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GM, Ford hit by C-19 virus; VW, Daimler, auto industry reel in impact of Corona pandemic
The auto industry is now feeling the weight on the ongoing C-19 pandemic, with veteran automakers Volkswagen and Daimler announcing that they will be suspending production in their European facilities. The news comes as updates from GM, Ford, and Fiat-Chrysler in the US revealed that workers from the Big Three automakers have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Volkswagen’s update was announced by CEO Herbert Diess, who spoke to reporters on Tuesday. Diess stated that amidst the pandemic, Volkswagen has decided to suspend work at most of the company’s European factories for at least two weeks. These include facilities in Spain, Slovakia, and Italy, all of which will be halted by the end of the week.
Frank Witter, chief financial officer at Volkswagen, explained the decision in a statement on Tuesday. “The spread of coronavirus is currently impacting the global economy. It is uncertain how severely or for how long this will also affect the Volkswagen Group. Currently, it is almost impossible to make a reliable forecast. We are making full use of all measures in task force mode to support our employees and their families and to stabilize our business,” he said.
Fellow German carmaker Daimler also announced that it would be suspending most of its production in Europe for at least two weeks in an effort contain the spread of the coronavirus. In a statement, Daimler remarked that the closures would be affecting the company’s car, van, and commercial vehicle facilities.
“The suspension applies to Daimler’s car, van, and commercial vehicle plants in Europe and will start this week. With these closures, Daimler is helping to protect its workforce, to interrupt chains of infection and to contain the spread of the pandemic,” the automaker noted.
Amidst the reports from Europe, American automakers Ford and GM have confirmed to The Detroit News that one employee from each automaker has tested positive for the coronavirus. The carmakers stated that both workers, one from Warren GM and the other from Dearborn Ford, are currently in quarantine and receiving medical attention.
In a statement, Ford spokesman T.R. Reid remarked that the worker who tested positive for COVID-19 was working remotely when the virus was contracted. As a result, the employee is expected to not have spread the virus to co-workers at the Dearborn facility.
“He was exposed after leaving the office several days ago. He was diagnosed before returning to the office. Has not been to the office or any Ford facility,” Reid said, adding that there is currently no need to close the Dearborn plant since the affected employee never returned to the office since contracting the virus.
The General Motors employee who tested positive for the virus, on the other hand, was in the Cole Engineering Center when COVID-19 was contracted. GM’s medical team is currently contacting individuals that may have had direct contact with the employee in question. Once determined, the potentially affected workers will be advised to self-quarantine for two weeks. Public health officials have been contacted to help clean and disinfect work and common areas at the GM site as well.
In a statement, GM noted that the company had been in contact with the employee who contracted the virus. “We have been in contact with the family and put our emergency response plan into action, building on the preventive measures we have already taken, which include directing employees at the Cole Technical Center and other sites to work remotely if possible,” GM stated.
A Fiat Chrysler employee from the company’s Kokomo Transmission Plant in Indiana has also tested positive for the coronavirus. Reports indicate that the FCA employee is receiving medical attention, and those who he came in contact with have been put in self-quarantine.
News
Tesla vs China on the final frontier in humanoid robot development
Chinese companies are going all-in on dexterous robot hands, heating up the competition for the Tesla Optimus bot.

China’s robot industry is heating up as companies prepare to conquer the final frontier in humanoid robot development. The Tesla Optimus bot team is working to do the same on the other side of the world. Which humanoid robot developer will come out on top?
Dexterous hands are said to be the last frontier in humanoid robot development. Robotic hands have become essential to humanoid robots taking on human workloads. As such, companies are increasingly focused on developing the most dexterous robotic hands.
Linkerbot Technology recently debuted its Linker hand for humanoid robots. The Chinese company claims its Linker Hand has the highest dexterity on the market.
“Our Linker Hand research version has the world’s highest 42 degrees of freedom (DOF), surpassing the 26 of the world’s leading product, Shadow Hand. Each finger could independently have up to 7 DOF, which means it has surpassed human fingers. It is also equipped with an advanced multi-sensor system, including cameras and electronic skin,” said Gao Gang, Deputy General Manager of Linkerbot Technology at the 27th China Beijing International High-tech Expo (CHITEC).
Last year, Elon Musk shared that Tesla’s new Optimus hand would have 22 degrees of freedom. In May 2024, Tesla released a new video of Optimus in the company’s facilities. The Tesla video featured Optimus performing several tasks in a factory, including those requiring precision. In a comment about the Optimus video, NVIDIA Sr. Research Manager & Lead of Embodied AI (GEAR Lab), Jim Fan, noted that Optimus’ hands are among the best in the industry.
It would be interesting to see Tesla’s improvements on the Optimus hand. The video from last year already showed Optimus handling delicate tasks, which would improve its functionality in factories. Linkbot expects to showcase the capabilities of its own dexterous robotic hand in the future as well.
“In years to come, Linkerbot aims to deploy 1 million humanoid robots equipped with dexterous hands in the real world to collect data. Including, but not limited to, playing with a Rubik’s Cube. Putting on makeup is included in our fine motor standardized test scenarios,” noted Gao.
Linkerbot isn’t the only Chinese company developing humanoid robots. A few companies in China are creating robots that can work in factories.
Tesla Optimus is expected to perform menial, monotonous, repetitive tasks that could harm humans. PaXini Tech, another Chinese company, is also planning to release a humanoid robot to perform work tasks. Similar to Linkbot, PaXini Tech emphasized its humanoid robot’s dexterous hands and its capabilities.
“Our DexH13 GEN2 is the first four-finger bionic dexterous hand in the domestic market that integrates multi-dimensional tactile + AI visual dual-modal capabilities, which can perfectly simulate various complex movements of human hands such as welding, grasping, rotating, and pinching,” said Dr. Xu Jincheng, founder and CEO of PaXini Tech, a leading haptic technology and humanoid robotics company in China.
News
Tesla Semi gets new adoptee in latest sighting
Tesla is continuing to increase the number of companies that have access to the Semi.

