#Tesla

#Tesla

China is banning Tesla-style concealed door handles on electric vehicles to address safety concerns regarding people getting trapped inside their cars. The ban will take effect on January 1st next year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's announcement, and will require all vehicles sold in China to have mechanical release door handles on the inside and outside.

According to The New York Times, the new Waymo funding came from Alphabet, Dragoneer Investment Group, DST Global, and Sequoia Capital. The fact that investors outside Alphabet put money in is a vote of confidence. The investment puts Waymo's valuation at $126 billion. Ford's market cap is $55 billion and GM's is $78 billion. The disparity highlights the hurdles to the industry's growth.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but that's pretty demonstrably false. It's a good reminder that consumer sentiment often lags the reality on the ground. Americans don't have a damned clue who makes good EVs. That's what I took away from the January, 2026 edition of the Electric Vehicle Intelligence Report, which measures consumer sentiment toward EV brands. Surveyed consumer sentiment toward EV brands seems to be based on vibes and internal-combustion car experience, not anything resembling reality.