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Tesla Cybertruck rival Ford F-150 EV hits speed bump as battery supplier gets 10-year US ban
The ramp of the Ford F-150 Electric, the veteran automaker’s response to upcoming electric trucks like the Tesla Cybertruck, Rivian R1T, and the Hummer EV, has hit a speed bump. SK Innovation, the automaker’s battery supplier, received a 10-year import ban in the United States over allegations of theft from fellow South Korean battery firm LG Chem.
According to the International Trade Commission (ITC), SK Innovation will be allowed to import components for four years beginning now for the local US production of the Ford F-150 Electric, which is expected to start production next year. The ITC has also given SK Innovation two years to support the ramp of Volkswagen’s MEB line of electric cars, some of which will be built in the US. The grace periods SK Innovation has been given should provide Ford and Volkswagen ample time to transition to new domestic suppliers.
SK Innovation’s legal troubles in the United States were triggered when LG Chem Ltd accused its fellow South Korean firm of stealing its battery production secrets. LG argued that SK hired over 70 of its former employees so it could gain access to sensitive information about its battery manufacturing process and then destroyed pertinent evidence to cover its tracks.
LG Chem claimed that SK Innovation’s alleged theft enabled the company to receive billions of dollars worth of battery contracts from automakers like Ford and Volkswagen.
“SKI’s total disregard of our warnings and intellectual property rights gave us no choice but to file this case,” LG Energy Solution chief executive Jong Hyun Kim noted in a statement, as per a report from BNN Bloomberg. Trade Judge Cameron Elliot noted that the destruction of pertinent documents was “done with a culpable state of mind and with the intent to hide evidence of trade secret misappropriation.”
For its part, SK Innovation denied any wrongdoing, arguing that the information it received was not secret at all. The battery supplier noted that the judgment in favor of LG Chem was too harsh a punishment, adding that it would seek a veto from the Biden administration since the 10-year import ban could result in delays for the US President’s EV adoption plans.
SK Innovation noted in a statement that it is still fortunate for the commission’s grace period, which should allow it to provide batteries to Ford and Volkswagen. As for Ford, the veteran automaker noted that the ITC’s decision against SK Innovation does not mean its plans for the F-150 Electric will be derailed.
“This ITC decision supports our plans to bring the all-electric Ford F-150 to market in mid-2022. Providing this zero-emissions, purpose-built truck for our customers is an important part of our plan to lead the electric vehicle revolution and is a top priority for the company,” Ford noted.
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Tesla’s Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles dominated the company’s global usage rankings after just one year, proving the concept is more than just a one-off novelty location that will fade away.
The performance could incite the company to build more locations, something that CEO Elon Musk has hinted at for some time.
Tesla’s Supercharger Diner delivered 21.2 GWh of energy in its first year of operation, the company’s head of Charging, Max de Zegher, revealed on X. Of the top 10 most utilized Supercharger locations in Tesla’s global infrastructure, the Diner in Los Angeles was the most used by drivers, and it wasn’t particularly close:
Tesla Diner opened exactly 1 year ago. Inspiring that futuristic places like this exist.
It’s our highest usage Supercharger in the world: 21.2 GWh delivered in a year, 1.6k sessions/day.
Top 10 Superchargers by energy delivered: https://t.co/9YvJ8lw696 pic.twitter.com/koB3AUJHws
— Max (@MdeZegher) July 21, 2026
On its launch day one year ago, nobody was too sure what the Tesla Diner would be about. It seemed like an interesting concept, and considering it had been in the works for years, it was a highly anticipated launch that many were looking forward to.
Based on its success, we could see additional Diners with Superchargers built throughout the United States, and potentially beyond. Musk has said on several occasions that the company would be willing to bring the Diner idea to more markets.
Tesla makes major change at Supercharger Diner amid epic demand
Of the markets that Musk has mentioned, both Palo Alto and Austin have come to be perceived as ideal selections. However, there are no concrete plans as of now to build new Supercharger Diners anywhere; the location on Santa Monica Boulevard will remain the exclusive spot to pick up Tesla-inspired eats, at least for the time being.
Tesla short sellers won big following the company’s massive fall on Wall Street after it reported subpar Earnings on Wednesday.
Tesla short sellers collected about $4.12 billion in single-day profits on Thursday, according to Bloomberg. Shares fell as much as 15 percent during Thursday’s session. It closed as one of the worst days for Tesla on Wall Street in the past three years.
Investors sold off the stock after Tesla said it would aggressively direct its spending toward AI and its Optimus robot project. The company had record revenues, which were driven by one of the strongest quarters in terms of vehicle deliveries in company history.
However, it missed EPS estimates by reporting just $0.33, a far cry from the $0.53 analysts expected.
S3 Partners reported that about 3 percent of Tesla’s outstanding stock is sold short. Managing Director at S3, Ihor Dusaniwsky, provided the short seller’s potential profit, as well as another figure: shorts have likely had paper gains of $8.92 billion this year, as Tesla shares are down 30 percent in 2026.
Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2026 earnings results: miss on EPS, beat on revenue
Tesla has burned short sellers many times in the past, but the company’s latest Earnings Call was a chance for those skeptics to taste some payback. Although the company gave some very transparent information regarding future projects, the rollout of Robotaxi, Optimus, and Semi, many investors took their profits on Thursday.
Notable short sellers like Michael Burry have been transparent about their skepticism around Tesla shares. Burry just revealed three weeks ago that he had opened up a new short on the stock, stating he shorted Tesla shares at $416.22. “Happy it jumped back to this level,” he said in a blog post.
At the time of publication, Tesla shares were down about 3 percent and the stock was trading at $309.92.
Tesla’s long-standing saga regarding its door handles and a manual release has entered its latest chapter, and as a result, a big change is coming.
On Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) denied Tesla’s petition that was seeking a defect investigation into roughly 180,000 Model 3 vehicles for an issue involving the emergency mechanical door release.
🚨 The NHTSA denied a petition from Tesla that would have thrown out concerns regarding its door handles.
NHTSA said Tesla’s petition did not present evidence of a safety-related defect warranting an investigation. The agency said a rulemaking process would be a better strategy. pic.twitter.com/j6PzUBM1mT
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 24, 2026
NHTSA said that Tesla’s petition did not present evidence of a safety-related defect in the door handles or their emergency releases. Instead, the agency determined that it would rather solve the issue of the lack of labeling or location of emergency mechanical door releases and the federal safety rules that govern them.
Essentially, the NHTSA wants to create and enforce rules that would require automakers to make emergency door latch releases more clearly labeled in a car. Despite a Tesla having manual door releases on all four passenger doors, many people do not know they exist or how they work.
Tesla addresses door handle complaints with simple engineering fix
In recent times, Tesla has faced some criticism involving its door handles, specifically because some occupants have reported that they are unable to exit their vehicles after losing power. The door handles on a Tesla are electronically operated, but in the event that the 12V battery dies, there is a manual release that can be used.
The NHTSA only identified a single complaint involving the mechanical door releases: a 2022 Model 3 owner said the release was concealed and unlabeled after the vehicle lost power after a front-end collision. It has also already started to create a separate rulemaking process to make emergency door-egress systems more obvious.
It should be noted that all Teslas have mechanical emergency door releases, but they are placed in various locations as the vehicles have aged and been redesigned from year to year. Refer to the safety manual for your vehicle if you have any confusion about where the emergency releases are and how they work.
Tesla’s Supercharger Diner probably just secured more locations
Tesla short sellers win big after shares fall after earnings
