Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
TDS is tight, light, and right with a direct focus on the latest automotive news stories bubbling around the globe. Rather than a full-featured news story, TDS keeps things brief with stories summarized in a single sentence with a link provided for those seeking more information.
Feedback on TDS is welcome and appreciated both via the comments and email tips@thedrive.com.
The first cup of coffee is gone, so let’s get into it.
What I’m driving: Arrived back home in the U.S. yesterday and slid into the 2025 Ford Expedition Platinum, but stay tuned for more on that tomorrow.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is also one of the world’s most wealthy individuals, disclosed a purchase of about $1 billion worth of the automaker’s stock, translating to 2.57 million shares, as a vote of confidence in the electric car maker’s future, though it all comes after the board proposed a $1 trillion compensation plan for Musk.
Ford announced it will demolish its iconic world headquarters, which is known as the “Glass House,” since 1956 and replace the building with one that is twice as big in a bid for more collaboration on a new nearby campus.
⚙️ The next Mercedes-Benz AMG C 63 will reportedly drop today’s plug-in hybrid turbo-4 powertrain for a six-cylinder turbocharged engine after receiving a lukewarm reception when the V8 disappeared.
Volkswagen’s CEO said flush door handles are “terrible to operate” and the automaker won’t chase that trend at the expense of the customer experience.
The raid that took place at Hyundai’s U.S. factory highlighted the issue the current administration’s policies are casting on the auto industry and its workers.
The wireless charger setup for the Porsche Cayenne EV might cost $8,000.
The Polestar 2 is dead in America because of Trump’s tariffs, the Polestar 4 didn’t arrive for the same reason, and now it’s unclear if the Polestar 5 will arrive because it’s made in China, with the 5’s vehicle program leader Martin Rosenqvist noting it will be “super difficult to bring this car into the U.S. under the current circumstances.”
A cyber attack wreaked havoc on JLR stopping production and resulted in the automaker losing 40,000 vehicles with their current whereabouts said to be unknown.
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As Director of Content and Product, Joel draws on over 15 years of newsroom experience and inability to actually stop working to help ensure The Drive shapes the future of automotive media.
