The United Auto Workers (UAW) union has reportedly made progress in contract negotiations with the “Big Three” automakers of Michigan, though there is still some progress to be made, according to the organization’s president.
UAW strikes entered their fourth week on Friday, and the union held off on escalating worker walkouts for a third week in a row as new and unexpected concessions were made by General Motors (GM) this week, according to a report from Reuters. Crucially, the union expects that the concessions could put pressure on Ford and Stellantis to follow suit after GM allowed workers at its future battery plants to be covered by new contracts with the union.
“Our strike is working, but we’re not there yet,” UAW President Shawn Fain said during a live stream update.
Friday was the first deadline in two weeks in which the UAW didn’t order additional workers to walk out of facilities operated by the automakers after the union threatened to target a GM plant in Arlington, Texas that builds the Cadillac Escalade. Instead, Fain said that GM unexpectedly approved contracts covering three joint-venture battery plants being built with LG Energy Solutions.
“GM has agreed to lay the foundation for a just transition [to EVs],” Fain added.
GM did not confirm the statements, saying instead that negotiations were ongoing. LG declined to comment on the situation.
“We will continue to work towards finding solutions to address outstanding issues,” GM said in a company statement.
This is the first time in history that the UAW has lodged strikes against all three automakers simultaneously, and contracts have remained at a standstill, with battery plants being a key prospect of the talks. Ford CEO Jim Farley recently said the UAW was holding the automaker “hostage” with battery plants that didn’t yet exist, and the company even ceased construction on one new electric vehicle (EV) battery facility.
“This defines the transition to EVs,” said Harley Shaiken, a UC Berkeley labor professor. “Clearly, GM’s concession on the master agreement will positively be matched by Ford and Stellantis.”
Electrification has also been a focal point of the discussions, as many expect the transition to result in fewer available jobs than those currently utilized for internal combustion engine (ICE) production. Along with demanding a 40-percent wage increase over a four-year period (and several other demands), the UAW has highlighted the need for added job security amidst the transition.
Despite the progress, Ford said on Friday that it would be laying off an additional 495 employees at facilities in Ohio and Michigan, citing the impacts of the UAW’s strikes, according to a report from Automotive News. The layoffs add to around 7,900 Ford workers who are striking, along with another 1,800 who have lost their jobs because of a lack of available work due to ripple effects from the strikes.
On Tuesday, Ford increased its contract offers from just 20 percent in previous weeks to what it called an “unprecedented” set of pay raises amounting to a roughly 26 percent wage increase. With the addition of other parts of the contract, namely the cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), the automaker’s wage increases could offer workers close to a 30-percent wage increase, according to people familiar with the contract proposal.
The UAW held a rally in Chicago on Saturday, which you can watch via YouTube below. You can also learn more about recent concessions at the UAW website here.
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News
Tesla hasn’t adopted Apple CarPlay yet for this shocking reason
Many Apple and iPhone users have wanted the addition, especially to utilize third-party Navigation apps like Waze, which is a popular alternative. Getting apps outside of Tesla’s Navigation to work with its Full Self-Driving suite seems to be a potential issue the company will have to work through as well.
Perhaps one of the most requested features for Tesla vehicles by owners is the addition of Apple CarPlay. It sounds like the company wants to bring the popular UI to its cars, but there are a few bottlenecks preventing it from doing so.
The biggest reason why CarPlay has not made its way to Teslas yet might shock you.
According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, Tesla is still working on bringing CarPlay to its vehicles. There are two primary reasons why Tesla has not done it quite yet: App compatibility issues and, most importantly, there are incredibly low adoption rates of iOS 26.
Tesla’s Apple CarPlay ambitions are not dead, they’re still in the works
iOS 26 is Apple’s most recent software version, which was released back in September 2025. It introduced a major redesign to the overall operating system, especially its aesthetic, with the rollout of “Liquid Glass.”
However, despite the many changes and updates, Apple users have not been too keen on the iOS 26 update, and the low adoption rates have been a major sticking point for Tesla as it looks to develop a potential alternative for its in-house UI.
It was first rumored that Tesla was planning to bring CarPlay out in its cars late last year. Many Apple and iPhone users have wanted the addition, especially to utilize third-party Navigation apps like Waze, which is a popular alternative. Getting apps outside of Tesla’s Navigation to work with its Full Self-Driving suite seems to be a potential issue the company will have to work through as well.
