The United Auto Workers (UAW) union expanded strikes against Stellantis this week, targeting a key truck plant in Michigan with 6,800 workers walking off the job.
UAW-represented workers walked off the job at the Sterling Heights, Michigan plant on Monday, with the UAW saying that Stellantis had the “worst proposal” on the table compared to fellow “Big Three” automakers General Motors (GM) and Ford (via Reuters).
Stellantis’s Sterling Heights truck plant produces the RAM 1500 and is the automaker’s largest and most profitable assembly plant, so the move represents a substantial escalation of the ongoing strikes.
The union noted that the automaker’s proposal was behind Ford and GM on general wage increases, cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), and changes for temporary workers, including pay and the length of time it takes to transition from temporary to full-time. The latest walkouts bring the total number of UAW-represented workers on strike to over 40,000 as the strikes are in their sixth week.
Reuters wasn’t able to reach Stellantis for comment.
The UAW represents around 150,000 workers total at Ford, GM and Stellantis, and the union has been demanding a 40-percent wage increase for workers over a four-year period, an instant 20-percent wage increase, coverage for workers at future electric vehicle (EV) battery plants, and other benefit-related demands.
“Expanding it to the pickup trucks is really at the heart of what these companies produce,” said Tim Ghriskey, senior investment strategist at Ingalls & Snyder. “Labor is asking for so much. It’s really hard for the automakers to roll over to all of it and if they do roll over, it will punish the stock. It’s a very sticky situation.”
⏰ It's time for a deal that recognizes our members' sacrifices and contributions to the auto industry.
If the Big Three won't hear it from me, they'll hear it loud & clear from the 6,800 members of Local 1700 who just joined our Stand Up Strike at Stellantis's biggest plant. https://t.co/d49ai9BsTK
— Shawn Fain (@ShawnFainUAW) October 23, 2023
The news follows the UAW’s decision to target Ford’s highly profitable truck plant in Kentucky earlier this month, with roughly 8,700 workers vacating the job site. It also comes after Stellantis’s decision to cancel its appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last week, loosely citing the costs of the ongoing strike.
Late last month, the UAW avoided escalating strikes against Stellantis, while expanding them against GM and Ford, due to progress in contract negotiations with the former automaker. At the time, about 25,000 workers total were on strike across the three companies.
The strike has also caused the automakers to let go of employees at other auto plants, as worker walkouts send ripple effects through the industry. Most recently, Ford laid off 364 employees at plants in Ohio and Michigan, due to a need to reduce part production at each of the sites. Additional layoffs have faced adjacent auto parts suppliers.
It also comes ahead of Ford and GM reporting Q3 earnings this week, which could be used as further leverage in contract negotiations if financials are strong, but could also risk scaring off shareholders if they aren’t. Stellantis is expected to report its earnings the following week, on October 31.
UAW President Shawn Fain said on Friday that there was “more to be won” in negotiations, highlighting that the companies were all “extremely profitable.”
Fain has previously said that all three automakers had offered a 23-percent wage increase, alongside progress on other issues. He also suggested to workers last week that the talks could be nearing an end.
“That’s the hardest part of a strike,” Fain said. “Right before a deal is when there’s the most aggressive push for that last mile.”
UAW President: Tesla workers are union “members of the future”
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send your tips to us at tips@teslarati.com.
Tesla has left a single loophole to purchase Full Self-Driving outright. On Sunday, the option officially disappeared from the Online Design Studio in the United States, as Tesla transitioned to a Subscription-only purchasing plan for the FSD suite.
However, there is still one way to get the Full Self-Driving suite in an outright manner, which would not require the vehicle owner to pay monthly for the driver assistance program — but you have to buy a Model S or Model X.
Months ago, Tesla launched a special “Luxe Package” for the Model S and Model X, which included Full Self-Driving for the life of the vehicle, as well as free Supercharging at over 75,000 locations, as well as free Premium Connectivity, and a Four-Year Premium Service package, which includes wheel and tire protection, windshiel protection, and recommended maintenance.
🚨 Tesla increased the price of both the Model S and Model X by $10,000, but both vehicles now include the “Luxe Package,” which includes:
-Full Self-Driving
-Four years of included maintenance, tire and wheel repairs, and windshield repairs/replacements
-Free lifetime… pic.twitter.com/LKv7rXruml— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 16, 2025
It would also be available through the purchase of a Cyberbeast, the top trim of the Cybertruck lineup.
