Automobile

Bloomberg A former Tesla Inc. software engineer was ordered to appear before a judge to face allegations that three days into his job, he started stealing confidential files and transferring them to a personal storage account. During his two-week employment, Alex Khatilov stole more than 6,000 scripts, or files of code, that automate a broad range of business functions, Tesla ...

Bloomberg Mercedes-Benz is taking on one of the most complex industry challenges with the rollout of its battery-powered EQA: selling small electric cars without a big profit squeeze. The brand’s first fully electric compact model will hit European showrooms this spring, flanking the mid-size EQC sport-utility vehicle and the EQV van, the Daimler AG unit said. Unlike Tesla Inc.’s Model ...

Bloomberg If you had planned to borrow a BMW M5 for a weekend touring the Grand Ole Opry and Johnny Cash Museum, you’re out of luck. And not just because of Covid-19. BMW has cancelled the subscription service it began in 2018 in Nashville, Tenn. A spokesman for the brand said the $2,000-plus monthly Netflix-for-cars style program would end on ...

Bloomberg A semiconductor shortage is pinching some of the world’s biggest auto manufacturers, costing Daimler AG, Nissan Motor Co., Honda Motor Co., Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV production for a range of cars. Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler joined its German peer Volkswagen AG in announcing it’s affected by the industrywide supply bottleneck, without quantifying the impact. Honda said ...

Bloomberg Hyundai Motor backed away from a statement confirming it is in talks with Apple Inc. on developing self-driving car that fuelled an $8 billion surge in the Korean automaker’s market value, saying instead that it received requests for potential cooperation from a number of companies. Revising its statement for the second time in a matter of hours, Hyundai said ...

Bloomberg Rivian Automotive Inc., the electric-truck startup backed by Amazon.com Inc. and Ford Motor Co., is close to raising a new round of funding valuing it at about $25 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Several existing Rivian investors are participating in the round, which will raise several billion dollars. Existing investors in company include Amazon, T. Rowe ...

Bloomberg The auto industry dodged disaster when the UK and European Union (EU) sealed a post-Brexit trade accord, but not before carmakers announced factory closures and called off plans to make several new vehicles in the country. More damage may still be done even with the deal. Automakers including Nissan Motor Co. might struggle to qualify some UK-assembled models for ...

Bloomberg Ford Motor Co. is reversing plans to cede most of its Indian operations to Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., deciding to pull out of a proposed joint venture and continue its standalone business in the country. The companies agreed to terminate the venture after reassessing in part due to the global coronavirus pandemic, they said. The decision ends a deal ...

Bloomberg Tesla Inc. is coming to the end of its first year selling China-made cars with a commanding position in world’s biggest electric-vehicle market, but Elon Musk shouldn’t rest on his laurels. While Tesla regularly topped monthly premium EV sales tallies in 2020, helped by the sedans churned out from its multibillion-dollar plant opened to much fanfare in Shanghai last ...

Bloomberg The problem with writing an annual retrospective on the luxury cars that should have been better in 2020 is that the worst of them weren’t actually bad, they were just forgettable. Or underwhelming. When you consider that the worst cars in past decades would actually break down, blow up, or impale you upon impact, complaining about being forgettable or ...