Tesla takes dogecoin for some products, Cybertruck is delayed again and Ford. All this and more in The morning shift for January 14, 2022.

1st Gear: Cybertruck now in 2023

There was some rumors about it yesterday because Tesla removed the “in 2022” part on its Cybertruck webpage. Now Reuters has a source that says Cybertruck production will absolutely not begin until 2023, and even then it will be in small amounts before ramping up.

Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) aims to start initial production of its highly anticipated Cybertruck by the end of the first quarter of 2023, pushing back its plan to start production until the end of this year, a person familiar with it told Reuters on Thursday. folder.

The person said the delay comes as Tesla changes features and functions of the electric pickup to make it a compelling product as competition intensifies in the segment.

Tesla is expected to produce a limited production of the Cybertruck in the first quarter of 2023 before ramping up production, the source said.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he would say more about Tesla’s product timeline when Tesla’s earnings are announced on January 26, which of course is only so helpful because at the time where the Cybertruck was unveiled in 2019, Musk said it would be in production now. This will be disappointing for those who put down $100 deposits, but anyone surprised by Tesla’s product delays, at this point, has been lying under a rock for the past decade.

The last thing I’ll say about this is that it seems novel that Tesla is reacting to what Ford, Chevy, Rivian and everyone else is doing in the electric truck space, instead of going forward on its own pioneering path, as it claimed to do with the Model 3, Y, X, S and, initially, with the Cybertruck too. Sad.

2nd Gear: Tesla is also taking over crypto

Tesla said last year it would take bitcoin in exchange for its products, then quickly said it wouldn’t be. Now Musk says it will take dogecoin, The Wall Street Journal reports:

Elon Musk said Tesla Inc. is accepting payment for certain goods with dogecoin, a throwback for the electric vehicle maker to accepting digital currencies for certain payments.

Tesla’s CEO said in a tweet early Friday, “Tesla merch purchasable with Dogecoin.” The company’s website showed some items, including one labeled “Giga Texas belt buckle,” which was priced in cryptocurrency.

Dogecoin jumped more than 10% after Mr. Musk’s tweet.

[…]

Dogecoin made an appearance last year during Mr. Musk’s debut on “Saturday Night Live.” In one satirical segment, Mr Musk appeared as ‘The Dogefather’. After explaining the merits of cryptocurrency using lingo, fellow cast members asked him to explain, “What is dogecoin?” In a hurry, Mr. Musk finally said: “Yeah, that’s a hustle and bustle.”

It is indeed a scramble.

3rd Gear: Meanwhile, Canada is opening an investigation into Tesla

In question, the heat pumps of Teslas, which could not work when it is very cold and could also inhibit demisting.

From Reuters:

Transport Canada has expressed concern that a faulty heating and air conditioning system “could affect the demisting/defrosting of the windshield and therefore the driver’s visibility”.

“A company is required to notify Transport Canada and all current owners when they become aware of a defect that could affect a person’s safety. … These advisories are commonly referred to as ‘safety recalls,’” he said.

The regulator said it notified Tesla of the investigation.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters. In 2020, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted, “The Model Y heat pump is one of the best techniques I’ve seen in a while.

[…]

A number of Tesla owners have complained that heat pumps fail in extremely cold temperatures, according to Drive Tesla Canada, a Tesla news provider. The report says the heating issues occurred even after Tesla early last year replaced faulty sensors in the heat pumps of some 2020-2021 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles to fix the problem.

4th gear: In non-Tesla news, Ford was worth $100 billion for the first time

The valuation is based on Ford’s stock price, which has been rising for months. The stock price hit a recent high of nearly $26 on Thursday before falling a bit. Ford CEO Jim Farley has been in the job for just over a year and is very pleased.

From Bloomberg:

Ford shares rose 5% to $25.69, extending a 20-year high on Thursday in New York. The automaker’s new market cap surpasses rival General Motors Co. and electric truck start-up Rivian Automotive Inc. It’s still a far cry from Tesla Inc., which investors have valued at more than $1 trillion.

The automaker has hit a major milestone by doubling planned production of the F-150 Lightning electric pickup that goes on sale this spring. The Dearborn, Michigan-based company is also ramping up production of the battery-powered Mustang Mach-E at a factory in Mexico.

“I am proud that the company is being recognized for its commitment to electrification,” Chief Executive Jim Farley said in an interview. “The market is saying we like this Ford move to battery electric and we have more confidence in delivering the core business. We like that they are now going to scale as other are years away.”

That last bit seems to be a reference to Cybertruck, or maybe companies like Nikola or Lordstown Motors. It is true, in any case, that traditional automakers are more trustworthy when it comes to delivering.

5th gear: vaccines will soon be mandatory for truckers transiting between Canada and the United States

And there’s also the usual consternation about vaccine requirements, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Canadian rules will come into effect on Saturday, when Canada will ban U.S. and foreign truckers from entering the country unless they are fully vaccinated. Canada will require unvaccinated Canadian drivers to show a negative Covid-19 molecular test taken 72 hours before reaching the border before being allowed entry. Those drivers will also have to quarantine for a period of 14 days, which industry groups say will hurt fleets that are already understaffed.

The United States has said Canadian truckers without two shots of an authorized Covid-19 vaccine will be denied entry starting Jan. 22. a possible shortage of essential goods such as food.

People in the industry, meanwhile, issued ominous warnings about how vaccine requirements would affect the supply chain, which is already strained due to a shortage of truckers in both countries.

Lance Dixon, senior vice president of the Mexico, Canada and temperature-controlled divisions of Werner Enterprises Inc., based in Omaha, Neb. , officials are educating those who are unprepared and drivers are getting used to this new procedure.

More than 80% of the company’s cross-border fleet is vaccinated and partner carriers are fully vaccinated, Dixon said.

Stephen Laskowsi, president of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, said a survey of Canadian truckers suggested that “at least” 10% of the country’s 120,000 truckers were unvaccinated. “We are already short-term truck drivers in Canada,” he said, citing Statistics Canada data indicating there were 23,000 vacancies in the sector.

I’d say I’m surprised there are so many dead-end anti-vaxxers, but that’s what I’m saying older and wiser. Once upon a time, younger and dumber, very angry at indoor smoking bans, another public health initiative that many people initially laughed at and took a few years to take hold. Of course, that’s still not the case in some states, that’s how Covid vaccines go too.

Reverse: dodge

After supplying parts to Ford for a decade, the Dodge brothers decided to start their own company. Dodge Brothers Motor Company was founded in 1913 and launched its first automobile, a four-cylinder passenger car, in 1914. The company sold nearly 250 of these vehicles in its first year and 45,000 the following year , according to Chrysler.com. Three years later, Dodge added trucks to its repertoire. During World War I, the company supplied vehicles and parts to the US Army.

In January 1920, while in New York to attend an automobile show, the brothers both fell ill with influenza and pneumonia. John Dodge died that month, while Horace died later that same year on December 10. In 1925, the brothers’ widows sold the Dodge Brothers Company to an investment bank for $146 million. In 1928, Walter Chrysler, founder of the Chrysler Corporation, bought the Dodge company for $170 million. The purchase made Chrysler the world’s third-largest automaker overnight.

Neutral: How are you?

It’s Friday and cold in New York, but manageable. I parked the Fit on the street yesterday for the first time in over a month and started fantasizing about renting a garage again. It will happen a year.