Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
Dense, quick, and tight, TDS gathers the latest automotive headlines from around the globe and places them in one spot. Stories are summarized in a single sentence accompanied by a link for those seeking more information.
It’s Friday and I’m sipping the first cup coffee right now, so let’s get into it.
🚘 What I’m driving: Headed into the weekend with the 2026 Mazda CX-90 Plug-In Hybrid and love its premium interior materials and overall design, but the packaging is compromised in multiple ways from the cargo area to the second and third row of seats.
🛻 Tesla introduced a $59,990 dual-motor all-wheel drive Cybertruck, which lowers the electric pickup’s price as the company struggles to find buyers; the top-shelf tri-motor Cyberbeast variant also received a $15,000 price cut with a sticker price now clocking in at $99,990.
🛡️ Jeep introduced the Gladiator Whitecap, which is a heritage-themed pickup with two-tone paint, 1941-inspired design package, and a cost of $495 when added to certain models including the Sahara, Rubicon, and Mojave.
📲 Rivian released a software update that added Sport Mode to all R1 models, launch control to the first-gen Quads, and introduced a dedicated Apple Watch app.
💸 Aston Martin issued a warning about profits for 2025 citing tariffs as the root cause of the issue.
📈 Stellantis is aiming for retail sales growth of 25% in 2026 fueled by the Hemi V8 in the Ram 1500, new hybrid Jeep Cherokee, and the gas-powered Dodge Charger.
< GM’s plan to brace for and weather the next new-vehicle sales downturn is lower inventory levels.
♻️ EV battery recycling is now predicted to be roughly a $70 billion industry by 2040.
🏷️ Slate will reveal final pricing for its electric truck in June, but is indicating the bare-bones trucklet will still target the mid $20,000 mark.
Got a news tip or feedback? Drop us a line at tips@thedrive.com