This small loophole would allow owners to avoid the monthly payment, but there have been some changes in the fine print of the program, as Tesla has added that it will not be transferable to subsequent vehicle owners or to another vehicle.
This goes for the FSD and the Supercharging offers that come with the Luxe Package.
For now, Tesla still has the Full Self-Driving subscription priced at $99 per month. However, that price is expected to increase over the course of some time, especially as its capabilities improve. Tesla seems to be nearing Unsupervised FSD based on Musk’s estimates for the Cybercab program.
There is the potential that Tesla offers both Unsupervised and Supervised FSD for varying prices, but this is not confirmed.
In other countries, Tesla has pushed back the deadline to purchase the suite outright, as in Australia, it has been adjusted to March 31.
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Tesla Sweden’s port deal sparks political clash in Trelleborg
The extension of Tesla’s lease has drawn criticism from the local Social Democratic opposition.
Tesla Sweden’s lease agreement at the Port of Trelleborg has triggered a political dispute, with local leaders divided over whether the municipally owned port should continue renting space to the electric vehicle maker amidst its ongoing conflict with the IF Metall union.
Tesla Sweden’s recently extended contract with the Port of Trelleborg has triggered calls for greater political oversight of future agreements.
Tesla has used the Port of Trelleborg to import vehicles into Sweden amid a blockade by the Transport Workers’ Union, as noted in a report from Dagens Arbete (DA). By routing cars via trucks on passenger ferries, the company has maintained deliveries despite the labor dispute. Vehicles have also been stored and prepared in facilities leased from the municipal port company.
The extension of Tesla’s lease has drawn criticism from the local Social Democratic opposition. Initially, the Port of Trelleborg hinted that it would not enter into new agreements with Tesla, but it eventually opted to renew its existing contract with the EV maker anyway.
Lennart Höckert, an opposition councilor, described the port’s decision as a “betrayal of the Swedish model,” arguing that a municipally owned entity should not appear to side with one party in an active labor dispute.
“If you want to protect the Swedish model, you shouldn’t get involved in a conflict and help one of the parties. When you as a company do this, it means that you are actually taking a position and making things worse in an already ongoing conflict,” Höckert said.
He added that the party now wants politicians to review and approve future rental agreements involving municipal properties at the port.
The proposal has been sharply criticized by Mathias Andersson of the Sweden Democrats, who chairs the municipal board. In comments to local media, Andersson described the Social Democrats’ approach as “Kim Jong Un-style,” arguing that political leaders should not micromanage a company governed by its own board.
“I believe that the port should be run like any other business,” Andersson said. He also noted that operational decisions fall under the authority of the Port of Trelleborg’s board instead of elected officials.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s X sees outage on Monday as users report issues
Monday’s outage follows a similar issue that befell the social media platform in mid-January.
X experienced an outage on Monday morning, with tens of thousands of users reporting that the platform failed to load across both desktop and mobile. The disruption began around 8:02 a.m. ET, as per Downdetector data, and quickly escalated in the U.S. and U.K.
Monday’s outage follows a similar issue that befell the social media platform in mid-January.
Shortly after 8 a.m. ET, Downdetector showed a sharp rise in incident reports. At one point, U.S. complaints exceeded 40,000, while U.K. reports climbed past 6,000. Earlier in the outage, filings had already crossed 11,000 in the U.S. and 3,300 in the U.K., as noted in a TechRadar report. X users in other locations, such as the Philippines and Costa Rica, also reported similar issues.
Users attempting to access X were met with a “something went wrong” message. Feeds did not refresh, posts failed to appear, and both the social media platform’s app and web versions appeared affected by the issue. The outage struck during peak weekday usage, amplifying its visibility across regions worldwide.
X has not issued an official explanation for the latest outage or confirmed what caused the service disruption. The scale of complaints drew comparisons to the platform’s major outage in November 2025, which resulted in users being met with “Internal server error / Error code 500” messages, as well as Cloudflare-related error notices.
The incident also comes just weeks after X experienced a similar downtime in mid-January. That outage seemed more notable, however, with more than 100,000 users reporting issues with the social media platform on Downdetector.
Tesla leaves a single loophole to purchase Full Self-Driving outright
Tesla Sweden’s port deal sparks political clash in Trelleborg
