This is uderligned daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.
As we reported yesterday, a judge in Delaware told Elon Musk he can't have that fifty five billion dollar pay package at Tesla. Not surprisingly, Elon
isn't happy. He says that quote. Tesla will move immediately to hold a
shareholder vote to transfer state of incorporation to Texas from Delaware. Elon even held
a poll on Twitter asking his followers if Tesla should incorporate in Texas, and unsurprisingly, they overwhelmingly voted in favor of it. The Delaware judge ruled in
favor of a lawsuit filed by a Tesla shareholder that claimed the company misled investors about its compensation plan. For Musk, Tesla can restructure the pay plan and
present it to shareholders for a vote, but Musk wants to avoid that by reincorporating in Texas instead. If you're seeing headlines that Chinese car sales are way
up, don't believe them. Automakers are posting their sales for January and the
growth rate looks astonishing. Byd was up thirty three percent compared to a year
ago. Neo was up eighteen percent, x Pung up fifty eight percent,
Liato up one hundred and five percent, and Zeker up three hundred and two percent. But that was compared to a year ago when the Chinese New Year
fell in January, and the country essentially takes a two week vacation, So when you look at month over month sales instead a year over year, the story changes significantly. Byd sales were down forty percent, x Pung was down
fifty eight percent, Leatto was down thirty eight percent, and Zeker fell six percent. It looks like we're gonna have to wait until the end of February
to get a clearer picture of what's really going on in the Chinese market, because piring this January to last January can be really misleading. EV's typically weigh
twenty to fifty percent more than gas powered vehicles, and that's becoming a growing concern of safety advocates. Last year, the National Transportation Safety Board issued a
warning about the safety risks if an EV crashes with the lighter vehicle, and now a new study from the University of Nebraska is getting a lot of headlines because it says evs can easily crash through highway guardrails because of their heavier weight.
Guardrails have a capacity of five thousand pounds. Researchers crashed a nearly four
ton Rivian R one T truck into a guardrail, which it easily tore through and didn't slow down until it hit a concrete barrier several yards away. And
while most reports are focusing on the evs, the study points out that most full sized pickups and SUVs also exceed the five thousand pound capacity. The researchers
say more testing needs to be done in order to create barriers that can minimize crashes for both light and heavier vehicles. Polestar looks like it's in a full
blown crisis. It's no longer going to be part of Volvo and will be
absorbed into Gili instead. Like most EV companies, Pollstar's stock has taken a
beating down eighty three percent last year, and its sales have fallen short of what it promised. Last year, it delivered fifty four thousand, six hundred
cars worldwide and only nine seven hundred and seventy two in the US market for the segment it serves. That's not nearly enough to be a viable business.
Worse, it needs one point three billion dollars to keep the lights on until twenty twenty five, when it expects to become cash flow positive. That was
too much money for Volvo to hand over, which is why Pollstar will transfer to Gili's control. Even though Gili promises to keep Polestar as an independent brand,
we wonder if that's realistic. Remember Pollstar started out as a Swedish racing
team, then it became the performance brand for Volvo, and then it was spun off as a separate company as an all Evy brand. Formula One fans
hoping to see a US team added to the grid are disappointed today, despite the growing popularity of F one in the US and getting the thumbs up from the FIA last October, American racing team Andretti Autosport, which is led by racing icon Michael Andretti, had its bid to join Formula one in twenty twenty five rejected by the sports owner and commercial rights holder, Liberty Media. It
said it didn't think the Andretti team would be competitive and therefore wouldn't add any value to the sport. Ouch There's still a possibility of Andretti making its way
into F one, but not until twenty twenty eight. Liberty says it would
look differently on its application if Andretti is using a GM power unit. Cadillac
has always been on board as a sponsor for Andretti, and announced in November that it had formerly registered with the FIA as a Formula one power unit manufacturer starting for the twenty twenty eight season. And speaking of F one, reports
say the winningest driver in the racing series history is leaving for the most iconic team in the sport. Lewis Hamilton is said to be joining Ferrari in twenty
twenty five. He'll replace Carlo Signs to race alongside Charles Leclair. An official
announcement could come as early as this week. BMW is getting new technolology that
will help it develop cars faster. It partnered with the SOW Systems to integrate
its three D experience tech into the automaker's future engineering platform that's going to be used by all the engineering groups within the company. More than seventeen thousand employees
will be able to work with a virtual twin of a vehicle so they can make changes or get approvals in real time anywhere around the world. The platform
can also be expanded into other areas like modeling and simulation. And here's something
we're probably going to see a lot more of. Ford did a mild refresh
of the Explorer, all with the idea of keeping sales steady but also making the vehicle more profitable. The styling changes are fairly subtle. The front end
features a new grill design with pronounced air intakes at the corners of the bumper.
