to expect a long-term volume CAGR of 50%, which we could significantly exceed in 2021.” That goal was reiterated in the same appeal by Tesla’s then President of the Automotive Industry, Jerome Guillen. (Guillen has since taken on the role of President of Heavy Trucking.)

Fans and critics will both watch whether new battery-electric vehicles entering the market undermine Tesla’s lead in this category or have a more negative impact on internal combustion engine and hybrid vehicle sales. Startups and major automakers are introducing more EV models than ever before.

On March 29, Jeffries cut his price target for Tesla from $ 775 to $ 700. Analyst Philippe Houchois wrote in a note:

“Legacy-free 30-50% net growth and double-digit margin potential still support high multipliers, but Tesla is no longer unique as an EV game with preferential access to capital. Part of the edge began to erode, but slowly and Tesla is still leading on multiple fronts, from software to design to manufacturing, speed of execution and direct sales. “

– CNBC’s Jordan Novet contributed to the coverage.

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Business

Ford slashes automobile manufacturing at six vegetation in North America as a consequence of chip scarcity

Ford F-150 production cut due to semiconductor chip shortage

Ford Motor is significantly reducing production at six plants in North America due to the ongoing global shortage of semiconductor chips, including facilities that make highly profitable pick-ups.

Measures vary by plant, but range from overtime cancellations to facilities closed for up to three weeks from April to June. Or a combination of both.

The affected plants are located in Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and Ontario, Canada. They manufacture a wide range of products – from F-150 pickups and vans to Ford Explorer SUVs and Ford Escape Crossovers.

Production of the F-150 in Dearborn, Michigan, will cease in the weeks of April 5th through April 12th, the company said. Ford is also canceling overtime at the factory in the weeks of April 26, May 10, May 31, and June 21. Another facility in Missouri that will manufacture the full-size F-150 will be shut down for a week starting Monday. Overtime at the plant will be suspended for eight weeks through most of June.

Semiconductors are key components that are used, among other things, in the infotainment, power steering and braking systems of new vehicles. With several plants closed due to Covid last year, suppliers turned semiconductors from automakers to other industries, creating a shortage after consumer demand fell more than expected.

Ford previously expected the shortage could cut its profits by $ 1 billion to $ 2.5 billion in 2021. Without releasing any new guidance, the company said it would “provide an update on the financial implications of semiconductor shortages” when it reports its first quarter earnings on April 28th.

This is a developing story. Check back soon for more updates.

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Politics

Car mileage tax might be on the desk in infrastructure talks, Buttigieg says

Vehicle mileage tax could be on the table in infrastructure talks, Buttigieg says

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said a vehicle mileage tax could be on the table in talks to fund the White House’s expected multi-trillion dollar infrastructure proposal.

Buttigieg, who spoke to CNBC’s Kayla Tausche on Friday, also claimed that President Joe Biden’s upcoming plans to rebuild the country’s roads, bridges and waterways would result in a net gain for the U.S. taxpayer, not a net expense .

“When you think of infrastructure, this is a classic example of the type of investment that comes out of that investment,” he said. “That is one of many reasons why we think this is so important. This is a job vision as well as an infrastructure vision, a climate vision and much more.”

He also discussed various potential revenue generating options to fund the project. He spoke fondly of a mileage levy that travelers would tax based on the distance of the trip rather than the consumption of gasoline.

“What is known as a vehicle mileage tax, or whatever you want to call it, could be one way of doing this,” he said.

Democrats have slowly moved away from a gasoline tax in favor of a mileage tax, while at the same time climate-friendly efforts have been made to encourage consumers to drive electric cars.

Pete Buttigieg speaks at the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation nomination hearings to review his awaited nomination for Secretary of Transportation in Washington.

Ken Cedeno | Reuters

“I hear a lot of appetite that there are sustainable flows of funding,” said the transport minister. A mileage tax “is promising if we believe in what is known as the user pays principle: the idea that you pay part of our road costs depends on how much you drive.”

He added, “You hear a lot of ‘maybe’ here because all of these things need to be balanced and could be part of the mix.”

The Secretary of Transportation’s comments came as President Joe Biden prepares for detailed infrastructure proposals that could cost $ 3-4 trillion while on a trip to Pittsburgh next week.

In his presidency’s first press conference Thursday, Biden said rebuilding the U.S.’s physical and technological infrastructure was his next priority, which is vital not only to restore the economy but also to stay competitive with competitors like China.

Buttigieg added Friday that the White House is considering reviving Build America Bonds, a special class of municipal bonds first introduced in the Obama administration whose interest bills are funded by the US Treasury Department.

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BABs show “great promise in terms of the way we use this type of funding. There have also been ideas about things like a national infrastructure bank.”

His remarks on Friday came a day after he asked Congress on Thursday to make a “generational investment” to improve the country’s roads, bridges and waterways and to tackle climate change and racial inequality.

“It is almost universally accepted that a larger recovery requires a national commitment to repair and remodel American infrastructure,” Buttigieg told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Clarification: The heading of this story has been updated to take into account that these guidelines might be on the table in infrastructure talks.

