Mercedes has unveiled its first luxury all-electric sedan, and the EQS is headed for U.S. markets late this year.

Why it matters: It's the first of a bunch of upcoming EVs from the German automaker as competition in the market intensifies.

Autonomous cars are coming to Dubai: Cruise, backed by General Motors and Honda, will be the city's exclusive provider for self-driving taxis.

Why it matters: It's the first time the autonomous vehicle upstart is expanding operations outside U.S. borders. Dubai said it wants 20% of trips to take place in autonomous vehicles by 2030.

Freight train traffic, an important gauge of U.S. economic health, showed a major pickup in March, increasing year over year for the first time since January 2019, data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR) showed.

What happened: Intermodal train traffic — a measure of shipping containers and truck trailers moved on rail cars — jumped 24% last month.

General Motors is reducing production in some of its North American plants due to a global semiconductor chip shortage.

Why it matters: The chip shortage is affecting automotive companies around the world, with semiconductors functioning as a key component for steering systems, car brakes and other automobile features.

Archer Aviation, an air taxi startup planning to go public soon through a SPAC merger, is now facing a federal investigation and accusations that the company stole trade secrets from a key rival.

Why it matters: The dispute between Archer and Wisk Aero, a joint venture of Boeing and Google co-founder Larry Page's Kitty Hawk, underscores the intense competition to dominate the still-unproven market for flying cars.

General Motors announced Tuesday it will introduce an electric version of its popular Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck that will be built at the company’s Factory ZERO assembly plant in Detroit.

Why it matters: GM is rapidly expanding its portfolio of battery-operated vehicles, with a plan to deliver more than 1 million EVs globally by 2025. It just unveiled the GMC Hummer electric SUV last weekend, joining the previously announced GMC Hummer electric pickup.

Tesla's stock was up over 7% in premarket trading this morning after it reported record deliveries in the year's first quarter on Friday. But it's not the only manufacturer seeing sales increases this year.

Why it matters: Even as gasoline-powered sales return from the pandemic, cars with plugs are going faster, albeit from a much smaller base.

In a few years, it might be possible to fly from Washington, D.C., to Paris in four hours — instead of eight — or from San Francisco to Tokyo in just six hours aboard a new crop of supersonic jets.

Why it matters: High-speed air travel promises to shrink the planet, putting far-away vacation destinations within closer reach and enabling business travelers to attend meetings on another continent and return the same day.

Tesla said Friday it delivered 184,800 cars in the first quarter — exceeding analyst expectations (177,822).

Why it matters: That tops the previous record set in Q4. It's also more than double the vehicles delivered at the same time last year.

Auto industry veteran John Krafcik said he is stepping down as CEO of Waymo, Alphabet's self-driving subsidiary, which named two senior executives to replace him as co-CEOs.

Why it matters: Krafcik, 59, was hired in 2015 to transition Google's self-driving car project into a commercial enterprise. He raised $3.25 billion in outside capital, launched Waymo's fledgling robotaxi service in suburban Phoenix and laid the groundwork for an autonomous trucking operation called Waymo Via.