Yahoo Autos Driverless Cars ‘Unsafe And Untenable’ As Calls For Industry-Wide Investigation Increases
Good morning! It’s Friday, November 10, 2023, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know.
1st Gear: Driverless Cars In ‘Dire Need Of Federal Regulation’
After pausing its operations in California, driverless car startup Cruise recalled its self-driving cars and suspended production of its self-driving van following a crash in San Francisco that killed a pedestrian. The company is now facing an investigation by regulators and industry experts are calling for the probe to include every self-driving car operator in America.
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NHTSA also previously launched an investigation into Amazon-backed Zoox, which relates to the processes it uses to certify that its cars were safe to operate on America’s roads.
2nd Gear: Biden Backs Calls For Toyota And Tesla Unions
Unions are riding high right now after the UAW secured deals for workers at Stellantis, GM and Ford plants here in America. Now, calls are coming in for other auto plants across the U.S. to offer their workers the same kinds of conditions, which has naturally led many to ask when everyone else will unionize?
One such person asking that very question is president Joe Biden, who was speaking at a rally packed with UAW members, according to CNBC News. during his talk, Biden branded the UAW teams “game changers” and said they had successfully set a “new standard” for blue-collar workers in America. CNBC News reports:
“I’m a little selfish, I want this type of contract for all autoworkers,” Biden said during a visit with UAW President Shawn Fain in Belvidere, Illinois. “And I have a feeling the UAW has a plan for that.”
Biden’s comments about contracts for all automakers echoed [Shawn] Fain’s recent remarks about how the UAW’s next move is to organize non-union auto plants, which it has failed to do for decades.
It’s no secret that the UAW would like to add Tesla workers to its roster one day soon. However, it faces a harsh critic in the form of Tesla boss Elon Musk, who has a long history of pushing back against unionization at his plants.
But this won’t stop the UAW from trying, and UAW president Fain recently claimed that the next time his union went to the bargaining table it would be up against the “Big Five or Big Six.”
3rd Gear: Polestar Skirts Tariffs With Korea Plant
Swedish electric car maker Polestar is set to begin building its cars in South Carolina next summer, but the company is already eyeing another factory to supply its new electric SUVs to American buyers. Currently, the Geely-owned EV maker builds its Polestar 2 cars at a plant in China, but from next year it could offer cars assembled in the U.S. and Korea to avoid excessive import tariffs.
