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These automakers are pushing to overturn California’s gas car ban

This lobbying group represents Detroit’s Big Three automakers, as well as several others selling vehicles in the U.S.

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(Credit: Don Sniegowski/Flicker CC:BY-NC-SA 2.0)

A lobbying group made up of several automakers is pushing Congress to ban California’s plan to phase out and ban new gas car sales altogether by 2035, ahead of a vote that could also affect the 11 other states that have followed with similar plans.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI), an organization representing the interests of Ford, General Motors (GM), Stellantis, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and several others, recently sent a letter to Congress requesting that it overturn a waiver granted to California letting it set its own emissions rules.

Later this week, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on overturning the waiver granted to California under the 1968 Clean Air Act to impose the tightened standards, according to Reuters. In the previous letter, the AAI argued to Congress that automakers would be “forced to substantially reduce the number of overall vehicles for sale to inflate their proportion of electric vehicle sales,” adding that it would also boost prices and reduce competition in the market.

The waiver, enacted under the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), allows California to mandate at least 80 percent electric vehicle sales by 2035 under the Clean Air Act. The passage of disapproval of the waiver is being ushered under the Congressional Review Act, and an initial vote in the House of Representatives is set to take place on Wednesday.

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READ MORE ON STATE EMISSIONS RULES: Tesla could face emissions credit tax in Washington

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia backed the EPA’s decision to grant the waiver last April, following a challenge from 17 Republican-run states. The group claimed that California was being given unconstitutional regulatory power in the decision, adding that other states didn’t have those same powers.

In December, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear out bids from Valero, the AAI, and other groups to oppose the 2035 California gas car sales ban, which would begin phasing them out in 2026 if the waiver remains in place.

You can see the full list of members of the AAI below, including automakers and a handful of other tech companies.

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Companies represented by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI)

Here’s the full list of AAI members, according to the lobbying group’s website:

  • AESC
  • AISIN
  • Aptiv
  • Autoliv
  • BMW Group
  • Bosch
  • Denso
  • Emergency Safety Solutions
  • Ferrari
  • Ford
  • GM
  • Harman
  • Honda
  • Hyundai
  • InEos Automotive
  • Infineon
  • Isuzu
  • Jaguar-Land Rover
  • Kia
  • LG
  • Luminar
  • Magna
  • Mazda
  • McLaren
  • Mercedes-Benz
  • Mitsubishi Motors
  • Nissan
  • Nuro
  • Panasonic
  • Porsche
  • Qualcomm
  • RV Industry Association
  • Samsung
  • SiriusXM
  • SK On
  • Stellantis
  • Subaru
  • Texas Instruments
  • Toyota
  • Uber
  • VinFast
  • Volkswagen
  • Volvo
  • Zoox

California proposal to allow self-driving tests for heavy-duty trucks

Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

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Investor's Corner

Lucid denies rumors of bankruptcy after over 40% stock drop

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Credit: Lucid

Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group has denied rumors of an imminent bankruptcy after a report from this morning sent the stock on a dramatic drop on Wall Street, seeing losses of more than 40 percent during trading hours.

Lucid’s Director of Communications, Nick Twork, responded to the report from Eletric-Vehicles.com, which stated the company’s restructuring advisor, AlixPartners, was asked to review two decisions: taking Lucid shares private or filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The report also claims AlixPartners told the Lucid board to “concentrate on Gravity production while improving its quality, and to temporarily hold back the Lucid Air, the sedan that has defined the company since its launch.”

Twork said:

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Shares rebounded after the response to the report, halving its losses as the trading day neared 3 p.m. Eastern.

Lucid has struggled to get its sales off the ground and into more respectable numbers, but the company is in its early years, when things are hard to begin with. It is also backed by several notable investors, including the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has nearly limitless money and likely would not ditch an investment of this size so soon.

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Lucid shares were down just 14 percent at the time of publication, a far cry from the 55 percent its losses topped out at during the day.

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Tesla owner attempts resale of Model S Signature Edition for over $260k

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Credit: Tesla

A Tesla owner who purchased a Model S Signature Edition, one of the final 250 units of the all-electric flagship vehicle that the company discontinued earlier this year, is attempting to sell the car despite a no-resale clause that prohibits reselling for the first year.