The tail lights are sleeker and seem to carry across into the tailgate and inside. A bigger thirteen point two inch screen sits on an instrument panel that
it's been made to look softer and warmer. There's also a soundbar that sits
on top of the IP, just like in the Mustang Machee. With such
subtle changes, Ford is really emphasizing improvements and connectivity and infotainment. Alexa is
built in for a voice control of many functions, and when it's parked, you can watch YouTube or Prime Video. Interestingly, Ford is dropping the hybrid
version because fewer than five percent of customers ordered it. However, the police
Interceptor version will still offer the hybrid setup. Engine choices include a two point
three liter four or a three liter V six, and for the first time, Blue Cruise is available on the top two trim lines for hands free driving, speaking of which Ford cut the number of trim lines from eight to four.
It also made a number of features standard, like heated seats, adaptive cruise control, and a towing package. And by simplifying the lineup, Ford
reduced the build complexity ninety percent, which is going to cut out a lot of significant cost and that's a formula we're going to see a lot more of.
Do a mild refresh, take out build complexity, and make the vehicle more profitable, which is going to help it offset that UAW contract and losses on the EV side of the business. Speaking of Ford, it's giving out
free Tesla charging adapters. CEO Jim Farley posted on social media that eligible owners
in the US and Canada will soon be able to reserve a complementary adapter which is going to give them access to V three superchargers and above. Ford says
it will actually start building its evs with the Tesla next charging port in twenty twenty five. Toyota dominates the mid size pickup segment with the Tacoma in the
US, it out sells the Chevy Colorado, Ford Ranger, Nissan Frontier, Honda Ridgeline, and GMC Canyon all put together. So what's it's the secret
to its success. Well, we want to know that too. That's why
we've got Sheldon Brown, the chief engineer on the Tacoma, coming on auto Line after hours today. He just finished doing a complete redesign of the Tacoma
and that truck is bristling with new ideas and innovations. So we invite you
to join John and Gary for a deep dive into the mid size pickup war, along with Richard Truett from Automotive News, and that show goes live at three pm Eastern Time. But that brings us to the end of this show.
Thanks for tuning in. Auto Line Daily is brought to you by Bridgetone
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About this episode
Elon Musk plans to reincorporate Tesla in Texas following a Delaware court ruling against his pay package. Chinese EV sales appear inflated due to holiday timing, with month-over-month declines. A study highlights safety concerns as heavy EVs can breach guardrails. Polestar faces financial struggles and will be absorbed by Geely. Andretti's bid to join Formula 1 was rejected until 2028, with Cadillac's GM power unit possibly changing that. Lewis Hamilton may join Ferrari in 2025. BMW adopts new 3D tech for faster development. Ford refreshes the Explorer to boost profitability by simplifying trims and enhancing tech, while offering free Tesla charging adapters. Toyota's Tacoma dominates midsize pickups, with insights from its chief engineer featured on Autoline After Hours.
- Musk Threatens to Reincorporate Tesla in Texas - January Car Sales in China Can Be Misleading - EVs Blamed for Guardrail Problems - Polestar in Full-Blown Crisis - F1 Rejects Andretti - Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari? - BMW Partners with Dassault for Digital Twins - Ford Reduces Explorer Build Complexity by 90% - Ford to Hand Out Free NACS Adapters
