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Rivian’s board of directors does not include Ford representatives anymore

(Credit: Rivian)

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There is no longer a Ford Motor Company representative on Rivian’s board of directors. However, Ford still seems to have a strong partnership with the company. 

Based on Rivian SEC documents released to the public on October 1, Ford executive Alexandra Ford English left the EV startup’s board of directors in May 2021, a year after being appointed. In March 2021, the legacy OEM announced that English would join Ford’s board in a press release. She was officially elected to Ford’s board by May.

In June 2021, Ford Vice President Doug Power became the legacy automaker’s representative on Rivian’s board of directors, replacing English. However, he also left Rivian’s board a few months later in September.

“Rivian is a strategic investment, and we’re still exploring ways for potential collaboration with them. We don’t have anything to announce today,” Ford spokesman Ian Thibodeau said. 

Rivian declined to comment beyond the SEC filings. The document does acknowledge that certain stockholders will have a conflict of interest. Ford holds more than 5% of Rivian’s capital stock, according to the filing. In 2019, the OEM invested $500 million in Rivian. And according to Reuters, Ford has invested more than $820 million in Rivian over two fundraising rounds.

“Certain of our principal stockholders or their affiliates are or may in the future engage in, and certain of our directors are affiliated with entities that may in the future engage in, business activities similar to those conducted by us which may compete directly or indirectly with us, causing such stockholders or persons to have conflicts of interest,” wrote Rivian in its SEC filings. 

“Certain of our principal stockholders and their affiliates are engaged in similar business activities to those conducted by us, and/or currently or in the future may invest in or otherwise hold securities of businesses that compete directly or indirectly with us. For example, Ford Motor Company (“Ford”), one of our principal stockholders, is a multinational vehicle manufacturer,” the document stated. 

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Rivian seems to understand its complex relationship with some investors based on the excerpts mentioned above from the SEC document. While there is no Ford representative on the Rivian board currently, the filing suggests that there could still be one in the future.

“Further, following this offering, employees of certain of our principal stockholders and their affiliates will continue to serve on our board of directors and retain their positions with our principal stockholders or their affiliates,” the filing read. 

Other information from the SEC filing hints that Ford and Rivian’s relationship is far from over. For instance, Rivian stated that it entered into a Production and Supply Agreement with Ford subsidiary Troy Design and Manufacturing Co. (TDM). Based on the agreement, TDM would serve as an ongoing supplier to Rivian. 

In addition, Rivian issued unsecured 2021 Convertible Notes to Ford and certain other investors in the aggregate principle amount of $2.5 billion. The said notes mature on July 23, 2026, and accrue interest quarterly at the following rates: (a) 0% from the date of issuance to and including June 30, 2022; (b) 5% after June 30, 2022.

The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, reach out to me at maria@teslarati.com or via Twitter @Writer_01001101.

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Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

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Watch Tesla’s “guardian angel” FSD feature take over for collision evasion

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Tesla’s Automatic Collision Evasion feature can be seen in one of the first owner videos of it in action.

Tesla owner Spencer (@scotsrule08) posted on Monday that the feature “worked flawlessly,” saying FSD reengaged itself just as he was about to hit a curb. Ashok Elluswamy, who leads Tesla’s AI team, shared the clip and wrote, “A guardian angel always looking out for you.”

The video arrives in the middle of a staged rollout. Tesla first shipped Automatic Collision Evasion with FSD (Supervised) v14.3.9 in software update 2026.27.6 earlier this month, which Teslarati covered as it reached cars. Update 2026.27.10, which began going out on September 19, carried the feature improvements with FSD v14.3.10, according to release notes tracked by Not a Tesla App. The newer 2026.27.11 build is now reaching another wave of vehicles.


The feature only runs on HW4 vehicles, and it requires an active FSD purchase or subscription with both FSD (Supervised) and Automatic Emergency Braking enabled. HW3 owners receive FSD v14.2 Lite in the same updates, but that build does not include collision evasion.

Tesla’s release notes describe two triggers. The first is an imminent frontal collision that braking alone may not prevent, in which case the car can activate FSD to steer, brake or accelerate around the hazard. That scenario is limited to highways below 85 mph, with no pedestrians or cyclists detected and no slippery road surface. The second covers a driver who appears inattentive, such as reaching into the back seat, or who seems to have switched off FSD by accident. Spencer’s curb clip appears to fall into that second category.

