Workers at one of Ford’s factories in Kentucky have voted against the recently proposed United Auto Workers (UAW) contract, following six weeks of historic strikes against the Big Three before the parties came to tentative agreements.
Ford Local 862 members across the automaker’s Kentucky Truck Plant have rejected the contract proposal, as reported by Automotive News on Monday. Roughly 55 percent of employees at the truck plant voted against the proposal, with around 4,100 votes cast total, representing under half of the factory’s labor force.
The local UAW chapter also represents workers at Ford’s Louisville Assembly, and 53 percent of employees at that plant voted in favor of the proposed contract, effectively approving it. Over half of the workers at the Louisville plant voted, totaling 1,648 people.
Workers at the highly profitable Kentucky Truck Plant joined strike efforts in mid-October. The plant is said to generate around $25 billion per year and it currently produces the F-Series Super Duty, the Ford Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator.
Later in October, workers at Ford’s Louisville plant were invited to select two-week periods of unpaid leave, though applications for the personal leave program were voluntary.
The contract proposal also includes plans to bring a new electric vehicle (EV) to Louisville under a larger $1.2 billion investment.
Despite the investment, plans for a Ford battery cell plant with LG in Turkey have been canceled, and former CEO Mark Fields recently warned that the “tough part” of switching to EVs was on its way. Ford also said during its Q3 earnings call that it was holding off on a $12 billion investment into EV manufacturing in North America.
The news comes after workers at a General Motors (GM) plant in Michigan voted against the contract proposal last week, highlighting that the tentative agreement is not guaranteed to pass.
In the coming weeks, the UAW will continue to hold votes for local chapters at Ford, GM and Stellantis plants to ratify the agreement. Bargaining lasted over a month against Ford, GM and Stellantis after previous union contracts expired, and it was the first time in history that the UAW lodged strikes against all three automakers simultaneously.
The proposed contract includes a wage increase of 25 percent over the four-and-a-half-year period before it expires in 2028, as well as top wages increasing gradually to 33 percent. It also includes cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), boosting wages even further alongside other restored benefits.
UAW’s efforts to unionize Tesla ‘absolutely’ supported by President Joe Biden
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News
Tesla is ramping up its hiring for the Cybercab production team
As can be seen on Tesla’s Careers website, three new Cybercab-related positions are currently available at Giga Texas.

Tesla appears to be ramping up its Cybercab team at Giga Texas. As per recent observations by the Tesla community, three new job listings on the automaker’s Careers site suggest that the company is starting to add more critical personnel for the autonomous two-seater’s production.
New Cybercab jobs
As can be seen on Tesla’s Careers website, three new Cybercab-related positions are currently available. Tesla is looking for a Metrology Technician, who will work on the Cybercab’s Quality team; an Equipment Engineer who will work on the Cybercab’s Plastics team; and a Tool & Die Supervisor, who will work in the Injection Molding team.
All three positions are based in Austin, Texas, which is quite unsurprising as Giga Texas is the only facility today that has the capability to produce the vehicle. The Cybercab’s production is quite different compared to Tesla’s other vehicles, as it is the first car that would be produced using the company’s “Unboxed” process.
Unlike any car that’s produced before
Elon Musk has previously said the Cybercab will be Tesla’s highest-volume vehicle, targeting an annual rate of 2 million units. He also mentioned that the vehicle’s manufacturing line will not resemble an automotive production line at all. Instead, it would resemble a high-speed consumer electronics line, which should pave the way for one Cybercab to be produced every few seconds.
“If you’ve seen the design of the Cybercab line, it doesn’t look like a normal car manufacturing line. It looks like a really high-speed consumer electronics line. In fact, the line will move so fast that actually people can’t even get close to it. I think it’ll be able to produce a car ultimately in less than 5 seconds,” Musk stated during Tesla’s All-Hands meeting earlier this year.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk: Grok 5 now has a 10% chance of becoming world’s first AGI
If his prediction comes to pass, xAI could very well become yet another world-changing company from Elon Musk.

Elon Musk has shared his most optimistic forecast about Grok 5’s capabilities yet. In a recent post on X, Musk stated that he now believes that the upcoming update to xAI’s large language model has a 10% chance of achieving artificial general intelligence.
If his prediction comes to pass, xAI could very well become yet another world-changing company from Elon Musk.
Musk’s previous Grok 5 estimate
Just last month, Elon Musk estimated that xAI might have a chance at achieving artificial general intelligence with Grok 5. Musk’s comments at the time already made headlines, considering that no company in the world today has achieved AGI yet, though numerous AI startups today are actively pursuing artificial general intelligence.
In a recent post on X, Musk noted that his “estimate of the probability of Grok 5 achieving AGI is now at 10% and rising.” In another post, he also noted that “Grok 5 will be AGI or something indistinguishable from AGI.” Grok 5 is yet to be released, though Musk’s comments about the update are definitely setting expectations.
AGI will be world changing
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) refers to an AI system that is capable of matching or surpassing human-level intelligence across tasks such as thinking, reasoning, and other domains by a notable margin, as noted in a previous report from Benzinga. With AGI achieved, industries from robotics to manufacturing would likely see a notable boost.
As per a report from the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD), AGI could eventually pave the way for artificial super intelligence (ASI), which would be more intelligent than AGI and likely more intelligent than all of humanity combined.
News
Tesla Model Y L becomes China’s 4th best-selling mid-to-large SUV in its first month of sales
Tesla Model Y L was able to sell 8,221 units domestically in September.

The Tesla Model Y L has only started deliveries last month, but it is already making its presence known in China’s mid-to-large SUV segment. As per data aggregated by Tesla watchers in China, the Model Y L has quickly risen as one of the country’s best-selling large SUVs just weeks into its first deliveries.
The momentum of the Model Y L has been so notable that it ended up being China’s fourth best-selling mid-to-large SUV in September.
Tesla Model Y L September sales
As per data compiled by Yiche, the Tesla Model Y L was able to sell 8,221 units domestically in September. This places it in fourth place in China’s rankings for best-selling large SUVs, just below the Leapmotor C16, the Li Auto L6, and the Xiaomi YU7, which sold 8,312, 11,827, and 22,244 units in September, respectively.
A look at the prices of China’s top four mid-to-large SUVs would show that the Model Y L is one of the pricier vehicles among the four. The Xiaomi YU7’s inclusion in the list is also quite interesting as the all-electric crossover primarily competes with the five-seat Model Y, not the Model Y L. Needless to say, the price difference between the Model Y L and the Xiaomi YU7 is quite substantial.
Just getting started
The Tesla Model Y L only started deliveries sometime in September. Following its launch in August, the Model Y L received positive reviews from professional reviewers, with many praising the vehicle’s spacious cabin and its reasonable price. It did not take long before the Model Y L was sold out for October, and later, November as well. Considering that the Model Y L now has an estimated delivery date of December 2025 for new orders, it seems safe to assume that every unit built by Giga Shanghai this quarter will be sold to consumers.
The Model Y L has the makings of a best-seller. With a spacious second row that features two captain seats with retractable armrests, as well as a third row that could accommodate regular-sized adults, the Model Y L is a true family hauler. Combined with its starting price of $47,566 before options, the extended wheelbase all-electric crossover SUV does seem to have the makings of a best-seller.
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