Biden and Fain Date, AM Radio or Bust, GROK In Your Friend’s Tesla

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Welcome to Wednesday as we’re wheels up for Used Car Week, but first we’re talking about Joe Biden’s upcoming visit with Shawn Fein. We also talk about the ongoing battle over whether to keep AM radio in cars or not. Finally, we’ll visit with our new friend GROK again.

Joe Biden is set to meet with UAW President Shawn Fain on Thursday to discuss Stellantis' reopening of an Illinois assembly plant in a show of commitment to U.S. manufacturing and job creation

• Biden had weighed in during the strike in favor of the union and called Fain after the contract was reached
• Stellantis plans a $3.2 billion investment in a new battery plant and a $1.5 billion investment in a mid-size truck factory in Illinois.
• The investments are part of a labor agreement adding 5,000 U.S. jobs by 2028, pending ratification.
• President Biden lauded the labor agreements, emphasizing their significance in strengthening the U.S. auto industry and expanding domestic manufacturing capabilities.
• Fain has yet to endorse Biden in his 2024 reelection bid

A report from the Center for Automotive Research outlines the potential cost to automakers of maintaining AM radio functionality in electric vehicles due to electromagnetic interference, and it's A LOT. 

• Costs to mitigate interference with AM radio in EVs could total as much as $3.8 billion by 2030.
• Technical solutions like shielding and filtering add costs and may affect vehicle weight and battery range and could add up to $70 in cost to every vehicle
• Legislative efforts are pushing to keep AM radio in new vehicles, citing its importance in emergencies. The automakers are pushing back…the broadcaster’s alliance wants to keep it…
• John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, argues that mandating AM radio in EVs is unwarranted and would incur extra costs for consumers.
• Bozzella contrasts the necessity of mandated safety features like airbags and seat belts with the imposition of analog AM radio tuners, a move he says is unprecedented by the government…"The government has never gone there before,"

On the heels of revealing AI chatbot Grok, Elon Musk has announced that Tesla will integrate the AI into its vehicles.

• A "smaller quantized" version of Grok AI is reported to run natively in Tesla vehicles, utilizing the cars' local computing power for a seamless in-car user experience.
• Musk envisions Tesla vehicles to be self-sufficient in anticipating and addressing owner needs, with Grok AI becoming a key component in realizing this future.
• Replying to an X thread about the integration, Musk said, "Provided our vehicle AI computer is able to run the model, Tesla will probably have the most amount of true usable inference compute on Earth." 

Join Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.

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