Ford released a few more details about the upcoming electric F-150. The automaker said the vehicle will be delivered in mid-2022 and will cost about half as much to maintain and operate when compared to a gas-powered pickup truck. However, Ford did not provide key details on pricing or range.

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• The F-150 will be geared more for commercial clients, rather than for “lifestyle” customers, Ford said. While Rivian and Tesla’s offerings are capable of being used for “work,” the companies will likely end up attracting mostly recreational truck drivers.
• Ford will add 300 jobs at a new Dearborn, Michigan, production facility where the F-150 will be produced. 
• The F-150 is Ford’s signature pickup truck and has been the nation’s best-selling vehicle for 38 years running.
• By 2022, the F-150 will probably compete with Rivian’s R1T, Tesla’s Cybertruck, and GMC’s Hummer EV, among others.

A Tesla driver in Alberta, Canada, has been charged criminally after being caught sleeping while driving with Autopilot engaged. Officers for Alberta RCMP tweeted a photo of the vehicle traveling, with what appears to be both seats fully reclined. The agency said the vehicle was traveling at 86 mph and that the driver was charged with “dangerous driving.”

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• It is unclear if the driver was fully asleep, considering Autopilot does require some driver engagement as it is not a fully autonomous system.
• For the Autopilot feature to operate, drivers need to have at least one hand on the wheel. There are, however, illegal aftermarket tools to override this setting.

Electrify America has rolled out Tesla Powerpack batteries at about 60 of its charging stations. The charging network, backed by Volkswagen, plans to roll out 120 of the Powerpacks by the end of 2020.

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• While technically a competitor, the Tesla Powerpacks give Electrify America the ability to better manage their electricity costs and needs, which reduces the impact on the grid.
• The two companies reached a deal in 2019 to deploy Powerpacks at around 100 charging stations on the Electrify America network.
• Earlier this week, Electrify America unveiled a new pricing structure for its charging network, lowering prices for drivers across the board.
• Electrify America told Electrek it may expand its relationship with Tesla in the future.

Volkswagen is reportedly in discussions to sell its Bugatti ultra-luxury nameplate to Mate Rimac, a Croatian businessman and the founder of Rimac Automobili. The news was published by German auto magazine Manager Magazin, but Buggati, Volkswagen, and Rimac declined a request for comment.

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• Volkswagen’s board will reportedly discuss the potential sale of Bugatti to Rimac this year.
• Porsche, another Volkswagen brand, currently owns about 15% of Rimac Automobili. 
• Rimac supplies its electric supercar platform to other automakers, including Automobili Pininfarina.

Cadillac will require its dealers to make about $200,000 in upgrades to continue selling the brand’s EVs after 2022. The investment will be used to install new EV chargers and to re-tool sales and service departments for EVs, as well as for training programs. The dealership EV upgrade will need to be complete by Q4 2022.

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• Cadillac worked closely with its dealer council to develop future standards for its dealerships, but the dealer council admitted that some retailers may be opposed to the plan.
• Dealers in rural areas have already expressed concern about the cost of the investments.
• The $200,000 figure represents an “entry ticket cost” to sell Cadillac cars after 2022 – some high-volume Cadillac dealerships may need to spend more.
• Cadillac, which will serve as GM’s flagship EV brand, recently unveiled the all-electric Lyriq SUV, which is due in late 2022.

Amazon announced it made an investment in Tesla co-founder JB Straubel’s Redwood Materials. The company is one of five entities in which Amazon has invested more than $2b this year as a part of its “Climate Pledge Fund.”

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• Redwood Materials extracts lithium, cobalt, and nickel from old smartphones and other electronics to reuse in new batteries for EVs.
• Straubel served as Tesla’s Chief Technology Officer from 2003 to 2019 and started work on Redwood Materials in 2017.
• The company also announced investments in Rivian (Amazon participated in Rivian’s fundraising round in July), Pachama, TurnTide, and CarbonCure.

GM has told most of its salaried workers that they will likely continue working from home until at least June 30, 2021. GM salaried employees have been mostly working remotely since the pandemic started. Going forward, GM said it would create a “more flexible” work culture.

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• GM previously considered bringing back some employees later this year but decided against the idea due to the onset of flu season and the lack of a vaccine.
• Meanwhile, GM hourly workers have had to adhere to health and safety protocols at company factories, such as wearing PPE and practicing social distancing.

QUICK HITS

• LG Chem will go ahead with plans to separate its electric vehicle battery business into a separate entity. 
• Volkswagen expects to produce 500,000 ID.4 electric vehicle units by 2025.
• The Porsche Taycan will serve as the safety car for the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.
• Volkswagen will likely launch an entry-level EV priced below the ID.3, according to company executives.
• Nikola is apparently running a series of sponsored Facebook Ads that compare its upcoming Badger truck to the high-end Audi R8. Only difference? The Badger is not yet in production and the R8 is a very real sports car. 
• Slack is gathering industry leaders and product experts at Slack Frontiers, a free virtual conference dedicated to digital transformation.*

*This is a sponsored link