Ford has announced that it will build a $3.5 billion battery production facility in the Marshall Township of Western Michigan. The plant comes with an agreement Ford recently confirmed with Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL).
Ford has the ambitious goal of producing 2 million EVs annually by 2026, and a key element to that plan is a rapid expansion of production. Ford started with “Blue Oval City,” a massive new production and office facility in Tennesee, and has since then begun construction of its first battery production location and enormous expansions of existing factories throughout the U.S.
Now, the company has doubled down, constructing yet another battery production facility, this one in Marshall, Michigan, with the help of CATL.
The $3.5 billion 2,000 acre megasite, while not Ford’s first battery plant, is the company’s first try with LFP, or lithium iron phosphate, batteries. Ford CEO Jim Farley states that these batteries are designed to be cheaper, charge faster, and last longer. LFP battery packs have been used by other automakers, including Tesla, to combat supply shortages.
Ford’s LFP battery design comes from a collaboration with CATL, who will also be helping the company start the Marshall plant as it comes online in 2026.
- Charles Poon, Director, Electrified Systems Engineering, Ford Motor Company, holds a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, while Anand Sankaran, Director, Ford Ion Park, Ford Motor Company, holds a nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) battery. Ford currently uses NCM in its electric vehicles, and will add LFP to its lineup beginning later this year to help it produce more EVs and make them more accessible and affordable for customers.
- Ted Miller, Manager, Ford Battery Cell Research and Advanced Engineering, Ford Motor Company, speaks at Ford Ion Park in Romulus, Mich., on Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, ahead of an announcement where Ford detailed plans to be the first automaker to commit to build both nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in the U.S.
- Ted Miller, Manager, Ford Battery Cell Research and Advanced Engineering, Ford Motor Company, holds a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery during a presentation on Monday, Feb. 13, 2023 at Ford Ion Park in Romulus, Mich. Ford is investing $3.5 billion in the countryÕs first automaker-backed LFP battery plant, offering customers a second battery technology within FordÕs electric vehicle lineup.
Thus far, no Ford EVs currently employ LFP batteries, instead opting for more energy-dense and expensive chemistries. However, that will be changing. This spring, the Ford Mustang Mach-E will be the first Ford EV with the option of LFP battery cells, with more vehicles receiving the same treatment shortly. Ford did not announce how this change will affect the pricing of the Mach-E.
To help fund the plant, the Michigan Strategic Fund announced that it would contribute $210 million on top of funds made available through the Inflation Reduction Act. With the massive stockpile of IRA funds, the Feds are poised to pay anywhere in the range of between $20 and $50 per kWh produced domestically to help with initial production costs. However, that number is highly dependent on material sourcing, operation size, and other factors.
While the project is undoubtedly a great aid to Ford in its mission to electrify its product lineup, it is even better news for Mashall, Michigan, which over the past decade has lost just over 2,000 jobs, according to the “Choose Marshall” organization. With Ford’s infusion of 2,500 new jobs, the entire region is poised to rebound and will likely result in higher standards of living across the board.
Along with nine other new production facilities, Ford is headed toward hitting its 2 million EV run rate and is poised to maintain its position as the second-largest EV brand in the United States. Though, with an equally massive investment being made by General Motors, Stellantis, and others, there is no lack of competition for EV supremacy in the country. Hopefully, more automakers will choose, as Ford has, to invest in the U.S. and work towards growing the number of EVs available for everyone who lives here.
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News
Tesla Model Y and Model 3 named safest vehicles tested by ANCAP in 2025
According to ANCAP in a press release, the Tesla Model Y achieved the highest overall weighted score of any vehicle assessed in 2025.
The Tesla Model Y recorded the highest overall safety score of any vehicle tested by ANCAP in 2025. The Tesla Model 3 also delivered strong results, reinforcing the automaker’s safety leadership in Australia and New Zealand.
According to ANCAP in a press release, the Tesla Model Y achieved the highest overall weighted score of any vehicle assessed in 2025. ANCAP’s 2025 tests evaluated vehicles across four key pillars: Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection, and Safety Assist technologies.
The Model Y posted consistently strong results in all four categories, distinguishing itself through a system-based safety approach that combines structural crash protection with advanced driver-assistance features such as autonomous emergency braking, lane support, and driver monitoring.

This marked the second time the Model Y has topped ANCAP’s annual safety rankings. The Model Y’s previous version was also ANCAP’s top performer in 2022.