According to the report, Tesla asked Apple to make some changes to improve compatibility between its software and Apple Maps:
“Tesla asked Apple to make engineering changes to Maps to improve compatibility. The iPhone maker agreed and implemented the adjustments in a bug fix update to iOS 26 and the latest version of CarPlay.”
Gurman also said that there were some issues with turn-by-turn guidance from Tesla’s maps app, and it did not properly sync up with Apple Maps during FSD operation. This is something that needs to be resolved before it is rolled out.
There is no listed launch date, nor has there been any coding revealed that would indicate Apple CarPlay is close to being launched within Tesla vehicles.
Elon Musk
Starlink restrictions are hitting Russian battlefield comms: report
The restrictions have reportedly disrupted Moscow’s drone coordination and frontline communications.
SpaceX’s decision to disable unauthorized Starlink terminals in Ukraine is now being felt on the battlefield, with Ukrainian commanders reporting that Russian troops have struggled to maintain assault operations without access to the satellite network.
The restrictions have reportedly disrupted Moscow’s drone coordination and frontline communications.
Lt. Denis Yaroslavsky, who commands a special reconnaissance unit, stated that Russian assault activity noticeably declined for several days after the shutdown. “For three to four days after the shutdown, they really reduced the assault operations,” Yaroslavsky said.
Russian units had allegedly obtained Starlink terminals through black market channels and mounted them on drones and weapons systems, despite service terms prohibiting offensive military use. Once those terminals were blocked, commanders on the Ukrainian side reported improved battlefield ratios, as noted in a New York Post report.
A Ukrainian unit commander stated that casualty imbalances widened after the cutoff. “On any given day, depending on your scale of analysis, my sector was already achieving 20:1 (casuality rate) before the shutdown, and we are an elite unit. Regular units have no problem going 5:1 or 8:1. With Starlink down, 13:1 (casualty rate) for a regular unit is easy,” the unit commander said.
The restrictions come as Russia faces heavy challenges across multiple fronts. A late January report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated that more than 1.2 million Russian troops have been killed, wounded, or gone missing since February 2022.
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War also noted that activity from Russia’s Rubikon drone unit declined after Feb. 1, suggesting communications constraints from Starlink’s restrictions may be limiting operations. “I’m sure the Russians have (alternative options), but it takes time to maximize their implementation and this (would take) at least four to six months,” Yaroslavsky noted.
Elon Musk
Tesla Korea hiring AI Chip Engineers amid push for high-volume AI chips
Tesla Korea stated that it is seeking “talented individuals to join in developing the world’s highest-level mass-produced AI chips.”
In a recent post on X, Tesla Korea announced that it is hiring AI Chip Design Engineers as part of a project aimed at developing what the company describes as the world’s highest-volume AI chips. CEO Elon Musk later amplified the initiative.
Tesla Korea stated that it is seeking “talented individuals to join in developing the world’s highest-level mass-produced AI chips.”
“This project aims to develop AI chip architecture that will achieve the highest production volume in the world in the future,” Tesla Korea wrote in its post on X.
As per Tesla Korea, those who wish to apply for the AI Chip Design Engineer post should email Ai_Chips@Tesla.com and include “the three most challenging technical problems you have solved.”
Elon Musk echoed the hiring push in a separate post. “If you’re in Korea and want to work on chip design, fabrication or AI software, join Tesla!” he wrote.
The recruitment effort in South Korea comes as Tesla accelerates development of its in-house AI chips, which power its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, Optimus humanoid robot, and data center training infrastructure.
Tesla has been steadily expanding its silicon development teams globally. In recent months, the company has posted roles in Austin and Palo Alto for silicon module process engineers across lithography, etching, and other chip fabrication disciplines, as noted in a Benzinga report.
Tesla Korea’s hiring efforts align with the company’s long-term goal of designing and producing AI chips at massive scale. Musk has previously stated that Tesla’s future AI chips could become the highest-volume AI processors in the world.
The move also comes amid Tesla’s broader expansion into AI initiatives. The company recently committed about $2 billion into xAI as part of a Series E funding round, reinforcing its focus on artificial intelligence across vehicles, robotics, and compute infrastructure.
Tesla hasn’t adopted Apple CarPlay yet for this shocking reason
Starlink restrictions are hitting Russian battlefield comms: report
