Good morning and welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short.
Light, tight, and right, TDS gathers the latest automotive news bubbling around the globe and puts it all in one place. Stories are summarized in a single, sometimes long, sentence accompanied by a link for those seeking more information.
It’s nearing dinner time here in Japan and time is starting to lose all meaning, so let’s get into it.
🚘 What I’m driving: Nothing, but I rode in a bus again today around Japan.
🚖 Tesla had to disclose and report to the NHTSA its supposed “self-driving” Robotaxis crashed three times in July, the first month the service was up and running in Austin, Texas, despite having human safety monitors on board in the cars with the ability to kill the system at any time; now Tesla’s disclosed a fourth crash took place in September, though the automaker hasn’t provided any details about the crashes aside from the fact they took place with fixed objects resulting in property damage.
🪫 GM laid off more than 3,300 works that were responsible for electric car and EV battery production; the automaker cited adapting to the evolving regulatory environment for the layoffs.
📈 Stellantis reported rising revenue for Q3 citing recovery in the U.S. market, but the automaker warned of looming one-time charges due to business shifts including bringing back the Hemi V8 engine.
🚙 Nissan revealed a luxurious minivan at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show, though the automaker will absolutely not be bringing this people hauler to the U.S. market.
🚔 Tesla Cybertruck cop cars are here and they’ll be arriving in the Las Vegas police fleet.
‼️ Ford recalled 227,006 vehicles in the U.S. for issues including air bubbles in the windshield glass to loose seat frames; the recalls includes the Ford Bronco, Explorer, and Lincoln Aviator.
‼️ Tesla recalled 6,197 Cybertrucks because their LED light bars, which are mounted to the roof with double-stick tape, can fall off while driving.
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