Electric Cars

California will outline its own $200 million EV incentive program next week, after officials meet with Detroit automakers to discuss the next phases of its plan to regulate tailpipe emissions. The Trump administration has eliminated incentives for EV purchases, stymied energy efficiency policies, and gutted pollution regulations in general. California is challenging those efforts in court.

In its earnings report today, Tesla disclosed a $2 billion investment in xAI “as part of their recent publicly-disclosed financing round.” Bloomberg reported earlier this year that xAI, which also owns X.com and the Grok AI chatbot, burned about $7.8 billion in the first nine months of 2025. Tesla claims that the investment in xAI is “intended to enhance Tesla’s ability to develop and deploy AI products and services into the physical world at scale.”

The company, which was led by ex-Tesla CTO JB Straubel, says it just closed its series E funding, including participation from Google and other investors. The money will be put toward building out Redwood Materials’ energy storage platform as well as its EV battery recycling and critical minerals business. And in a blog post, the company gestures at the current debate over AI data centers and electricity demand, saying:

GM is ending production of its most affordable EV after the 2027 model year, replacing it with a gas-powered Buick. The decision came less than a year after the automaker rolled out a revamped version of the Bolt with better charging capabilities. Of course, this won’t be the first time that the automaker killed off the Bolt. But given the inhospitable environment around EVs these days, the Bolt’s days were likely numbered. GM has said its priority is profitable autos like the Buick that previously was built in China.

Sales of the polarizing, angular electric truck continue to plummet, down 68.1 percent year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 48 percent for the entire year, according to new data from Cox Automotive. That represents the largest year-over-year sales drop for any vehicle in the battery-powered segment, including those that were discontinued halfway through the year.

After disbanding the team behind its Dojo supercomputer project last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the company is “restarting work” on Dojo3 now that “the AI5 chip design is in good shape.” Tesla is also recruiting people to work on the project.

The first near-final version of Rivian’s critical $45,000 electric vehicle just rolled off the assembly line at the company’s factory in Normal, Illinois. Customer deliveries are expected to follow soon after, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said. This is a make-or-break moment for the company: can it make more affordable, high-volume EVs? Or will it be relegated to niche status as an expensive truck company?

The charge is related to the automaker’s plans to reduce some of its EV production in the face of cooling demand and a less hospitable regulatory environment. It comes a week after Ford said it would take a similar financial hit on its EV investments, and a few months after GM took a $1.6 billion writedown on EVs. When will the EV bloodletting end?

Stellantis is discontinuing its plug-in hybrid lineup for Jeep and Chrysler, as the automaker pivots away from electrification to gas guzzlers and extended-range electric vehicles. It’s kind of a surprising move, given the sales momentum around hybrids these days in the face of slowing demand for EVs. But when you recall that Jeep’s 4xe lineup has been plagued by recalls, including one recently for a high-voltage battery defect that poses a risk for fire, than it starts to make a little more sense.

The Sony-Honda brand unveiled the higher-riding, roomier equivalent to the Afeela 1 at its CES keynote earlier this week, saying it could go into production in 2028. While the luxury EV market is a bit saturated these days, the concept is sure to appeal to anyone who loves Afeela’s approach to in-car entertainment and wants more room than the sedan version offers.

Afeela cars will get themes featuring Sony franchises like Gran Turismo and Astro Bot, including custom wallpapers and e-motor sounds. Driving with the delightful sounds of Astro Bot does feel like it could be fun.

Sorry, had to get the first Afeela pun out of the way ahead of the CES 2026 Sony Honda Mobility press conference. The shows kicks off at 8PM ET / 5PM PT, and you can watch it on YouTube.

The automaker’s sales drop was a lot steeper than Tesla’s, recording a 31.3 percent year over year decline in the fourth quarter of 2025. For the whole year, Rivian sold 42,247 vehicles, an 18 percent drop compared to 2024. Both figures were in line with Rivian’s expectations, the company said.

In 2011, the Tesla CEO didn’t see BYD as a competitor, laughing out loud at the mere suggestion, just like Steve Ballmer did in response to the iPhone. Microsoft no longer makes phones, and the Chinese auto giant is expected to officially surpass Tesla in global annual sales for the first time.

According to Not A Tesla App, one owner shared a service message saying there’s an Engineering Investigation ongoing, and some service staff have said a third revision of the wiper is in testing.