Welcome to The Morning Dump, bite-sized stories corralled into a single article for your morning perusal. If your morning coffee’s working a little too well, pull up a throne and have a gander at the best of the rest of yesterday.
Some Faraday Future Employees Want Executive Chairperson Removed
The bad news just keeps coming for EV startup Faraday Future. Reuters reports that a significant number of employees at the company want Executive Chairperson Susan Swenson out of the company. This moment of corporate unease is just the latest in a serious of troubles befalling EV startup Faraday Future. From financial struggles to being the subject of an SEC investigation, the brief history of Faraday Future is rather tumultuous. The allegations against Swenson are quite serious and could lead to stakeholders cutting ties with Faraday Future should the allegations be founded. Swenson did not respond to requests for comment, while Faraday Future declined to comment. The group also asked the board to make public the findings from an ongoing investigation of multiple whistleblower letters concerning four directors – Sue Swenson, Jordan Vogel, Scott Vogel and Brian Krolicki. The directors did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Toyota Plans To Build EV Batteries In America
Toyota may be late to the EV game, but it’s coming in swinging around some big capital. Automotive News reports that the Japanese automaker is expanding investment into its planned North Carolina-based battery plant to the tune of $2.5 billion. The plant itself is expected to open in 2025, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Toyota EVs assembled in North America by mid-decade. After all, stipulations for the full $7,500 tax credit state that an EV must be made in North America and eventually have batteries made in North America with materials sourced from U.S. trading partners. Logically, this also means that Toyota will likely establish the necessary supply chain to qualify for tax credits under incoming battery sourcing requirements. It’s worth reading our own Mercedes Streeter’s excellent article on the IRA’s requirements to get a better picture of how the EV landscape may change over the coming years. Though Bafunno didn’t say so directly, he admitted that the added investment was at least in part a response to passage this month of the Inflation Reduction Act, which seeks to encourage automakers to invest in battery manufacturing and materials sourcing in the U.S. Toyota “likes to build the product where it is sold, and so we’re starting to align our footprint for electrification within this region,” he said. “It’s going to take time, and we still have a lot of work ahead.”
Customer Shot By Hyundai Dealership Employee
In a shocking turn of events, Automotive News reports that a Hyundai dealership employee in Ohio shot a customer. The layers of failure that led to this event are appalling. From the dealership allowing an employee to carry a firearm on the premises to the actions of the employee, nothing that happened here is defensible in any way. The customer was taken to a Cleveland hospital following lifesaving measures from responding officers. His condition was unknown. Police told Fox 8 they didn’t believe the customer was armed. Andrew Mach was charged with felonious assault and was being held in jail in the neighboring town of Solon, Ohio, Cleveland 19 reported. The father of the customer has asked for a restraining order.
Lucid Motors Seeks To Raise An Additional $8 Billion In Funding
The current economic environment is tough on everyone, so it’s not surprising to see EV startups looking to increase working capital. Case in point, Reuters reports that Lucid Motors has filed for a new offering of up to $8 billion. It’s no secret that Lucid Motors has been struggling to ramp up production in the current climate of supply chain shortages, and raising more funds through an offering seems like a fairly sensible way of staying liquid. Should Lucid Motors be able to raise the full $8 billion, the injection of funds could keep things moving as the EV startup weathers the economic storm. Lucid filed for a mixed shelf offering, under which it may sell different types of securities in one or more separate offerings with the size, price and terms to be determined at the time of sale. California-based Lucid, which went public via a shell company in 2021, had secured the $4.4 billion it needed until the end of 2022 but would not wait until then to raise more cash, Chief Executive Peter Rawlinson told Reuters last year.
The Flush
Whelp, time to drop the lid on today’s edition of The Morning Dump. Happy Wednesday, everyone. We’ve made it to the middle of the week. To celebrate, let’s play a fun little fantasy garage game. Assuming an unlimited budget, pick one car that’s front-wheel-drive, one that’s rear-wheel-drive, and one that sends torque to all four tires. Lead photo credit: Faraday Future anyway FWD – 1968 El-Dorado Cadillac RWD – Buick GNX 4WD – RAM TRX FWD: 1969 Mini Cooper S RWD: Miata AWD: Bowler Wildcat FWD: Toyota Sienna as a people move that just runs. RWD: 1987 Buick GNX as a whoo-hoo this is fun car. AWD: Nexus Rebel 4×4 35′ Super C RV. Can tow a trailer with the woo-hoo car behind it.
- FWD – 2018 Ford Fiesta ST (purchased new in 2018 for $19,500) Even after four years of ownership I remain utterly enamored with the FiST. Zero problems, beautiful handling, and tons of giggles. The only thing I’d like to do now that it’s out of warranty is give it a stage 1 tune for just a touch more oomph. Even with an unlimited budget I’m not at all sure I’d replace it.
- RWD – 1988 Jaguar XJ6 Vanden Plas (purchased in 2017 for $5,600) Although I still enjoy the car very much this is the one I’d be most likely to replace. But with what, I honestly don’t know. ’68 Dodge Dart convertible? Lamborghini Islero? Bitter SC? Facel Vega? Some sort of Bentley? Morgan Plus4? Too many possibilities and it would depend upon my whim at the time.
- 4WD – 2007 Chevrolet Suburban (purchased in 2017 for $9,500) If I replaced it I would still be getting essentially the same thing, just upgraded. If I stayed under $100k then another newer and nicer Suburban would be the ticket. If I went completely bonkers it would be my crazy idea for an Icon 4×4 build. I’d be getting a late 60s Dodge D200 and either coachbuild a crew cab US model into an SUV (similar to this build https://www.icon4x4.com/reformer/pastprojects/18 ) or get a slightly later Argentinian version factory-built as a 3-row SUV (see https://www.testdelayer.com.ar/dodged200malvinas.htm for an example of the source vehicle) Realistic budget FWD – Gen 1 Chevy Volt RWD – 22′ Camaro LT1 AWD/4WD – 04′ Subaru WRX Wagon