The Tesla Semi looks to have its newest adoptee as US Foods, the second-largest foodservice distributor in the United States, was seen with its badging on the all-electric Class 8 truck.
US Foods trails only Sysco Corporation in terms of foodservice distributors by volume in the United States. The company joined several other massive food industry entities, such as PepsiCo, and its subsidiary, Frito-Lay, have both utilized the Tesla Semi in their fleets.
Tesla Semi futuristic sci-fi acceleration sound will never get old
The Semi in question was spotted by X user Zanegler, a prominent tracker of the Tesla Semi and its factory, which sits near the company’s Gigafactory Nevada plant in Reno:
**Breaking Tesla Semi News: US Foods branded Tesla semi seen near Giga Nevada**
The program continues to show positive momentum with multiple new customers receiving the clean air vehicles.
I believe this to be a training run with a with Tesla driver/instructor showing the US… pic.twitter.com/x3Nlw7H2c7
— Zanegler (@HinrichsZane) May 9, 2025
US Foods also has a distribution center in Reno, which could have something to do with its decision to start using the Semi in regional logistics.
With an influx of EV semitrucks hitting the market from many different manufacturers, it is evident that companies are taking the idea of making their fleets more environmentally friendly very seriously.
Tesla is still very close to unloading the Semi in a more volumized fashion, as the company’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, Lars Moravy, said in January:
“We just closed out the Semi factory roofing walls last week in Reno…but we’re prepping for mechanical installation of all the equipment in the coming months… The first builds of the high-volume Semi design come late this year in 2025 and begin ramping early in 2026.”
First Tesla Semi high-volume production builds expected this 2025
With the latest addition of US Foods, Tesla increases its list of companies that are planning or are already using the Semi to help with local logistics and transportation. Among them are:
- PepsiCo
- Walmart
- Sysco
- Costco
- Martin Brower
- Saia Inc.
- UPS
- Anheuser-Busch
- DHL
Many other companies have plans to use the Semi in their fleets. Currently, Tesla appears to be hand-picking those who have access to the vehicle as the pilot program continues.
Lifestyle
Tesla Cybertruck takes a bump from epic failing Dodge Charger
The Cybertruck seemed unharmed by the charging Charger.

There comes a time in a driver’s life when one is faced with one’s limitations. For the driver of a Dodge Charger, this time came when he lost control and crashed into a Tesla Cybertruck–an absolute epic fail.
A video of the rather unfortunate incident was shared on the r/TeslaLounge subreddit.
Charging Charger Fails
As could be seen in the video, which was posted on the subreddit by Model Y owner u/Hammer_of_something, a group of teens in a Dodge Charger decided to do some burnouts at a Tesla Supercharger. Unfortunately, the driver of the Charger failed in his burnout or donut attempt, resulting in the mopar sedan going over a curb and bumping a charging Cybertruck.
Ironically, the Dodge Charger seemed to have been parked at a Supercharger stall before its driver decided to perform the failed stunt. This suggests that the vehicle was likely ICE-ing a charging stall before it had its epic fail moment. Amusingly enough, the subreddit member noted that the Cybertruck did not seem like it took any damage at all despite its bump. The Charger, however, seemed like it ran into some trouble after crashing into the truck.
Alleged Aftermath
As per the the r/TeslaLounge subreddit member, the Cybertruck owner came rushing out to his vehicle after the Dodge Charger crashed into it. The Model Y owner then sent over the full video of the incident, which clearly showed the Charger attempting a burnout, failing, and bumping into the Cybertruck. The Cybertruck owner likely appreciated the video, in part because it showed the driver of the Dodge Charger absolutely freaking out after the incident.
The Cybertruck is not an impregnable vehicle, but it can take bumps pretty well thanks to its thick stainless steel body. Based on this video, it appears that the Cybertruck can even take bumps from a charging Charger, all while chilling and charging at a Supercharger. As for the teens in the Dodge, they likely had to provide a long explanation to authorities after the incident, since the cops were called to the location.
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