Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
General Motors plans to boost its cumulative investment in electric and autonomous vehicles to $35 billion from 2020-2025, a significant jump from a $27 billion target.
Driving the news: GM said this morning that the initiative will include building two new battery cell manufacturing plants in addition to the two already under construction in Tennessee and Ohio.
Another day, another development in the Lordstown Motors saga.
Data: BloombergNEF; Chart: Sara Wise/Axios
A new analysis finds the outlook for electric vehicle deployment is "getting much brighter," but it's off pace for meeting aggressive midcentury targets for cutting carbon emissions from transportation.
Why it matters: The research firm BloombergNEF provides closely watched analyses on the evolution of the battery-electric and fuel cell sector — not only passenger cars but also buses, heavy trucks and more.
Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
The White House is pledging a multi-agency push to spur more U.S. battery manufacturing and sustainable mining — both domestically and abroad — of raw materials used in battery tech.
Why it matters: The administration wants to speed U.S. market growth of electric cars and grid storage, but a global scramble for batteries and materials poses hurdles for companies and governments alike.
Photo illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios. Photos: Lucid Motors
Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson is about to start producing a high-performance luxury electric sedan that costs far north of $100,000, yet claims Lucid can help EVs become an affordable mass-market — and wants federal help.
The big picture: "My passion, and the vision and the mission for the company, is to truly mass industrialize the electric car, the electric powertrain in a way that no one has done," Rawlinson said in an interview in Washington, D.C.
Ford's new electric F-150 Lightning outside of its headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan on May 19. Photo: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images
Ford announced Wednesday plans to invest $30 billion in vehicle electrification efforts by 2025, and the company said it anticipates that 40% of its global sales by 2030 will be fully electric vehicles, per a news release.
Why it matters: Ford CEO Jim Farley said the new initiative — called "Ford+" — is the company's largest opportunity for growth since "Henry Ford started to scale the Model T," signaling just how lucrative Ford leaders think the electric vehicle market will become.
Ford Motor Co. will take the wraps off the electric version of its popular F-150 pickup truck on Wednesday night.
Why it matters: It's a big moment in the young movement toward pickups with a plug — and for electric vehicles more broadly.
Photo: Axios
Investing in clean energy technologies is crucial to America's economic vitality and security, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said at Axios virtual event on Thursday.
Why it matters: Clean energy technology is a $23 trillion global market.
Elon Musk. Photo: Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Consumers can no longer buy Tesla vehicles with bitcoin, CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter Wednesday.
What he's saying: Musk cited the environmental concerns associated with bitcoin — the cryptocurrency has a massive carbon footprint — as his reasoning behind Wednesday's decision.
With an administrative judge giving Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and the Pollution Control Agency authority to implement clean cars' emission rules, there's fresh hope that the state will see an even steeper rise in electric vehicle sales.
How it works: The initiative would require manufacturers to deliver more EVs and hybrids. Minnesota would become the 15th state to adopt such rules.