The Tesla Model 3 also delivered a strong performance in ANCAP’s 2025 tests, contributing to Tesla’s broader safety presence across segments. Similar to the Model Y, the Model 3 also earned impressive scores across the ANCAP’s four pillars. This made the vehicle the top performer in the Medium Car category.
ANCAP Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg stated that the results highlight a growing industry shift toward integrated safety design, with improvements in technologies such as autonomous emergency braking and lane support translating into meaningful real-world protection.
“ANCAP’s testing continues to reinforce a clear message: the safest vehicles are those designed with safety as a system, not a checklist. The top performers this year delivered consistent results across physical crash protection, crash avoidance and vulnerable road user safety, rather than relying on strength in a single area.
“We are also seeing increasing alignment between ANCAP’s test requirements and the safety technologies that genuinely matter on Australian and New Zealand roads. Improvements in autonomous emergency braking, lane support, and driver monitoring systems are translating into more robust protection,” Hoorweg said.
News
Tesla Sweden uses Megapack battery to bypass unions’ Supercharger blockade
Just before Christmas, Tesla went live with a new charging station in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm, by powering it with a Tesla Megapack battery.
Tesla Sweden has successfully launched a new Supercharger station despite an ongoing blockade by Swedish unions, using on-site Megapack batteries instead of traditional grid connections. The workaround has allowed the Supercharger to operate without direct access to Sweden’s electricity network, which has been effectively frozen by labor action.
Tesla has experienced notable challenges connecting its new charging stations to Sweden’s power grid due to industrial action led by Seko, a major Swedish trade union, which has blocked all new electrical connections for new Superchargers. On paper, this made the opening of new Supercharger sites almost impossible.
Despite the blockade, Tesla has continued to bring stations online. In Malmö and Södertälje, new Supercharger locations opened after grid operators E.ON and Telge Nät activated the sites. The operators later stated that the connections had been made in error.
More recently, however, Tesla adopted a different strategy altogether. Just before Christmas, Tesla went live with a new charging station in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm, by powering it with a Tesla Megapack battery, as noted in a Dagens Arbete (DA) report.
Because the Supercharger station does not rely on a permanent grid connection, Tesla was able to bypass the blocked application process, as noted by Swedish car journalist and YouTuber Peter Esse. He noted that the Arlandastad Supercharger is likely dependent on nearby companies to recharge the batteries, likely through private arrangements.
Eight new charging stalls have been launched in the Arlandastad site so far, which is a fraction of the originally planned 40 chargers for the location. Still, the fact that Tesla Sweden was able to work around the unions’ efforts once more is impressive, especially since Superchargers are used even by non-Tesla EVs.
Esse noted that Tesla’s Megapack workaround is not as easily replicated in other locations. Arlandastad is unique because neighboring operators already have access to grid power, making it possible for Tesla to source electricity indirectly. Still, Esse noted that the unions’ blockades have not affected sales as much.
“Many want Tesla to lose sales due to the union blockades. But you have to remember that sales are falling from 2024, when Tesla sold a record number of cars in Sweden. That year, the unions also had blockades against Tesla. So for Tesla as a charging operator, it is devastating. But for Tesla as a car company, it does not matter in terms of sales volumes. People charge their cars where there is an opportunity, usually at home,” Esse noted.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s X goes down as users report major outage Friday morning
Error messages and stalled loading screens quickly spread across the service, while outage trackers recorded a sharp spike in user reports.
Elon Musk’s X experienced an outage Friday morning, leaving large numbers of users unable to access the social media platform.
Error messages and stalled loading screens quickly spread across the service, while outage trackers recorded a sharp spike in user reports.
Downdetector reports
Users attempting to open X were met with messages such as “Something went wrong. Try reloading,” often followed by an endless spinning icon that prevented access, according to a report from Variety. Downdetector data showed that reports of problems surged rapidly throughout the morning.
As of 10:52 a.m. ET, more than 100,000 users had reported issues with X. The data indicated that 56% of complaints were tied to the mobile app, while 33% were related to the website and roughly 10% cited server connection problems. The disruption appeared to begin around 10:10 a.m. ET, briefly eased around 10:35 a.m., and then returned minutes later.

Previous disruptions
Friday’s outage was not an isolated incident. X has experienced multiple high-profile service interruptions over the past two years. In November, tens of thousands of users reported widespread errors, including “Internal server error / Error code 500” messages. Cloudflare-related error messages were also reported.
In March 2025, the platform endured several brief outages spanning roughly 45 minutes, with more than 21,000 reports in the U.S. and 10,800 in the U.K., according to Downdetector. Earlier disruptions included an outage in August 2024 and impairments to key platform features in July 2023.