The car is being sold by J&S Autohaus in Ewing, New Jersey, and is priced at $260,490, well above the $159,420 that Tesla sold it for earlier this year.

To those who do not know, the Model S Signature was a highly exclusive, limited-run farewell variant of the Model S Plaid that was produced this year to mark the end of production of both the Model S and Model X, Tesla’s two flagship vehicles.

Limited to just 250 units with invite-only sales, it serves as a collector’s item celebrating the legacy of the Model S, which helped pioneer Tesla’s electric vehicle success since its 2012 launch.

It bundles top-tier performance with bespoke cosmetic and luxury upgrades, plus Tesla’s Luxe Package. Here’s what the Model S Signature has over the typical Model S Plaid:

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  • Exclusive Exterior – Unique Garnet Red Paint, matching door handles, gold Tesla “T” badges upfront, gold Plaid and Signature badging at the rear.
  • Premium Interior – White Alcantara upholstery with gold piping/accents, gold Plaid seat badges, Signature-marked door sills, individually numbered dashboard plaque, gold puddle lights, special interior lighting sequence, and a custom Signature key fob.
  • Performance Upgrades – Carbon-ceramic brakes with gold calipers
  • Bundled Luxe Package – Full Self-Driving (Supervised), four years of Premium Connectivity, free lifetime Supercharging
  • Performance Metrics – ~1,020 horsepower, sub-2-second 0-60 MPH, ~390-mile range

Tesla quickly introduced a No Resale Agreement for the Signature Editions of the Model S and Model X, which would penalize the seller for “the amount of $50,000 or the value received as consideration for the sale or transfer, whichever is greater.”

The company continues:

“If you sell or otherwise transfer the ownership of your Model S or Model X, the remainder of the Recommended Maintenance, Wheel and Tire Protection Plan, and Windshield Protection Plan will transfer automatically to the buyer. The Full Self-Driving (Supervised), Free Supercharging and Premium Connectivity will not transfer with the vehicle and will terminate once the ownership of the Model S or Model X is transferred.”

Tesla will likely come after the seller, especially as it has been about two months since Tesla launched deliveries.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 Early Impressions: new features and early performance

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Credit: TESLARATI

Tesla rolled out Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.3.5 yesterday, and about fifty miles of driving on the new version has given me enough time to highlight what seems to be strong about the release and what is not.

Additionally, Tesla has added a few new features with this specific update, which we’ll highlight as well.

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 Performance

The new update is business as usual. Things seem to be running completely normal and necessary, but there are a few things that we’ve seemed to pick up on based on our own experience with v14.3.5, as well as what other users are seeing.

Initially, it seems to be more aware of its surroundings, making moves that are incredibly courteous to other drives and operating just a tad more reserved than what the suite might have done previously.

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We had two instances where it showed this, the first being FSD needing to pass a Flagger Force vehicle that was placing down signage for the day. Their work truck was right at the front corner of a right-hand turn; typically where most cars travel when they take that turn.

FSD v14.3.5 recognized this, slowed down, and took the turn wide with no issues:

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Additionally, v14.3.5 backed up for a semi truck that was making a wide turn onto a road my car was on. This is not new, but it seemed to be backing up for courtesy; it didn’t seem completely necessary, but it might have put some peace of mind in the truck driver’s head:

X user Mike P, also a Pennsylvania native like myself, shared three clips of his Tesla running v14.3.5 performing similar maneuvers. He said:

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“FSD turns right into a small alley that only fits one car at a time, sees oncoming car, reverses out of alley to make space, realizes oncoming car is actually parking, re-enters alley.”

Check it out here:

It seems like Speed Profiles are still in need of some tweaking; I am adjusting what Speed Profile I’m in frequently, constantly changing it to get it to travel at the correct speed. This was an issue for me on v14.3.4. It seems like they’re just a little inconsistent.

Terrible Parking

Parking attempts on v14.3.5 were not good. There are quite a few people who have said this:

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David Moss, the Tesla owner who has taken multiple coast-to-coast drives without any interventions, also has had some issues with parking early on with v14.3.5:

New Features

Tesla has added the ability to open Camera Preview at any time. Previously, it was only available in Park. Here’s what that feature looks like in action:

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Check back later this week for a longer review of what we’ve noticed on Full Self-Driving v14.3.5.

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