Cars are the technology of the future. The Verge brings you new car reviews, auto show insights, deeply reported investigations, and news from the frontlines of autonomous and electric vehicle development. We bring you updates from major companies like Ford, GM, Mercedes, and VW as well as digital upstarts like Uber, Google, and Tesla. Cars are among the biggest computers that we’ll ever own, and we know computers. We also bring you news and analyses from the growing effort to reduce the number of cars crowding our cities and the fight to reduce oil consumption, cut CO2 emissions, and shift to more sustainable sources of energy.
Beginning May 2nd, prices on vehicles such as the Mustang Mach-E EV could jump as much as $2,000, which Ford says will arrive in US dealer lots by late June. The news comes after Ford declared the Trump administration’s tariffs are adding about $2.5 billion of costs for the company in 2025.
The Celestiq carries the brand’s storied history forward — but only for those who can afford it.
The automaker’s software chief Doug Field explains why the company cancelled its ‘FNV4’ project, and why a domain-style system may work better for Ford’s gas and hybrid vehicles.
After Hyundai started making them in the USA, the popular EV became briefly eligible — but mysteriously lost eligibility weeks later, possibly over its batteries. Now, the Ioniq 5 is finally back on the list, until or unless Trump kills the credit entirely. It may not make a difference for many buyers: Hyundai was already offering its own $7,500 discount as a stopgap until the credit came back online.
Robyn Denholm, who was appointed chair of Tesla’s board of directors after the SEC forced Elon Musk to step down, just sold over $32 million worth of shares in the company. As Electrek notes, it appears that she is close to liquidating her entire position in Tesla, with only 85,000 shares left and 300,440 stock options expiring later this year. Several Tesla investors have urged the board to rein in Musk, who’s political alliance with the Trump administration has done irreparable damage to the company’s brand. But under Denholm’s leadership, the board has done essentially nothing to curb Musk’s worst tendencies.
The excellent Tim Stevens joins The Vergecast to talk all things Slate, which recently unveiled its first product, an extremely barebones, all-electric, two-seater pickup truck.
Tune in as Tim and David talk about Slate’s philosophy, its minimalistic approach, and whether this truck will actually make its way to customers.
More incoming tariff flip-flopping from the White House, The Wall Street Journal reports today. Trump is expected to rollback some duties on automakers so they don’t end up paying for multiple tariffs on materials like on steel and aluminum. You know, they stuff they usually make cars out of. And here’s the kicker: Trump may end up actually reimbursing some car companies for their tariffs based on the value of the vehicle! Folks, this is what real leadership looks like. According to the Journal:
The administration will also modify its tariffs on foreign auto parts—slated to be 25% and effective May 3—allowing automakers to be reimbursed for those tariffs up to an amount equal to 3.75% of the value of a U.S.-made car for one year. The reimbursement would fall to 2.5% of the car’s value in a second year, and then be phased out altogether.
That’s how Land Rover describes the recently-released upgrade for third‑generation Range Rovers produced between 2010‑2012 that lets them access Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. However, the upgrade is only available to people in the UK and Germany, according to 9to5Mac.
Is the market ready for a four-wheeled digital detox?
The Tesla CEO has long promised driverless cars that can go anywhere. But now he’s acknowledging that there will be “parameters.”
The automaker started by offering nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) batteries in its electric vehicles, and later added lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in 2023. “LMR is the answer to ‘what next?’” writes Charles Poon, Ford’s Global Director for Electrified Propulsion Engineering. LMR stands for “Lithium Manganese Rich,” which Poon says is safer, denser, and more cost-effective than other chemistries. And they’re coming close to fruition.
This isn’t just a lab experiment. We’re actively working to scale LMR cell chemistry and integrate them into our future vehicle lineup within this decade. The team is already producing our second-gen LMR cells at our pilot line.
The restrictions on rare earth minerals and related magnets came in response to Trump’s escalating tariffs and we’re now seeing some direct impact. Tesla’s occasional CEO says his plan to build thousands of Optimus humanoid robots this year is contingent upon the availability of those magnets needed for the robot’s motors.
”China wants some assurances that these are not used for military purposes, which obviously they’re not,” said Musk.
Starlink also wasn’t intended for military purposes... until it was.
It looks much like the E Concept presented in Shanghai last year during the debut of Audi’s ringless, all-caps brand for the Chinese market. The E5 Sportback is built on an 800-volt “Advanced Digitized Platform” co-developed with China’s SAIC Motors and features a 100kWh battery capable of 478 miles of range per charge, 3.4 seconds 0-62 mph acceleration, a pillar-to-pillar 4K screen, and a lidar-based driver assistant.
DOGE is gutting the agency that enforces environmental laws Elon Musk’s companies have been accused of breaking.
Slate Auto, the secretive EV startup backed by Jeff Bezos, dropped a bunch of concept versions of its $25,000 electric truck in California over the weekend to emphasize the vehicle’s “transformative” powers, TechCrunch reports. The company is planning an official reveal later this week.
But as noticed by The Autopian’s David Tracy, the concept vehicles are sporting some, shall we say, unique camouflage. One was wrapped in pink and blue advertising for a fake company called “Cry Share” that offers to drive around your crying infant until they fall asleep. Sounds legit.