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World News

Asia enjoying ‘catch up’ to Europe in electrical car market: Fitch

Asia playing 'catch up' to Europe in electric vehicle market: Fitch

The employees will work in the Tesla Gigafactory in Shanghai, East China on November 20, 2020.

Ding Ting | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

China is the largest player in the Asian electric vehicle market – but the region still lags behind Europe, according to an analyst from research firm Fitch Solutions.

Asia is falling behind Because European governments are taking strong measures to stimulate the growth of the sector, Anna-Marie Baisden, head of automotive research at Fitch Solutions, said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia”.

“The region is catching up. When we talk about the Asian EV market, we mostly talk about China, which still accounts for around 90% of sales,” said Baisden.

“But there are a lot of supportive measures that have been put in place in Europe, especially the EU, in response to the coronavirus over the past year … both on the infrastructure side and nationally in terms of incentives,” she said.

A report from Cairn Energy Research Advisors, a consulting firm with a focus on the battery and electric vehicle industry, forecast last year that sales of electric vehicles will increase in 2021. It is coming Countries around the world are pushing for new programs to encourage consumers to buy battery-powered vehicles.

The report also said that The largest growth in sales for this sector is coming from Europe, mainly as EU governments are working to reduce carbon emissions.

Challenges for Japan and India

Baisden said the weak acceptance of electric vehicles in Asia – mainly in countries like Japan and India – was due to a combination of factors.

While there is demand in Japan, “we are still waiting for concrete incentive plans,” she pointed out. “We learned in January that there are plans to create financial incentives for purchasing at the local level, particularly with the goal of having all electric car sales by 2030.”

In India, the electric vehicle sector is likely to receive a boost from Elon Musk’s electric car maker Tesla.

It has a much lower median income than the other Asian markets. There’s a lot of potential there, but it really comes down to India’s demographics.

Anna-Marie Baisden

Head of Automotive Research, Fitch Solutions

According to Reuters, the US company founded Tesla Motors India and Energy Private Limited in February, based in the tech center of Bengaluru in Karnataka.

While the largest economy in South Asia offers tremendous growth potential in the electric vehicle market, the country’s demographics could pose a serious challenge, according to Baisden.

“The supporting guidelines are in place and manufacturers are starting to move in that direction with locally produced cars. But the demographics are different,” noted Baisden.

“It has a much lower median income than the other Asian markets. There is a lot of potential there, but it really comes down to India’s demographics,” she added.

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Electrical car agency Lucid Motors to go public in $11.eight billion blank-check merger

Electric vehicle firm Lucid Motors to go public in $11.8 billion blank-check merger

The Lucid Air sedan, which is slated to go into production at a facility in Arizona next year.

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Electric vehicle company Lucid Motors plans to enter through a reverse merger with a blank check company founded by veteran investment banker Michael Klein with a combined equity value of $ 11.75 billion and a pro forma equity value of $ 24 billion to go the stock market.

The deal between Lucid of Newark, California, and Churchill Capital Corp IV is the largest in a series of such collaborations between EV companies and blank check companies, also known as Special Purpose Acquisition Companies or SPACs.

Previous SPAC deals with EV startups like Nikola, Fisker, and Lordstown Motors achieved pro forma valuations of less than $ 4 billion, but Lucid is further ahead than these companies. Lucid will deliver its first vehicle this spring – a luxury sedan named Air.

The deal will generate approximately $ 4.4 billion in cash for expansion plans for Lucid, including the current Arizona factory.

CCIV stocks fell roughly 30% to $ 40 in expanded trading.

Lucid is led by ex-Tesla engineering manager and automotive veteran Peter Rawlinson, who joined the company as Chief Technology Officer in 2013 before adding CEO to his duties in April 2019. He will continue these functions after the expected closing of the EU deal in the second quarter, according to the company.

Lucid was founded in 2007 as Atieva, a name it now uses for its technical and engineering division that supplies batteries for the Formula E electric circuit. The company initially focused on electric battery technology before changing its name to an electric vehicle manufacturer in 2016, three years after Rawlinson joined the company to lead technology development.

Lucid struggled with some difficulty raising capital to fund his plans until he received $ 1 billion from the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund in September 2018.

Rawlinson described SPAC deals last year as easy money but not enough capital to get a vehicle into production, which has led companies like Fisker to look for contract manufacturers.

Prior to the announcement at Klein’s company, Rawlinson said the company had the funds to begin producing the air at a facility in Casa Grande, Arizona, southeast of Phoenix.

The new funding is intended to support Lucid in its expansion plans. Rawlinson expects the Air to be the catalyst for a number of future all-electric vehicles, including an SUV starting production in early 2023, and cheaper vehicles across the board.

Lucid currently employs almost 2,000 people. The US is expected to employ 3,000 people domestically by the end of 2022.

The deal includes a total investment of around $ 4.6 billion. It is funded with $ 2.1 billion in cash from CCIV and a fully committed PIPE of $ 2.5 billion at $ 15 per share from the Saudi Arabian state fund, as well as funds and accounts held by BlackRock, Fidelity and managed by others.