Despite making some progress in contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, Ford says there are still some major gaps to address before an agreement is reached. The statement comes after Ford avoided escalated strikes by meeting some UAW demands last week, just as parts workers walked out of 38 Stellantis and General Motors (GM) distribution centers on Friday.
Ford said on Sunday that there were still “significant gaps to close” in contract negotiations with the UAW, according to a report from Reuters. The UAW said it made “some real progress at Ford” over the weekend, although it added that the two parties still had serious issues to work through.
On Sunday evening, Ford said the related “issues are interconnected and must work within an overall agreement that supports our mutual success.”
At the time of writing, the UAW has not yet commented on the statement from Ford. The news also comes ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden’s plans to visit Michigan in support of the strikes on Tuesday.
Ford also said that it would be pausing construction on a $3.5 billion battery manufacturing plant in Michigan, as detailed in a Monday afternoon report from Reuters.
“We are pausing work and limiting spending on construction on the Marshall project until we’re confident about our ability to competitively operate the plant,” Ford said. “We haven’t made any final decision about the planned investment there.”
The Detroit automakers have offered contracts with 20-percent raises over the next four and a half years, though the UAW is reportedly still asking for 40-percent wage hikes over a four-year period, in addition to 32-hour work weeks. The union is also demanding the restoration of defined pension benefits and an end to a tiered wage system that requires a certain amount of time to reach top wages.
Workers at an additional 20 Stellantis and 18 GM parts distribution centers walked off the job on Friday due to a lack of progress in UAW contract negotiations. The walkouts are straining other Stellantis and GM manufacturing facilities, rendering them unable to receive the necessary parts to continue production. The expanded strikes totaled around 5,600 workers, joining the initial wave of 12,700 workers who walked out a week prior.
The UAW represents roughly 150,000 workers total, and this is the first time in history that the union has lodged strikes against all three of the Michigan automakers simultaneously.
“Like the rest of us all, all we’re asking is to not have to struggle. Just wanting enough money to pay my bills, buy groceries, and have enough for extras like taking my kid to the jump park.”– Samantha Richter, a worker at Ford Michigan Assembly Plant https://t.co/pCgxP36QWo
— UAW (@UAW) September 25, 2023
Last week, GM said it was forced to lay off around 2,000 workers at a Fairfax, Kansas plant, citing a lack of available work due to the UAW strikes. The automaker went on to call the UAW demands “untenable,” adding that it wouldn’t be able to offer unemployment for the laid-off employees.
As the Detroit Free Press reports, one auto supplier in Wixom, Michigan also announced plans to lay off 230 workers on Monday. The figure represents 75 percent of employees at Eagle Industries, Inc., which makes a material used in car door components along with other non-automotive products. While the company hasn’t explicitly disclosed its clients, a separate analysis noted that its product had been used in Ford’s vehicles.
“As a result of unforeseen business circumstances, we are providing information in anticipation of a potential layoff at the worksite,” wrote the company in a note to the state of Michigan. “The estimated number of workers is subject to change due to evolving business circumstances.”
Some predict that the ongoing strikes will likely result in higher vehicle prices due to increased costs for parts. Another analysis from the University of Michigan noted that as many as 150,000 workers could be subject to layoffs if the strikes last an entire month, highlighting the situation’s far-reaching effects until the parties can finalize a deal.
“These growing spillover effects across the automotive supply chain produce successively larger spillovers to the broader economy, as well,” states the analysis, “as laid-off workers in the supply chain lose purchasing power and cut back on spending in other parts of the economy.”
Update: Updated to include the Monday afternoon report from Reuters, in which Ford said it was pausing construction on a Michigan battery plant.
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Elon Musk
Tesla analysts believe Musk and Trump feud will pass
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump’s feud shall pass, several bulls say.
Tesla analysts are breaking down the current feud between CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump, as the two continue to disagree on the “Big Beautiful Bill” and its impact on the country’s national debt.
Musk, who headed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump Administration, left his post in May. Soon thereafter, he and President Trump entered a very public and verbal disagreement, where things turned sour. They reconciled to an extent, and things seemed to be in the past.
However, the second disagreement between the two started on Monday, as Musk continued to push back on the “Big Beautiful Bill” that the Trump administration is attempting to sign into law. It would, by Musk’s estimation, increase spending and reverse the work DOGE did to trim the deficit.
Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!
And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 30, 2025
President Trump has hinted that DOGE could be “the monster” that “eats Elon,” threatening to end the subsidies that SpaceX and Tesla receive. Musk has not been opposed to ending government subsidies for companies, including his own, as long as they are all abolished.
How Tesla could benefit from the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ that axes EV subsidies
Despite this contentious back-and-forth between the two, analysts are sharing their opinions now, and a few of the more bullish Tesla observers are convinced that this feud will pass, Trump and Musk will resolve their differences as they have before, and things will return to normal.
ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood said this morning that the feud between Musk and Trump is another example of “this too shall pass:”
BREAKING: CATHIE WOOD SAYS — ELON AND TRUMP FEUD “WILL PASS” 👀 $TSLA
She remains bullish ! pic.twitter.com/w5rW2gfCkx
— TheSonOfWalkley (@TheSonOfWalkley) July 1, 2025
Additionally, Wedbush’s Dan Ives, in a note to investors this morning, said that the situation “will settle:”
“We believe this situation will settle and at the end of the day Musk needs Trump and Trump needs Musk given the AI Arms Race going on between the US and China. The jabs between Musk and Trump will continue as the Budget rolls through Congress but Tesla investors want Musk to focus on driving Tesla and stop this political angle…which has turned into a life of its own in a roller coaster ride since the November elections.”
Tesla shares are down about 5 percent at 3:10 p.m. on the East Coast.
Elon Musk
Tesla scrambles after Musk sidekick exit, CEO takes over sales
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is reportedly overseeing sales in North America and Europe, Bloomberg reports.
Tesla scrambled its executives around following the exit of CEO Elon Musk’s sidekick last week, Omead Afshar. Afshar was relieved of his duties as Head of Sales for both North America and Europe.
Bloomberg is reporting that Musk is now overseeing both regions for sales, according to sources familiar with the matter. Afshar left the company last week, likely due to slow sales in both markets, ending a seven-year term with the electric automaker.
Tesla’s Omead Afshar, known as Elon Musk’s right-hand man, leaves company: reports
Afshar was promoted to the role late last year as Musk was becoming more involved in the road to the White House with President Donald Trump.
Afshar, whose LinkedIn account stated he was working within the “Office of the CEO,” was known as Musk’s right-hand man for years.
Additionally, Tom Zhu, currently the Senior Vice President of Automotive at Tesla, will oversee sales in Asia, according to the report.
It is a scramble by Tesla to get the company’s proven executives over the pain points the automaker has found halfway through the year. Sales are looking to be close to the 1.8 million vehicles the company delivered in both of the past two years.
Tesla is pivoting to pay more attention to the struggling automotive sales that it has felt over the past six months. Although it is still performing well and is the best-selling EV maker by a long way, it is struggling to find growth despite redesigning its vehicles and launching new tech and improvements within them.
The company is also looking to focus more on its deployment of autonomous tech, especially as it recently launched its Robotaxi platform in Austin just over a week ago.
However, while this is the long-term catalyst for Tesla, sales still need some work, and it appears the company’s strategy is to put its biggest guns on its biggest problems.
News
Tesla upgrades Model 3 and Model Y in China, hikes price for long-range sedan
Tesla’s long-range Model 3 now comes with a higher CLTC-rated range of 753 km (468 miles).
Tesla has rolled out a series of quiet upgrades to its Model 3 and Model Y in China, enhancing range and performance for long-range variants. The updates come with a price hike for the Model 3 Long Range All-Wheel Drive, which now costs RMB 285,500 (about $39,300), up RMB 10,000 ($1,400) from the previous price.
Model 3 gets acceleration boost, extended range
Tesla’s long-range Model 3 now comes with a higher CLTC-rated range of 753 km (468 miles), up from 713 km (443 miles), and a faster 0–100 km/h acceleration time of 3.8 seconds, down from 4.4 seconds. These changes suggest that Tesla has bundled the previously optional Acceleration Boost for the Model 3, once priced at RMB 14,100 ($1,968), as a standard feature.
Delivery wait times for the long-range Model 3 have also been shortened, from 3–5 weeks to just 1–3 weeks, as per CNEV Post. No changes were made to the entry-level RWD or Performance versions, which retain their RMB 235,500 and RMB 339,500 price points, respectively. Wait times for those trims also remain at 1–3 weeks and 8–10 weeks.
Model Y range increases, pricing holds steady
The Model Y Long Range has also seen its CLTC-rated range increase from 719 km (447 miles) to 750 km (466 miles), though its price remains unchanged at RMB 313,500 ($43,759). The model maintains a 0–100 km/h time of 4.3 seconds.
Tesla also updated delivery times for the Model Y lineup. The Long Range variant now shows a wait time of 1–3 weeks, an improvement from the previous 3–5 weeks. The entry-level RWD version maintained its starting price of RMB 263,500, though its delivery window is now shorter at 2–4 weeks.
Tesla continues to offer several purchase incentives in China, including an RMB 8,000 discount for select paint options, an RMB 8,000 insurance subsidy, and five years of interest-free financing for eligible variants.
Tesla analysts believe Musk and Trump feud will pass
Tesla scrambles after Musk sidekick exit, CEO takes over sales
Tesla upgrades Model 3 and Model Y in China, hikes price for long-range sedan
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