Happy Monday! It's August 11, 2025, and this is The Morning Shift — your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. This is where you'll find the most important stories that are shaping the way Americans drive and get around.
In this morning's edition, we're looking at a peak amidst Tesla's tumbling, as well as Mercedes' puppy-dog eyes to the EU over continued ICE development. We'll also look at the temporary pausing of a lithium mine in China, and an NHTSA investigation into Kia.
Read more: Ford Faces Yet Another Massive Safety Probe As Feds Investigate 1.3 Million Faulty F-150s
1st Gear: Tesla Is Seeing An Order Uptick Thanks To The End Of The EV Tax Creditv
In economics, there's something called a "dead cat bounce." When a company is tumbling down, it'll often have a brief period where everything starts looking good — the stock rises, there's a brief rally to combat the inexorable decline, and people swear that this is the beginning of a new era. It never is. Even a dead cat will bounce once, and so many companies do the same. In related news, Tesla — an automaker that's hemorrhaged sales month over month, quarter after quarter, in response to its CEO's meddling in U.S. politics — is showing longer waits for vehicle deliveries as the EV tax credit draws to a close. From Barron's:
Tesla recently increased its estimated wait times for its most popular electric vehicle, the Model Y, to four to six weeks from a recent range of one to three weeks. It's a signal of more order activity.
Higher demand is good news, but there is a catch. This is the last quarter buyers can qualify for the federal purchase tax credit worth up to $7,500. That benefit was eliminated in President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill, passed on July 4.
No one knows exactly what will happen to EV pricing and demand in the fourth quarter when the credit goes away. Tesla CEO Elon Musk warned of some "rough quarters" ahead on his company's second quarter earnings conference call, referring to the loss of the credit at a time when Tesla's driverless technology was ramping up.
Does Tesla meet the technical definition for a dead cat bounce? Almost certainly not, given that the stock's been trading relatively flat since May. But it's an interesting comparison on the sales side, seeing a flagging company suddenly have an influx of business. I wonder how many it has left in it.
2nd Gear: Mercedes CEO Demands EU Consider Corporate Profits Over Human Survival
The European Union is looking to ban sales of new internal-combustion cars starting in a decade. This is a very slow baby step towards preserving the habitability of some amount of our planet, yet for companies that sell internal-combustion cars it's beyond the pale. Take Ola Kaellenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz, who said the ban needs a "reality check. From Reuters:
The CEO of Mercedes-Benz criticised the European Union's plan to ban CO2-emitting vehicles from 2035 in a media interview on Monday, joining a chorus of voices calling the target into question as it comes up for review this year.
The ban, which supporters say is crucial to Europe's green ambitions, is up for review in the second half of 2025, with critics saying it would handicap European carmakers already struggling with weak demand, Chinese competition and disappointing electric vehicle sales.
"We need a reality check. Otherwise we are heading at full speed against a wall," Mercedes CEO Ola Kaellenius told the Handelsblatt business daily of the 2035 goal, adding that Europe's car market could "collapse" if it goes ahead.
...
"Of course we have to decarbonise, but it has to be done in a technology-neutral way. We must not lose sight of our economy," Kaellenius said.
Remember that when companies talk about "the economy," they mean their own profits. What Kaellenius is saying here is that keeping the planet habitable is important, but doing so should never impinge on Mercedes' ability to rake in that sweet sweet cash. I imagine asbestos insulation manufacturers and makers of leaded gasoline probably tried similar lines, and we're objectively better off without those too. You shouldn't get to run roughshod over the planet just because it makes you, personally, money.
3rd Gear: CATL, Battery Supplier To BMW, Mercedes, And More, Halts A Lithium Mine
Speaking of the other side of things, though, massive battery supplier Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) is finding itself in a bit of a pinch. It operates a number of lithium mines, where it gathers the raw materials for EV batteries, but that number just dropped by one as crucial permits expired at one site — the Jianxiawo mine is shuttered, and likely will be for months before the paperwork can be sorted out. From Bloomberg:
Battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. has suspended production at a major lithium mine in China's Jiangxi province for at least three months, according to people familiar with the matter.
CATL, the world's largest manufacturer of electric-vehicle batteries, has announced internally that the Jianxiawo mine would be temporarily halting operations, they said. One of the people said the suspension came after the company failed to extend a key mining permit which expired on Aug. 9.
...
A second person briefed on the matter said affiliated refineries in nearby Yichun had been informed of the closure. The first person added the company was still in talks with government agencies to secure a renewal but was preparing for the halt to last months. The people asked not to be named as they are not authorized to speak publicly.
CATL supplies batteries to major names like BMW and Mercedes-Benz, and a hitch in its supply chain hurts manufacturers downstream. Hopefully, the company can meet demand with lithium from its other minds without the sort of supply shortage that would skyrocket prices for lithium — and for lithium-heavy electric cars.
4th Gear: NHTSA Investigates Kia For Piston Ring Failures
Back in Februaty, Kia recalled 2021 to 2023 Seltos and Soul models for an issue with the piston rings. Now, NHTSA is investigating the repair, with the thought that the cars may need a round of revisions before they're truly safe and reliable. From Reuters:
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it had opened an audit into 137,256 Kia America vehicles on Friday to assess the effectiveness of the automaker's remedy for defective piston oil rings in some Seltos and Soul models.
In February, Kia America launched a recall of the said Seltos and Soul vehicles, model year 2021-2023, over concerns that piston oil rings may have been manufactured incorrectly, which can result in engine damage causing a loss of motive power or an increased fire risk.
(NHTSA administrator voice) You're lucky that shot of regular gasoline didn't blow the welds on the intake. Now me and the mad scientist gotta rip apart the block, and replace the piston rings you fried. (1,000 people who all look like Fred Durst react like this is the biggest own in human history.)
Reverse: Give It Up For The (Now Former) Teens
We should all give teens a little more credit.
On The Radio: Lucy Dacus - 'I Don't Wanna Be Funny Anymore'
Somehow I've never used this song as an On The Radio gear, which feels almost like sacrilege. We're ignoring that it's nine years old, and that I generally don't need such shock at my own age this early in the morning.
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