Tesla plans big safety improvements for Full Self-Driving v15

Once the system takes over, the accelerator is muted and light brake input will not cancel the maneuver. Drivers need to apply firm, deliberate steering force to take back control, and the car chimes to hand control back once the danger has passed.

Elluswamy recently noted that earlier hazard prediction, faster reaction time and better collision avoidance would arrive with FSD v15, the next major version.

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Tesla Roadster event gets delayed due to unfavorable weather

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is delaying its event for the Roadster, moving it from this Thursday, October 1, to Thursday, October 15, due to unfavorable weather.

The company has said it has been tracking the weather for this Thursday closely with local meteorologists, and because the event can only be held outside, Tesla is making the call to delay it:

“We’ve been tracking the weather closely with local meteorologists, but given the severe conditions predicted & because this event can only be held outdoors, we’ve made the difficult decision to reschedule. New date is October 15. Additional details to follow.”

We are sure that this is bringing back PTSD for some Tesla fans, and we know it is not ideal, but this also reveals some things about the event. Tesla said that this can only be held outdoors, meaning it bodes well for the rumors that the vehicle could potentially hover.

Some believe that this was essentially confirmed by the FAA airspace restriction they were granted, but this could have been for a drone show or to keep drones from spying on the event.

Tesla Roadster is available for order once again following brief hold

The Roadster event has been long-awaited, and it is unfortunate that the weather is going to keep us all waiting a little bit longer.

The Tesla Roadster will be unveiled in Waco, Texas.

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Elon Musk

SpaceX turned a heralding moment for Starship into its greatest

Starship reached orbit despite losing an engine, deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites on Flight 14.

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SpaceX’s Starship reached orbit for the first time on Monday, and for a few nail-biting minutes it looked like it wouldn’t. During ascent on Flight 14, one of Ship 41’s six Raptor engines shut down early, and SpaceX’s livestream host Dan Huot told viewers the team had decided not to commit to orbit. Minutes later, after what Huot described as a lot of conversation in the control room, the final poll came back in favor, and a roughly 19 second burn of a single Raptor pushed the ship into orbit about 170 miles up.

The reversal matters because SpaceX had written the exit ramp into the mission plan. The company said it would only fire the orbital insertion burn if flight controllers confirmed enough backup hardware remained for the deorbit burn, a condition Teslarati laid out ahead of the flight. Losing an engine was exactly the scenario that rule was built for.

Pressing forward fits Elon Musk’s history. Falcon 1 failed three straight times before its fourth launch reached orbit in 2008, with SpaceX nearly out of money, and Starship was developed by flying prototypes until they broke. What changed this year SpaceX going public, and with $SPCX sliding below its IPO price in July when Flight 13 slipped, the short interest climbed significantly, as Teslarati reported at the time. A Starship potentially lost today with revenue generating next-gen Starlink satellites aboard would have landed directly on shareholders.

That pressure showed up after orbit. SpaceX cut a flight planned to last nearly 10 hours to about three, moving splashdown from west of Chile to the North Pacific near Hawaii. SpaceX gave no reason, though Musk said this month the company was being extremely cautious about debris risk. The single Raptor for deorbit worked, and Ship 41 completed its flip and landing burn before breaking apart in the water, an outcome SpaceX expected. Musk has structured SpaceX’s governance to shield long term bets from market pressure.

The payload is the bigger business story. Musk posted that all 26 Starlink V3 satellites deployed and are “operating nominally.” Each V3 is rated for about 1 Tbps of downlink and 160 Gbps of uplink, so this single launch adds roughly 26 Tbps, about 10 times what a Falcon 9 load of V2 Mini satellites adds. The V3 is too large for Falcon 9, making Starship the only vehicle that can build out the planned 100,000 satellite constellation, at up to 60 per flight once it reaches routine service. Unlike the 20 V3 units on Flight 13, which reentered on a suborbital path, these will raise their orbits and could begin serving customers within weeks and bring in hundreds of millions of additional dollars in projected Starlink revenue.

SpaceX has already begun winding down Falcon 9 Starlink launches from Florida in favor of Starship. Reported targets put Flight 15 as early as October 19, leaving about three weeks to diagnose Monday’s engine shutdown before the next orbital attempt.

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